Great time to grow your own feed and save money
Home grown feed may be a particularly cost-effective proposition this year, says proprietary pasture seed company PGG Wrightson. The firm’s product development manager Allan Mudford says hot and dry conditions last spring and over summer across the country have seen a drop in the available amount of quality hay and silage. “This lower supply also […]
Grain transport the major cost in export supply chain
The major cost associated with export grain supply chains is transport. The cost for growers to move grain from farm to port is around 33 per cent of their total overall grain production cost. And growers have limited control over what is usually their single largest expense. This information has been verified in a report […]
Next era of agriculture drives evokeAG event next February
Melbourne will host a unique international technology event specifically for the food and farming community in February 2019, called evokeAG. The event will be staged by AgriFutures Australia, which sees the threshold of the next era in global agriculture. “With the explosion of technologies like machine learning, robotics, synthetic biology, internet of things, augmented reality […]
Farm machines will lead the drive to digitise
Emerging trends in digital and automation technology offer a bright future for farm machines, says the Australian general manager of the global technology company Lapp. Simon Pullinger points to five trends – intensified networking and miniaturisation, use of connectors instead of direct wiring, a trend towards system solutions, DC power replacing AC and co-existence of […]
LambEx 2018 offers a $13,000 prize pool to Young Guns
The Australian lamb industry will again acknowledge young and upcoming producers, industry professionals and scientists, in the LambEx 2018 Young Guns Competition. Entrants will compete for a record $13,000 worth of prizes to be presented during the LambEx 2018 event in Perth from 5 to 7 August 2018. The competition aims to reward and encourage […]
Goldacres Expo was a main event
Local sprayer manufacturer Goldacres marked its 40th anniversary with a major Expo at the company’s Mitchell Park production facility just outside Ballarat Vic. Prospective buyers lined up to view and test drive over 80 Goldacres’ products over the two-day event in February. A shuttle bus was on hand to spirit budding operators to a nearby […]
Top grain grower study shows how to lift profits
Australian grain growers could learn a thing or two from the “top 20 per cent” of growers and lift profitability, as recent research findings showed how top growers mix low risk with high margins. The study commissioned by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) – used a minimum of three and up to five years […]
Sowing canola early can reap some big rewards
Research has found Canola productivity and profitability can be boosted by using some tried and tested guidelines for early sowing. This follows 34 paddock experiments conducted from 2014 to 2016, looking at the interaction between variety and sowing date. The guidelines relate to location, variety selection, soil moisture management, seed placement and rates, weed, pest […]
Canola growers battling blackleg disease handed a new weapon
The potentially devastating disease blackleg may lose some of its sting, due to a smart phone app just released for canola growers. The BlacklegCM app gives growers a tool to forecast the likelihood and severity of the disease, associated yield loss and economic returns on a paddock-by-paddock basis ahead of sowing. The app is the […]
Winter grass resistance to glyphosate makes it a weed to watch
Winter grass (Poa annua), once considered a low-key weed, is coming under increasing scrutiny, with glyphosate-resistant populations being confirmed in Victoria. Dr Peter Boutsalis, from the University of Adelaide says the weed has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. Testing has shown at least 20 populations of winter grass exhibiting resistant to simazine […]