New investments to delivery exciting sugarcane research and development outcomes

12 July 2021 | SRA

Sugar Research Australia has announced the investment in multiple new research projects that will drive productivity, profitability and sustainability in the Australian sugarcane industry.

These new investments have targeted specific areas and issues that require solutions for growers and millers, with the new investments having been selected following a rigorous assessment process over the last few months.

SRA CEO Roslyn Baker said the new investments were aligned to the five Research Missions within SRA’s new Strategic Plan and involved extensive collaboration with investment and delivery partners. More...

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First 2021 sugar shipment

9 July 2021 | QSL

QSL has dispatched its first shipment of sugar from the current harvest.

The cargo of 42,000 tonnes of raw sugar from the Burdekin region was shipped on the Pacific Integrity out of Townsville earlier this month, bound for a refinery customer in South Korea. More...

First Breeding of Sugar Cane Using CRISPR/Cas9

13 July 2021 | Technology Networks

Sugarcane is one of the most productive plants on Earth, providing 80 percent of the sugar and 30 percent of the bioethanol produced worldwide. Its size and efficient use of water and light give it tremendous potential for the production of renewable value-added bioproducts and biofuels.

But the highly complex sugarcane genome poses challenges for conventional breeding, requiring more than a decade of trials for the development of an improved cultivar. More...

Piece rate facing minimum wage challenge in Fair Work Commission

13 July 2021 | Queensland Country Life

The Australian Workers' Union will challenge the seasonal piece rate in the Fair Work Commission on Tuesday and argue to amend Horticulture Award to include the minimum casual rate of pays as a floor price.

However, the National Farmers' Federation will fiercely oppose the move, which it says would effectively abolish a method that "rewards a fair day's work with a better than fair day's pay". More...

14 per cent of agricultural land in foreign hands

13 July 2021 | Queensland Country Life

Foreign investment makes up 13.8 per cent of Australian agricultural land and during 2019-20 the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approved 174 applications in the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries, according to FIRB's 2019-20 Annual Report.

These applications totalled $8.3 billion worth of capital investment. More...

'Logic and credibility' of agvet chemical 'bold reform' questioned

13 July 2021 | Queensland Country Life

An independent panel has recommended the federal government takes "long overdue" action to reform Australia's agricultural and veterinary chemical regulation, but the industry has raised serious questions about the logic and credibility of the report.

The independent panel cut the number of recommendations from almost 140 proposed in the draft report down to 58. More...

Glyphosate sparring continues as diverging reports released

14 July 2021 | Farm Weekly

Supporters and opponents of controversial weed killer glyphosate continue to do battle, each pointing to separate pieces of evidence to back up their arguments.

Proponents have hailed a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report from last month, saying an 11,000 page review on this subject concludes that glyphosate remains safe to use. More...

MicroBioGen's game-changing second-generation bioethanol research

15 July 2021 | North Queensland Register

For Australian biotechnology company MicroBioGen, the solution to creating more commercially viable bioethanol 'just grew on them'.

The company has been able to demonstrate the production of both high-protein food and low carbon bioethanol from non-food material using a single biological agent. More...

Ag isn't immune from ransomware

13 July 2021 | Farm Weekly

According to Avast, the number of ransomware attacks in Australia increased by 10 per cent during the height of the pandemic in March and April 2020, compared to January and February 2020, and ransomware attacks in Australia have still continued targeting Australian industry, with $680,715 reported lost to ACCC Scamwatch this year. That doesn't include companies who haven't disclosed their ransomware payments. More...

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