September
‘Farmers are spooked’: Why no one wants to buy sheep
Livestock prices are crashing as supply and demand dynamics pull the rug out from under the industry. And there could be more pain to come.
- Brad Thompson
Sheep prices plunge to $1 a head as farmers flood market
Farmers are scrambling to sell before summer as Australia’s sheep flock and breeding ewe numbers hit their highest level since 2007.
- Brad Thompson
GrainCorp boss has no fear of El Nino as farmers count down to harvest
GrainCorp boss Robert Spurway says the company can’t control the weather but is ready to respond to whatever comes its way.
- Brad Thompson
Farm output to shrink by $12b as El Niño strikes
Drier conditions and lower global commodity prices are predicted to push the value of agricultural output down by 14 per cent this financial year.
- Michael Read
July
What Robert Costa thinks of $1.6b takeover offer
The co-founder of Costa Group sees spinning off part of Australia’s biggest horticulture business as a smart option, amid a $1.6 billion private equity approach.
- Brad Thompson
Costa shares surge on back of $1.6b takeover offer
Costa Group confirmed a takeover offer from New York private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners.
- Updated
- Brad Thompson
June
Stokes project puts new Aboriginal heritage laws to the test
New WA Premier Roger Cook is giving ground on controversial new Aboriginal heritage laws in the face of criticism from farmers and the resources industry.
- Brad Thompson
- Exclusive
- Funding
Rich Lister helps take robotic farm’s funding to $98m
Stacked Farms has now raised close to $100 million to build indoor vertical farms that automate the growing of lettuces, spinach and eventually strawberries, blueberries and tomatoes.
- Tess Bennett
Rinehart lashes WA heritage laws proposal amid miner, farming anger
The billionaire has also criticised plans to boost immigration, saying the federal government should instead ease restrictions on the hours worked by pensioners and students.
- Brad Thompson
Cut emissions by feeding seaweed to cattle? Yes, but there’s a catch
A 300-day trial has garnered mixed preliminary results: methane appears down, but the herd is not producing as much beef as usual.
- Liam Walsh
Grains mega-merger to reshape Australian farm exports
Global grain heavyweights Bunge and Glencore-backed Viterra will join forces in a move that gives them reach into Australia’s two biggest wheat states.
- Brad Thompson
Why Rich Lister Tony Denny swapped used cars for farming
Boosting food production through technology and smarter farming will be critical in decades to come, says the former car dealer with a $755 million fortune.
- Brad Thompson
Looming El Nino spells end to farmers’ record-breaking run
Australian farmers are set to deliver their third-biggest export return and sixth-biggest winter grain crop, even as the weather takes a turn for the worse.
- Brad Thompson
May
Labor offers $215m to end decade-old live export legal stoush
Cattle farmers have been offered the money to end the court battle over Labor’s 2011 temporary ban, well below the industry’s $2 billion demand.
- Ronald Mizen
March
- Exclusive
- Murray Watt
Kuwait says live sheep trade vital as farmers turn on Albanese
Kuwait has highlighted the importance of the live sheep trade after a diplomatic gaffe by Australian bureaucrats.
- Brad Thompson
Agribusiness boss says farmers making hay on ESG
Departing Elders boss Mark Allison says agribusinesses can now boost productivity and profitability while making food and fibre production more sustainable.
- Brad Thompson
February
Brazil mad cow fears could reopen China to Australian beef exporters
China could have to buy more beef from Australia as its major supplier Brazil investigates a suspected case of mad cow disease.
- Updated
- Brad Thompson
Live cattle trade in dire straits as Wellard earnings plunge
Live cattle exports to key markets in South-East Asia have been smashed by high costs of raising beef and disease outbreaks in Indonesia.
- Brad Thompson
GrainCorp on track for another big profit as world clamours for wheat
The company says demand for Australian wheat in global markets remains high even as stalled supplies starts to flow from Russia.
- Brad Thompson
Saputo boss defends plant closures as milk supply dries up
Dairy giant Saputo has had to wind back exports and focus on selling high-value products into the domestic market because of declining milk supply in Australia.
- Brad Thompson
