Workforce challenges are plaguing a raft of Australian
industries currently, with employers, both small and large, across the country reporting
job ads are attracting few applications – or no response at all in many cases.
Those businesses that suffered the most under COVID-19 restrictions are now
faced with workforce shortages impacting their ability to return to
pre-pandemic business ...
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Opportunities for the arts vital for social fabric, cohesion of regional communities
When perceptions on the attractions and benefits of living
in rural and regional communities are discussed, rarely are art and culture at
the top of the list. But this desire to enjoy arts and cultural pursuits is
just as strong in the country as it is in the city – it’s just the opportunities
may be fewer and further between. That’s not to say that thriving arts communities can’t be
found in ...
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Progressive leadership at risk from ‘cancel’ culture and rush to judge
The next
Federal election is looming, shaping up to be one of the most intriguing
contests in recent times given our nation’s journey in the past two years, and the
political machinations that have played out on so many fronts. How is the
electorate going to respond to all that’s gone on is anyone’s guess at this
point, but what is in no doubt is the desire – because of the uncertainty,
anxiety ...
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Encouraging R&D investment critical to long-term growth, success of Australian agriculture
In
October last year the Federal Government released the National Agricultural
Innovation Policy Statement. COVID-19 has made it hard for other news to have
much of an impact in the past two years, so the statement largely went under
the radar, but for agriculture, and the nation’s future economic fortunes, it’s
important. The statement provides “direction for improving the Australian
agricultural ...
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Food fraud costing billions but technology offering new opportunities for industries to fight back
Australia
is world-renowned for some of the best produce in the world and it’s a
reputation we should all be proud of and on which our national economy is
heavily-reliant. So, a new report released by AgriFutures Australia makes for
somewhat sobering reading, outlining the impacts of product fraud, which has a
cost of between $2-3 billion each year. An astonishing amount and one which must
have us ...
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When inspiring leadership is in short supply, look no further than our local communities
Federal
Parliament has risen for 2021 and it would have to be said it was a less-than-auspicious
end to the parliamentary year. At a time
when the nation is in desperate need of courageous, positive and decisive
leadership, Australians have been hard pressed to find that in Canberra and our
States of late, with headlines unfortunately reflecting the questionable
behaviour of some of our ...
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Resilience of Class of 2021 will help them on career path long after end of HSC
HSC exams
are underway for our Class of 2021 and to say they’ve had to do the hard yards
in the past two years is an understatement. This cohort has had to endure more
than any other group of seniors in recent memory, and whatever their final
results they deserve to hold their heads high and know when it comes to
resilience, they’ve all scored an A. At this
time, too, given all the challenges ...
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United, agriculture can stand tall in face of challenges, with influential leadership key to bringing competing sectors together
There have
been many lessons from the past 18 months – many of them learned the hard way -
but one of the things we’ve come to understand is a successful outcome heavily
relies on having a shared goal, uniting people behind it and moving forward
together. Things are more difficult, and success more elusive, if different
parts of the one organisation, business, industry, community or even nation, ...
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Urgent action needed on port disputes as agriculture feels the impact of delivery delays
Great
seasonal conditions and an anticipated bumper harvest is putting smiles on the
faces of farmers in many parts of the nation, and in NSW and Queensland it’s a
welcome continuation of the recovery from years of crippling drought. But in
Western Australia, the excitement around another big winter harvest is being
tempered by the reality that new farm machinery ordered for the season ...
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Pandemic exposes some vulnerabilities in food supply chain but opportunity there for increased resilience and innovation
One of the enduring images from the pandemic will be of bare
supermarket shelves as people turned their feelings of anxiety and frustration towards
their pantry, in part no doubt, as a way to regain some control in a time of
enormous uncertainty. Of course, there was never a risk of our nation running out
of food – the Australian Food and Grocery Council reassured Australians at the
height of ...
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Consolidate the gains made by our regions to prepare for agriculture’s exciting new chapter
At the turn
of the last century, agriculture was in its relative infancy, but turn the
clock forward more than 120 years and it has emerged as a global giant that
today employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars for the
world’s economies. When many think of agriculture, they think of farmers, but
the range of jobs that now underpin the sector has grown as quickly as the
industry ...
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Damage caused by spray drift extends beyond the farm gate
It’s the silent, unseen threat to Australian agriculture that
costs farm businesses millions of dollars a year and is indiscriminate in the
industries it strikes. Spray drift is unfortunately an ongoing threat to
agriculture and one farmer on the receiving end of the devastation can do
little to combat. At the same time, the application of pesticides remains vital
to many ag sectors to maximise ...
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Strategy grounded in need for more data and incentives aimed at optimising soil health
When this year’s Federal Budget was handed down in May, one of the
announcements that attracted attention was the allocation of $200 million over
four years for a National Soil Strategy. The Strategy establishes a framework
for how our nation will value, manage and improve its soil for the next 20
years, setting out three main goals around prioritising soil health,
encouraging innovation and ...
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Regions’ charm no longer a secret but careful planning needed to ensure appeal endures
Regional living is now officially ‘cool’. Of course, this isn’t
news to those of us who already call our towns and regional cities home. We’ve
always appreciated the benefits of a regional address and wondered why everyone
couldn’t see the appeal. But now it seems the secret’s out and our city cousins are
making the move in greater numbers than ever. The pandemic has caused many of
us to ...
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Resilience of regions rewarded with significant Budget commitment
Mental health services, the push to grow the nation’s
agriculture workforce and infrastructure spending are among the wins for rural
and regional Australia from Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s third budget. Seftons’ Managing Director Robbie Sefton said delivering
a budget during the current pandemic crisis was always going to be a
challenging task, but she was happy to see the focus remain ...
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Biodiversity
There’s an old joke
that goes something like this and the punch line is one that should resonate
with all farmers and anyone interested in a changing climate. What happens when
you cross an Irishman with a Scotsman? You get someone who likes to drink, but
doesn’t want to pay for it. That same odd-couple
combo also applies to Australian consumers when it comes to food production;
especially ...
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Artificial Intelligence Technologies
WHEN it comes to implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies
in Australia, we can’t afford to make any dumb moves; especially resorting to complacency
or navel gazing. But if we’re smart and savvy and think strategically, to act on a bold
vision, it’ll ensure we optimise future benefits of the AI revolution;
especially making Australian farmers and agribusiness more efficient ...
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Megatrends
LET’S face it –
there’s very little to get truly excited about in the news media these days. If it’s not a story
about the Coronavirus pandemic, or the latest political or Royal scandal, or an
sporting player’s off-field antics, then it’s likely to be about droughts,
floods, bush-fires or some other looming natural catastrophe. Amid this seemingly
constant environment of conflict and ...
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Facebook and real news
More than anything,
the current clash between Facebook and the Australian Government represents an
ideal opportunity for agriculturalists and rural communities to stop, think and
rediscover how we all individually interact with social media, both personally and professionally. Firstly, being blocked
from sharing news articles with your friends and contacts via Facebook isn’t
the end of the ...
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Australian of the Year Award
I’d like to pause for a moment to reflect on the recent Australian of
the Year Awards; especially the strong values, deep sense of personal purpose
and achievements shared by each of the winners, which we as Australians can all
be proud of. Firstly, as the Deputy Chair of the National Australia Day Council Board,
and as a Board member since 2010, I’ve been fortunate to observe the ...
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Number one goal to set up the future
NSW Minister of Agriculture, Adam Marshall with the states first Agriculture Commissioner Daryl Quinlivan at a Coffs Harbour banana farm. Photo: NSW DPI. Image credit - The Land I’m looking forward to seeing how newly appointed NSW Agricultural
Commissioner Daryl Quinlivan can deliver positive outcomes through this
first-time role. Daryl took up the challenge in August and recently outlined ...
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Farming – learning from 42 years of journalist’s experience
Veteran Western Australian journalist Ken Wilson’s recent
retirement, after 54 years in the saddle, including 42 as an agricultural
reporter, has prompted me to open-up an important discussion about the
accumulation of knowledge in our industry. Not just how this knowledge is harvested, but also how it’s shared
and how it can be applied. But before going further into these observations, ...
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Entrepreneurialism in the Bush
Recently I read an inspiring article by demographer, author and newspaper
columnist Bernard Salt and felt compelled to share my thoughts and feelings
about it. I’ve read a few of Bernard’s books and always find his writing style to
be open, energising, encouraging and empathetic. When it comes to the nation’s mood, his finger is firmly on the pulse
and his words also demonstrate great ...
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A conversation that needs to be shared
Robbie Sefton believes more people need to come out and declare that a typical Australian farmer is a young, enterprising woman defined by their unyielding passion. Image credit - The Land When we think about what makes Australian farmers tick, typical characteristics
spring to mind such as; hard-working, resilient, stoic, patient and enduring. We think about our farmers as being humble, ...
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Royal Shows play an important role
Royal Shows are integral to the fabric of regional communities and do so much, not only for agriculture, but for the community in general. Image credit - The Land There’s nothing quite like that magical feeling you get after handing over
your ticket and walking through the gates, at the annual Agricultural Royal
Show. After 12-months of anticipation, those first few steps seem surreal ...
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Better connectivity because of community volunteers
From little things big things grow. And there’s no better living example of this saying than the incredible
results achieved by the Better Internet for Rural, Regional and Remote
Australia (BIRRR) group – founded by two young women from the bush who wanted
to fix a problem. A big problem. What started as determined team of volunteers six years ago has now
evolved into a professional service ...
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AgTalk Podcast
The Centre for the Study of Agribusiness (CSA) at Marcus Oldham College is proud to present, Marcus Oldham AgTalk. Hosted by the director of the CSA, David Cornish. Why do farmers need to care about social license? With Robbie Sefton ...
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There’s more to be done
As someone who
grew up on an irrigation farm in southern New South Wales and now runs a
dryland farm in northern New South Wales, I have always been proud to live and
work in rural and regional Australia, and to call the Basin home. I recently had
the honour of Chairing the Independent Panel assessing the social and economic
impacts of water reform on Basin communities. The Panel undertook ...
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Ambition
Australian agriculture has a goal: to generate $100
billion in farm gate output by 2030. Getting there is going to take all the
resourcefulness we've got, especially if the effects are to carry well beyond
2030. Laid out in 2017 by the National Farmers’ Federation
(NFF), with the support of its members, the ambitious 2030 Roadmap requires
that we up the ante of every aspect of agriculture – not ...
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Trust: easy to lose, hard to get back.
We've heard a lot about rural industries’ "social
licence" over the past few years. What is it, actually? In a word, it is trust. It is the community trusting
that farmers, fishers and foresters share broader social values on matters like
environmental stewardship, animal welfare and water resources. When trusted, primary producers and their supply chains
are largely left alone to pursue ...
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