24 Dec 03 | JOINED cows topped the store cattle sale at Yea last week at $930 as prices continued to trend sideways in the lead up to Christmas. Landmark manager Chris Pollard said the female cattle sold very well, as did young cattle, while older steers were
24 Dec 03 | MOST Victorian viticulturists and wine makers will be hoping for a better year with the coming 2004 vintage. Key areas for improvement will include vineyard health, particularly after the exceptionally dry succession of years, including last
24 Dec 03 | TWO CLOSED abattoirs in NSW were declared sold this week - the Lachlan Valley abattoir at Forbes and the former Cudgegong Shire Council-owned abattoir at Mudgee. Tasman Group Services, one of Victoria's largest meat processors, has added the m
24 Dec 03 | DREAMS of creating a fleet of ergonomically-designed mobile shearing sheds to harvest the nation's wool clip have bitten the dust after field trials of the ShearExpress sequential shearing system fell well short of key commercial targets.
24 Dec 03 | INSTEAD of spending millions searching for an alternative to a conventional shearer, woolgrowers should focus on building a network of "super sheds". That call has gone out from Australian Workers Union Victorian representative Sam Beechey, who be
24 Dec 03 | A NEW method of scanning cattle for the National Livestock Identification Scheme was unveiled at Yea last week, with a large boom attached to a four-wheeled motorbike. The system was being trialled by the Murrindindi shire, prior to the centre's w
24 Dec 03 | LIVESTOCK exporters will pay a compulsory levy from March 1 next year to recoup the estimated $10m-plus cost of the Cormo Express fiasco. The levy will be applied at one per cent of the value of all sheep exported and 0.25pc of cattle. It i
24 Dec 03 | RAIN delayed harvest and increased refinery production has eased the diesel shortage on farmers and fuel distributors, for now. With headers sitting idle in paddocks as rain falls, fuel suppliers have been able to start refilling thirsty on-fa
24 Dec 03 | A COMBINATION of lower export returns from livestock and a jump in the Australian dollar has forced the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics to wipe $800 million from its forecast net farm production in 2003-04. Back in Septemb
24 Dec 03 | THE BIG western Victorian calf sales start in 10 days. All the breeding decisions made more than 18 months ago, the nurturing of mothers and unborn calves, the calving and hard work rearing these calves through a drought year all comes to a head
24 Dec 03 | There's "no business like show business" could well be the motto for John and Ester Waters as, like hundreds of stud breeders across the country, they vary their normal farming routine to prepare for International Dairy Week (IDW) at Tatura in la
24 Dec 03 | IF YOU are after a seachange but still want the ability to run a productive farm, maybe King Island would be worth a look. A 562-hectare King Island beef grazing property, that could also be suited to dairying, is now on the market. Nundah is loca
24 Dec 03 | DEPARTMENT of Primary Industries soils officer Bernard Noonan has spent a lot of time and effort understanding cultivation and takes every opportunity to push the benefits of a no-till system. Last week, interviewed by Catchment and Agriculture Ne
24 Dec 03 | ONLY state-based moratoriums and a possible parliamentary inquiry now stand in the way of genetically modified Roundup Ready (RR) canola being planted on any large scale in Australia next season. The federal gene technology regulator last Frid
24 Dec 03 | SALEYARD prices for beef cattle are forecast to ease during the next six months, but will still average 12 per cent more in 2003-04 than they did in the 2002-03 drought. That's the latest forecast from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Res
24 Dec 03 | Australian cattle slaughter is tipped to decline significantly in 2003-04, resulting in lower export volumes and higher saleyard prices throughout the remainder of this calendar year. The forecast for an 11 per cent fall in total cattle slaugh
24 Dec 03 | WIDESPREAD rain across the state in the past week starting last Friday has frustrated graingrowers set to harvest ripe crops but brought a smile to the faces of livestock producers. Few places missed the rain band that swept across Victorias a
24 Dec 03 | OKAY, yes today is Christmas Eve, but try and tell that to producers who sold their lambs at Hamilton on Monday. They thought "St Nick" had got the date wrong and arrived a few days earlier! Why? Agents there held the last lamb sale for 2
18 Dec 03 | NEXT year should see the recent strong demand for rural properties continue, but prices are expected to plateau. That's the opinion of Shane McIntyre, EldersVP's state real estate manager for Victoria, the Riverina and Tasmania. Mr McIntyre
18 Dec 03 | ONE OF the rural property market's best spring selling seasons is coming to a close this week. The season saw the majority of properties that were offered for auction sell under the hammer and was punctuated by several extremely strong sales o
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