Past Programs
Agricultural Policy - 2008
New CSIRO reports says pay farmers for protecting country
03/12/2008
Australia can avoid the next wave of looming extinctions, repair degraded rural lands and cut carbon emissions, while delivering jobs and a green economy. It all sounds too good to be true but a new CSIRO argues for a greatly expanded system of payments to farmers and rural landholders for actively protecting the environment.
They're called 'ecosystem service' or 'stewardship payments'. The ACF commissioned the new report, 'Delivering on the Promise of Stewardship', which will be released later this morning.
Dairy farmer reaction to National Foods takeover
14/11/2008
In a postal ballot, 96.3 per cent of members of Australian Co-operative Foods Ltd, controller of the Dairy Farmers brand, have agreed to a cash buy-out worth almost a billion dollars by National Foods, owned by the Japanese brewer Kirin.
Calls for tougher safety testing and labelling of GE foods
24/10/2008
Today in Adelaide, health and agriculture ministers are meeting to discuss food regulation in both Australia and New Zealand.
One of the big issues promises to be genetically engineered - or GE - foods. This week, Greenpeace released a report on GE that claimed the food safety regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), is failing to protect the health of consumers. Fifteen scientists from around the world signed an open letter to Health Minister Nicola Roxon backing the report and called for tougher safety assessment and labelling of all GE foods.
Bourke rallies for Toorale
18/09/2008
The township of Bourke in northern NSW will shut up shop for an hour today at midday. For the locals, it's literally high noon. They'll gather in the carpark of the only remaining supermarket in town to hear about the ramifications of the $24 million government purchase of nearby Toorale Station, on the floodplains of the Darling and Warrego Rivers. Kevin Humphries is one of the organisers and is the Nationals MP for the NSW seat of Barwon.
World Bank endorses Pacific Workers Plan
18/08/2008
A senior World Bank economist says the federal government's plan to bring Pacific Islanders to Australia to work in the horticultural industry in a guest worker trial means the difference between hope and no hope for the nations involved.
Pacific Islanders to be welcome workers in Australian horticulture
18/08/2008
Orchardist Ron Stanton is looking forward to recruiting his first guest workers from Pacific Island nations. The government will allow 2,500 workers to spend up to seven months in Australia as part of a three year trial to ease a shortage of labour in the industry.
Farmers nervous about emissions trading
07/07/2008
Australia's farmers are still not clear on how any future emissions trading scheme will affect their industry, despite the release of the Garnaut report last Friday. The Queensland farmers federation chief executive officer, John Cherry, says many details will have to be ironed out if the agriculture sector is to survive intact.
Drought panel to review national drought policy
01/07/2008
A government-appointed panel will soon visit 25 towns across the nation to look at how the drought has affected families Australia-wide. The project is part of the Rudd government's many reviews, this one being the national review of drought policy.
Australia's agricultural future: the UN Environment Program
22/04/2008
A fundamental change is needed in the way Australia thinks about agriculture. That's the message from the director of the United Nations Environment Program.
