Call for Agricultural Investment Now Answered?
Over the years, we have seen various different methods of raising funds within a business. More recently, there has been a substantial rise in businesses being funded by crowd-funding websites and this could be an answer to farming troubles if the Federal Government were to relax the funding limit laws currently in place. In a […]
Industry Performance Increases with New Farm Index
For many years, the measurement for investment returns on farms was not indexed to a national standard but we saw big changes at the beginning of November as with the introduction of the Australian Farm Index. Launched at the Australian Farm Institute Roundtable Conference, investors now have an opportunity to compare agricultural investments performance with […]
Not everyone loves wheat – so why not remove the bad bits
Harvey Millar, University of Western Australia Wheat is everywhere. It’s in bread, pasta, pastries, biscuits, pizza, batter, cereals, soups, sauces, instant drinks, salad dressing, processed meats and sweets, to name but a few. The western diet is so infatuated with wheat that most of us eat a kilo or more a week. So why do […]
Murray River flows predicted to reach their highest levels since 1993
With one of the wettest winters on record for much of Australia, there is continual discussion around the increasing Murray River flows. With one common question asked being, what height are the flows actually going to reach and what effect will this have on rural communities? In 2011 daily flow was 93 GL which resulted […]
Booming Cropping Season
With increased rainfall and favourable seasonal conditions throughout most of Australia, we keep hearing about a likely booming cropping season. However, many paddocks are waterlogged, some disease ridden and temperatures have been up and down – so what is harvest really going to look like? ABARES predicted, in 2016-2017 winter crop production will increase in […]
With the familiar Cavendish banana in danger, can science help it survive?
Ioannis Stergiopoulos, University of California, Davis; André Drenth, The University of Queensland, and Gert Kema, Wageningen University The banana is the world’s most popular fruit crop, with over 100 million metric tons produced annually in over 130 tropical and subtropical countries. Edible bananas are the result of a genetic accident in nature that created the […]
Younger farmers more open to sharing the family farm with outside investors
Julie Cotter, University of Southern Queensland Younger farmers on family farms are more willing to accept outside investment and even ownership, whereas older producers are wary of this type of equity and would rather pursue niche markets, a new study has found. The study features interviews with 12 producers from Queensland and northern NSW and […]