Australia and South Korea are entering a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but before you think “advanced Western country gains access to a large Asian market”, think again. Economic powers have shifted seismically…
Often called “Australia’s most valuable farm”, Cubbie Station in southwest Queensland is now majority foreign-owned.
AAP/Cubbie Group
When most Australians think about farmers, one image still springs to mind: a family in Akubras and Blundstones, battling the elements with a Blue Heeler by their side. That’s still the image invoked by…
Farm debt is increasing in Australia, but will writing it off make more farms viable?
Grenville Turner/AAP
Farm debt in Australia has increased by almost 75% over the past decade, from A$40.3 billion in 2004 to an estimated A$70 billion in 2014. Barnaby Joyce, the Federal Minister for Agriculture, has argued…
A shift towards fresh food and improved consumer protections in China provides opportunities and threats for Australian food producers.
dcmaster/Flickr
The political lobbying accompanying the government decision to withhold financial support from SPC Ardmona has overshadowed the big structural issues facing Australia’s preserved food industry. The two…
Australia may be known for its Shiraz, but the rest of the world is catching up.
jadepalmer/Flickr
The world’s wine markets have become far more competitive over the past decade, but despite the competition, Australia’s mix of winegrape varieties is not very different from the rest of the world’s. Since…
Milk prices are more expensive in Canada than Australia, which makes WCB an attractive takeover target for Quebec-headquartered Saputo.
dugspr/Flickr
Canadian dairy giant Saputo Inc has lifted its stake in Warrnambool Cheese & Butter, as it creeps up the register following its A$504 million bid for Australia’s oldest dairy producer. Saputo is pitted…
The battle for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter is a vote of confidence in the Australian dairy industry.
Johnsyweb/Flickr
The share price of Victorian dairy processor Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) has more than doubled over recent weeks in response to a takeover tussle between Australian publicly listed company Bega…
Golden rice, texture like sun.
International Rice Research Institute
Recently Zac Goldsmith MP – a former editor of The Ecologist, no less – branded the views of Environment Secretary Owen Patterson as “grotesque” after the minister called anti-GM campaigners “wicked…
A national broadband network and mobile sensor technologies could transform the Australian agribusiness sector but farmers have lagged behind the rest of the country in adopting telecommunications technology…
Warren Truss has told the Nationals’ federal council that Australia has lost control of its agribusiness.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Nationals leader Warren Truss has warned Australia has lost control of its agribusinesses and declared a new takeover bid poses a critical test for the Foreign Investment Review Board. Mr Truss told his…
Time for real change: the Government’s new draft National Food Plan puts the interests of big business ahead of health, equity, and food security.
Flickr/mermaid99
The Federal Government released on Tuesday the green paper for Australia’s first-ever National Food Plan. According to Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig, this plan “will ensure Australia has a sustainable…
It’s time to reconsider using antibiotics as animal growth promoters.
Bram Cymet
Two views in today’s Medical Journal of Australia deal with attitudes to risk and economics, but with the added gravitas of a life-or-death outcome added to the consideration. The articles discuss the…
Beef processing contributed to Cargill’s $US2.7 billion in earnings this year.
AAP
Welcome to “The most powerful companies you’ve never heard of” – an ongoing series from The Conversation that sheds light on big companies with low profiles. Today, The University of Queensland’s Clive…
Iron-rich rice helps feed the poor: could we do it without patenting?
Jane Rawson
Michael Gilbert, Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
Rice is the primary source of food for roughly half the world’s population. But it falls well short of providing enough iron, zinc and pro-vitamin A to meet daily nutritional requirements. Iron deficiency…
GM is not being used to make fishbread Frankenfoods.
Dave Lifson/Flickr
The Conversation asked CSIRO scientist, Richard Richards, to look at the top five myths about genetic modification (GM), and correct the public record. Myth one: GM is just haphazard, imprecise cross-breeding…
Environmental activists have targeted palm oil – an industry crucial to Indonesia’s development.
AAP
In 1990 there were about 400 international environmental groups. Today, this number is more like 1.4 million. So why is the world apparently in a worse state now? Have environmental groups paid too much…
Agricultural research has become increasingly dependent on industry and CRC funding.
Flickr/Marcy Reiford
Funding shortfalls are hurting Australia’s agricultural research sector at a time when climate change, a looming food crisis and water shortages are demanding more innovation than ever, according to academics…
The benefits of lifting the import ban on bananas outweigh the risks.
Maxey
The ban on importing apples from New Zealand was lifted earlier this month, bringing to an end a restriction established in 1921. With this long history of protection from imports, it is not unexpected…
The law treats animals as merely “property” – but is this out of step with community expectations?
AAP
Last week’s resounding defeat of two private members bills seeking to end live animal exports demonstrates the myopic vision Australian politicians have for the country’s agricultural industry. This is…