Past Programs
Agriculture - 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.
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.
<em>The Seed Hunter</em>
20/10/2008
It's estimated that about 80% of the Earth's crop diversity has been lost during the last century. Breakfast speaks to a scientist who has devoted his life to finding rare seeds in an attempt to restore some of that diversity.
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.
Olive growers baffled by crop theft
29/05/2008
Olive groves in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales have been targeted by thieves who have stolen an estimated 7.5 tonnes of olives. But what has spooked locals is the way the crop has disappeared, in the the dead of night, without a trace.
Australian-Iraqi crop program
15/05/2008
Three years ago, Australian scientists started working with the Iraqi government in an attempt to increase production of wheat and barley in Iraq. Iraq has similar rainfall and climate patterns to much of Southern Australia and there's hope that our farming practices could increase food production.
Water worries for new Australian citrus season
07/05/2008
It's almost winter and that means new season Aussie oranges are starting to appear on the shelves of our fruit barns and supermarkets. But the crop in the Murray Valley is predicted to be down by 22% this year—there are doubts about just how much water will be available later in the season.
Robert Mansell is chair of the Murray Valley Citrus Board and a fourth generation farmer who runs a citrus farm of around 50,000 trees at Colignan, 60km south of Mildura. Last year his family had to pull out around a quarter of the citrus trees on the farm.
World rice shortage
29/04/2008
Australia has harvested its poorest rice crop in more than 80 years. Rice farmers say the drought and zero water allocations has led to a miniscule harvest, and what they have managed to grow will go to the domestic market. The failure by Australia to produce an export crop is contributing to a worldwide food shortage, which some say is bordering on a global crisis.
Australian food security
28/04/2008
Most of us take it for granted that we can walk to the shops and buy as much fresh produce as we like, but what if that produce just wasn't there, or in short supply? There has been plenty of talk over the last few weeks about global food security, but some farmers say we should pay more attention to our local food crops.
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.
Fruit import fight
08/04/2008
Australian fruit growers and exporters say the federal government is naive and being conned into fast-tracking approval for the import of American and Chinese produce. Local fruit growers say at the same time, Australian applications to export apples, pears and stonefruit to America are being blocked. The claims came as Biosecurity Australia says it will begin an 'import risk assessment' for US and Chinese apples.
Bio-crude oil
05/02/2008
The dream of many biochemists is to create commercial scale clean green fuels from biowaste economically and sustainably. The CSIRO has announced it may have a breakthrough in developing a chemical process that turns green waste including leftovers from crops, forestry -- even landfill organic matter -- into a stable bio-crude oil capable of replacing both diesel and petrol fuels.
Dr Steven Loffler of the CSIRO's division of Forest Biosciences is project leader in this research.
