Tag: farming
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Farm sector breaks records but forecasts point to a drop
The neighbouring Western Downs was number two with a gross value of production of $1.11 billion followed by Bundaberg at $837 billion. The total valuation of $23.44 billion was the highest on record beating last year’s total of $23.37 billion. However, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has also forecast a downturn in the coming…
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Vote for the state’s 2023 Agricultural Town of the Year
Now in its fifth year, Ag Town highlights the significant contribution the agricultural sector and regional communities make to South Australia’s economy, and our world-class and innovative agricultural practices. With nominations now closed, it is up to the public to vote for their favourite from the 49 towns that made this year’s list. Voting is…
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Farmers and labour hire ‘on notice’ over pay breaches, says Fair Work
The ombudsman said it investigated 330 businesses across Australia into its probe of the agriculture sector. Fines for breaches of pay slip and record keeping now total $176,000. More than 50 breaches were within labour hire companies and nine to growers. Inspectors zoned in on 15 hot spots where intelligence suggested non-compliance was common. Most…
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Crushing it: Queensland sugar cane growers celebrate 43-year price high
The last time growers saw prices hit $800 a tonne was in 1980, a remarkable rebound from just two years ago when the price languished below $400, barely covering the cost of production. “It was a pretty grim time,” Canegrowers chairman Owen Menkens said. Coupled with a drop in fertiliser prices, the recent spike in…
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Some of state’s best farming land under subsidence threat
The issue has been bubbling away around Dalby for years with farmers claiming crucial cropping land had been badly impacted by subsidence. The Gasfield Commission chief executive Warwick Squire said in a newsletter that initial modelling by the Office for Groundwater Impact Assessment indicated that “most of the cropping areas around the Condamine River floodplain,…
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Cattle king’s legacy: Gina Rinehart puts a big chunk of Qld up for sale
Hancock Agriculture said there had been a redirection of its portfolio as well as within its cattle operation S Kidman and Co. Together, the three properties cover more than 19,600 square kilometres, greater than the size of Fiji. The move adds to the big movements at the top end of the agriculture sector in Queensland…
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AACo to stick to what works as bottom line slumps
But the company, which still holds out on paying dividends, has indicated it was looking at the drought affected American market for opportunities to pick up stressed assets. AACo’s operating profit was probably a better gauge of its performance. It was up 26 per cent on the same time last year to $38.3 million. Revenue…
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Rain’s wash-up for state’s drought position remains a murky prospect
Significant rain in the first half of this year saw Queensland’s drought declared areas fall from 61 per cent of the state’s land mass to 44.9 per cent. That was last updated on August 1. Since then, the intervening 12 weeks have gifted more rain across the nominal ‘Sunshine State’ with forecasts promising more to…
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Buying back the farm: British tycoon who now owns a huge chunk of Queensland
British billionaire Joe Lewis increased his shareholding in AACo to just over 50 per cent this week through Tavistock and AA Trust, raising questions about whether the Foreign Investment Review Board was notified and whether a foreigner should control so much land. The 50.07 per cent stake is worth $565 million on current share prices…
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Bull among the bears: AACo’s greener pastures as profits surge and Wagyu booms
The company’s operating profit doubled from $24.4 million to $49.9 million, but there was no provision for a dividend to shareholders. AACo said it saw a 21 per cent increase in average meat sales per kilogram, but this was offset by a 14 per cent reduction of the volume of meat sales as the herd…