News

14 Nov '23

Drone Survey Making a Positive Step Towards Better Agricultural Regulations

Cattle mustering is a crucial part of the livestock industry for herding and gathering cattle for various purposes such as vaccinating, sorting and transportation. Traditionally, cattle mustering has been done on horseback or with the use of helicopters, but with the advancements in drone technology, a new opportunity for the industry has been created.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is now asking manufacturers who use or plan to use drones for mustering and spraying a series of question to help improve the regulatory framework.

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6 Nov '23

More women and young people are entering the agricultural workforce.

According to a 2021 census analysis, more young people, women, and people from diverse cultural backgrounds are choosing to work in agriculture.

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30 Oct '23

Feed Gap Workshops

Feed Gap Workshops With Dr Jillian Kelly (AHN Consulting) BVSc

North West Local Land Services is pleased to be hosting 3 ADDITIONAL FREE Feed Gap Workshops in November with Dr Jillian Kelly.

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24 Oct '23

Keeping Your Property Bushfire Safe This Summer

As we enter another scorching summer, it's important to keep your property clear and safe from bushfire hazards. The NSW RFS is part of every rural community and work together with farmers to help make their communities safer. The NSW RFS has a strong partnership with the NSW Farmers Association to help mitigate and respond to the threat of fires.

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17 Oct '23

Farmbot – monitoring Australia’s water sources with precision agriculture

There are over 430,000 rural water tanks in Australia, as well as over 1,000,000 dams, reservoirs, and other bodies of water. Despite their critical role in keeping farms irrigated, very few of these water storage facilities are monitored in real time.

Farmbot, an Australian agricultural technology company, is attempting to change this.

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16 Oct '23

Navigating the Challenge of Changing Climates – Both Economic and Weather Conditions

In the context of changing weather patterns and economic conditions, there has never been a more opportune moment for strategic planning in the cattle and lamb industry. With the climate becoming increasingly unpredictable, and the economic climate presenting its own set of challenges, it's essential for livestock producers to adopt forward-thinking strategies.

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26 Sep '23

Finally, an El Nio has been declared by the BoM. What does this mean?

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Australia is now experiencing an El Niño climate phenomenon.

The World Meteorological Organisation, the UN's weather agency, issued a similar warning in July after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the US government issued its own pronouncement that El Niño was underway in June. A "surge in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns" was predicted for the entire world.

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18 Sep '23

Norco has launched an augmented reality game to give children a taste of farm life

It's not uncommon to see headlines highlighting how little children understand about how their food is produced, with research indicating that many children believe their food comes from a supermarket or their own refrigerator.

While many children never visit farms, technology now allows farms to be transported to children - at least in a technological sense.

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12 Sep '23

Malaysia has suspended live cattle exports from Australia due to disease concerns

The federal government has initiated urgent talks with Malaysia after suspending Australian live cattle exports from several facilities due to concerns about an outbreak of lumpy skin disease (LSD).

Malaysia, like Indonesia, has halted cattle exports from four Australian facilities while authorities conduct additional testing.

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5 Sep '23

Trade has come to a halt as Indonesia reports more LSD infections.

The Federal Government confirmed this week that eight more Australian cattle tested positive for lumpy skin disease after arriving in Indonesia, where the disease is widespread.

The development, which comes despite extensive recent testing of 1000 cattle in Australia that found no trace of the disease, is set to halt further trade of Australian cattle to Indonesia until Australia's LSD status is resolved.

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28 Aug '23

Tips for rural businesses to see through scams

Scams are not new, but they are becoming far more sophisticated and have grown exponentially in recent years. They sound like the work of science fiction novelists. From impersonating loved ones and known business contacts to infiltrating existing text message threads to exploit trust.

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22 Aug '23

Varroa mite detected for the first time in Kempsey; DPI says eradication is still possible.

Bee hives will be destroyed on the mid-north coast of New South Wales after the damaging varroa mite was discovered for the first time in Kempsey.

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15 Aug '23

AgQuip Celebrates 50 Years!

It's that time of year again for the largest Agri-business event in Australia: AgQuip!

AgQuip is regarded as Australia's most important agricultural event and one of the world's most significant agricultural events.

The event, which features over 3,000 products and services aimed at farming professionals, is an excellent opportunity for businesses to promote their brand, generate sales, and connect with customers.

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8 Aug '23

They may be cute, but these critters cost Australia more than $90 million per year

According to a new report, Australia's growing feral deer population costs the country more than $90 million per year.

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1 Aug '23

The Incoming El Nino and What It Means for Farmers

Another El Nino event has been confirmed by the World Meteorological Organisation. As climate change continues to exacerbate our weather, the effects on natural climate phenomena such as El Nino become more significant.

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25 Jul '23

NSW Restricts Material Movement amid Fire Ant Border Sightings

Six times in the last six weeks, fire ants have breached containment zones in south-east Queensland, prompting the expansion of biosecurity controls at the New South Wales border.

The imported red fire ants, considered one of the world's worst invasive species, were discovered last week at a site near Tallebudgera, about 5.5 kilometres from the NSW border. The discovery was the pest's most southern detection in Queensland.

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18 Jul '23

Rock fern toxicity in cattle has prompted a warning to NSW landowners

Local Land Services is warning livestock owners in northwestern NSW to be on the lookout for toxic rock fern in their grazing paddocks.

Rock fern is a hardy plant that survives dry conditions and readily reshoots after rain. It is most toxic when new fronds are reshooting or growing, which happens in the autumn and winter.

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12 Jul '23

Feral pig numbers ‘out of control’

According to NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin, millions of feral pigs are breeding and rampaging across the countryside, flourishing after years of heavy rain, attacking native animals and livestock, and wreaking havoc on crops and infrastructure.

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10 Jul '23

Country vet shortage growing concern for farmers

Farmers say it's becoming increasingly difficult to find large animal veterinarians, despite calls for increased training and targeted skilled migration.

Shane Kilby, a Dubbo cattle producer, plans to bring the issue to the NSW Farmers Annual Conference next week.

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27 Jun '23

Bidding opens on Dolly's Dream charity auction items

Pre-auction online bidding on eight fantastic charity auction items donated to raise funds for the Dolly's Dream Foundation as part of the Australian Agricultural Co's Long Lunch fundraiser on Thursday has begun.

The charity auction items include outback on-property experiences, fantastic sporting memorabilia, artwork, and bushcraft items.

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21 Jun '23

Mustering By Drone. Cheap, Safe, But Still Inaccessible for Most

In a battle over the use of drones to muster livestock, a young stockman from north-west Queensland is taking on the aviation watchdog.

Luke Chaplain of Malakoff Station near Cloncurry founded SkyKelpie in an attempt to be the first person in the world to commercialise the use of drones to herd animals.

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13 Jun '23

Young steers and heifers show some recovery in online trading

The value of most young steer and heifer categories increased in online trade this week.

Commercial cattle listings on AuctionsPlus fell to 10,869 head, with clearing increasing to 43 percent, a 12 percent increase from the previous week.

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6 Jun '23

Crop Devastation in NSW Raises Fears of a New Mouse Plague.

Farmers in New South Wales are on the lookout for increased mouse activity, fearing a repetition of the deadly 2021 plague.
Growing damage to crops and fodder has been reported across the state, prompting the NSW Farmers Association to issue a warning.

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30 May '23

New iPhone safety feature labelled potential ‘lifesaver for the bush’

Imagine being able to contact emergency services even when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is unavailable.

That capacity has now been triggered in the latest generation of Apple iPhones accessible in Australia, which has been welcomed as a potentially significant step forwards for rural safety.

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24 May '23

Farming Simulator - The Digital Farming Experience

Video games and agriculture are concepts not often considered side-by-side, but Swedish game developer Giants Software aims to change that with Farming Simulator.

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9 May '23

Artificial Intelligence - Taking the Sleep out of Counting Sheep

While counting sheep is recognised for being a tedious chore that can put even the most agitated person to sleep, returning an accurate number without making costly mistakes appears to be practically impossible for humans.

As a result, some processors have turned to artificial intelligence to achieve a more precise count of the number of sheep entering a plant. Similarly, work is being done in cattle feedlots.

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18 Apr '23

A History of the Sydney Royal Easter Show

Historically a showcase for New South Wales' primary and secondary industries, as well as the promotion of agricultural education and improvement, the Show has brought 'the country to the city' for decades, and it remains an important part of Sydney's cultural life, particularly for youngsters.

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4 Apr '23

Start-up Invest Inya Farmer set to democratise investment in agriculture

Start-up Invest Inya Farmer (IIF) has raised $1.1 million in seed fundraising lead by Investible, with participation from global agtech VC AgFunder and HNW investors.

IIF intends to break down barriers between farmers/food growers and everyday consumers by allowing ordinary Australians to invest fractionally in agriculture without owning a farm.

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21 Mar '23

3-Day Sickness Warning for Cattle in NSW

On the NSW North Coast, cattle are showing signs of Bovine Ephemeral Fever, popularly known as three-day sickness.

Laboratory testing has verified the illness in animals over the northern rivers and far north coast. The disease is predicted to spread south as the season develops.

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6 Mar '23

The changing face and future of S. Kidman & Co

This week's property review looks at the reasons behind Gina Rinehart's two pastoral businesses - Hancock Agriculture and the S. Kidman & Co joint venture - changing course, as well as some interesting developments in the property space involving the companies.

Over the last five years, no one has been more active in the Australian grazing property market than Ms Rinehart, both as a buyer and seller.

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22 Feb '23

Starlink: What Is It and What Does It Mean for Regional Australians?

SpaceX's new satellite service 'Starlink' has made its way to Australia, but what does satellite broadband mean for regional and rural Australians living in remote areas?

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7 Feb '23

Bluetooth and GPS Ear Tags Move Ahead

AGTECH firm mOOvement has announced the launch of two new products: Bluetooth ear tags and a new type of GPS ear tags for cattle.

The new GPS solar-powered ear tags from mOOvement solve the long-standing problem of lost cattle.

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30 Jan '23

Woolworths Butchers Close Up Shop

Woolworths has announced the closure of 250 butcher shops within its Australian supermarkets, citing increased customer demand for pre-packaged meats.

When the 250 butcher counters close in March, 489 jobs will be lost, including 420 trade qualified butchers and 69 non-trade staff.

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6 Dec '22

Today's Farmer is a Modern Rural CEO

Farmers in Australia are prosperous, hopeful about the future, and have a strong sense of community. These are some of the conclusions of Westpac's 2022 Intergenerational Farming Report.

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30 Nov '22

Gunnedah now eligible for disaster assistance funded by the state and federal government

Gunnedah Shire Council Mayor Jamie Chaffey has called for immediate Federal and State assistance after the most recent flood event hit primary producers at a critical time.

Cr Chaffey said Gunnedah Shire was among 220 regions declared as natural disaster areas this year. In fact, 126 of New South Wales’s 128 local government areas have had natural disaster declarations within the last 12 months, according to the President of Local Government NSW, Darriea Turley.

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22 Nov '22

Merry Christmas From the JBR Team

The JBR Team wishes our valued clients and our Gunnedah community a safe and happy festive season. Like everyone, we are looking forward to a rest to reflect on the year and all that has been for our Gunnedah region and hope that 2023 is a smoother ride for all of us.

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2 Nov '22

Crops, Livestock Suffer as Impact of Deluge Spreads

Widespread quality drops and considerable yield losses have been seen as unavoidable in winter crops all across New South Wales and Victoria as floodwater spreads in the major farmland regions of both states. With further rain expected, only crops on either the sloping eastern edge of the grainbelt, or the western edge spreading into Queensland are expected to escape the brunt of weather damage.

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5 Oct '22

Risk of Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease

Foot and mouth disease is a highly contagious animal disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, goats, camelids (eg alpacas, llamas and camels), deer and pigs. Cloven-hoofed animals are those with a split toe. It does not affect horses.

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5 Oct '22

Gunnedah Saleyards $17.6M Rebuild - Community Owned

Progress continues for our saleyards and it's great to see during the upgrades. The project will bring more jobs to the region by employing more than 80 people throughout the construction period...

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28 Sep '22

Setting a break-even for bull prices

Source article & photo credit: Beef Central
Bull prices continue to dominate discussion among cattle producers as records continue to tumble for beef breeds this month.

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28 Sep '22

Gunnedah Rugby Grand Finals 2022

It's only been 52 years since the Gunnedah Red Devils held their last Home Grand Final so it’s sure to be huge! Looks like the whole town is getting behind it.

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27 Sep '22

Proudly supporting our local Junior Rugby Team

JBR was out & about on Sunday proudly supporting our local Junior Rugby Team in Armidale

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27 Sep '22

Out and about at AgQuip

Great to be back @ AgQuip 2022 - we gave the kids a day off school, dad had a little cattle job in the morning but soon joined us to finish a really enjoyable fun day

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27 Sep '22

Just another Wednesday in the JBR camp

With an early start at 3:30am travelling 3.5 hours down the road to Carinda. From there we were picked up by helicopter to fly into our final destination due to flood waters.

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27 Sep '22

Gunnedah Showjumping Festival 2022

It’s is with great pleasure JBR is out & about again this weekend at the Gunnedah Showjumping Festival 2022, a sport dear to my heart, a sport that gave me great pleasure and success as a young rider.

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