Australian Food News recently reported criticisms of Australian government technical aid to the Indonesian cattle industry. The criticism was that the Australian government was spending Australian taxpayer funds helping potential competitors to the detriment of Australian food suppliers. The Australian government today released a new Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness framework to guide future aid budget allocations for agricultural research. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said that with approximately... ...Read more »

Researchers from North Carolina State University and West Virginia University have developed a new technology that can reduce air pollutant emissions from some chicken and swine barns, and also reduce their energy use by recovering and possibly generating heat. Specifically, the research team designed, built, and evaluated a proof-of-concept unit that incorporates a biofilter and a heat exchanger to reduce ammonia emissions from livestock barns, while also tempering — or heating up —... ...Read more »

The National Australia Bank (NAB) in its latest Rural Commodities Outlook  wrap  issued on 22 December 2011 has reported that apart from the weakening global economy, there is also a very strong production response hitting world agricultural commodity markets. Australian rural production  is on track for  massive winter crops in 2012 because of good rains adding to downward pressure on prices.  At  the same time, sugar and cotton production growth in Australia have also been part of the general... ...Read more »

A commodities report released today by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES), forecasts the value of farm exports will rise by around 6 per cent to A$34.5 billion in 2011–12, reflecting expected higher exports and relatively favourable agricultural prices. ABARES forecasts the demand for agricultural products in the Asian region is expected to remain strong, with more than 60 per cent of Australia’s farm exports to the Asian region in 2010–11. ABARES... ...Read more »

The Australian Government has today announced the first round of its A$99 million ‘Action on the Ground’ program to support farmers as they adjust to Australia’s new carbon tax regime. Action on the Ground is funding farmers over the next six years to trial and demonstrate on-farm practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide or increase soil carbon. The program is a part of the Carbon Farming Futures Fund under the government’s A$1.7 billion Land Sector... ...Read more »

Australian researchers are hoping to produce new wheat varieties that contain higher levels of protein and extra ‘functionality’, without requiring additional fertiliser. They say their research will allow wheat growers in Australia access to non-traditional markets. The research is being funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) with the Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA), and is being conducted in conjunction with Murdoch University, in Perth. Currently, Australian... ...Read more »

The Australian Government will provide pig farmers with the opportunity to earn carbon credits for burning their pig manure, if proposed new legislation is approved under the government’s new Carbon Farming Initiative. The Federal Government has established the Carbon Farming Initiative to develop carbon offsetting methodologies so Australia’s farmers can receive credits for reducing their carbon output. Under the Federal Government’s ‘Methodology for the Destruction of Methane Generated... ...Read more »

  The regulation of Australia’s live export industry will be substantially reformed, following the publication of an independent review late last week. The ‘Farmer review’ was commissioned by the Australian Government in response to broadcasts of shocking video footage of animal cruelty in Indonesia. The regulatory changes recommended by the review will be implemented wholesale, on a domestic and international level, to ensure Australian livestock exported for slaughter are treated... ...Read more »

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have demonstrated that mineral levels in new varieties of broccoli are the same as they were in 1975. Their findings were published today in Crop Science, the journal of the Crop Science Society of America. Researchers at the USDA and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), in Houston, analysed 14 varieties of broccoli grown at the same time in the same environment in South Carolina. Essential minerals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous,... ...Read more »

The United Nations has called for action to ensure long-term global food security as a new report shows that high food prices are likely to continue over the next decade. ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2011’ report states that small, import-dependent countries, particularly in Africa, are especially vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. “Even if the Millenium Development Goal were achieved by 2015, some 600 million people in developing countries would still be undernourished.... ...Read more »