A Plain Perspective

There has been much discussion in recent months about the improvement in cattle prices for Australian producers.  The price improvement in ...

“Reducing red-tape” is a favourite election time commitment.  Usually soon after an election, reducing re tape becomes all too hard and the...

The Organization for Economic Development (OECD) has been monitoring agricultural policies in its member countries for many years.  The key...

A recent article in The Economist pointed out that the world needs to produce more food in the next 40 years than they did in the previous...

We often hear of the disconnect between urban dwellers and the farming community here in Australia and in other parts of the world.   Mos...

There are many arguments put forward against livestock farming, none of which have any substance.  One of the arguments against livestock f...

A recent blog by Sam Trethewey on sentimentality in farming certainly got the agricultural twitterverse into a frenzy.  Sam’s basic point w...

Barnaby Joyce is keen to leave his mark on Australian agriculture and so has initiated his review of competitiveness of the sector.  While ...

Watching my industry colleagues rally in Fremantle gives me a sense of pride that so many support our industry while at the same time give...

Community perceptions of agriculture have never been more important as consumers try and understand more about where their food comes from....

It is great to see comments and policy announcements from the coalition about developing the north.  The policy announcements recognise the...

The darkest hour is the hour before dawn. I have always liked that saying for the hope that it brings.   I don't think that it is ...

What is more important - cattle in Indonesia or people in Bangladesh? My industry - the cattle sector in the north of Australia - has ...

It is easy to get downcast in the livestock industry.  Not only do you have to cope with low prices, high costs and increasing Government ...

I think we all have the farming gene in us somewhere.  For many people the gene is latent and remains that way for their whole life.  In o...

At a recent ABARES conference in Canberra it was noted that the rate of productivity growth in Australian agriculture had been declining. ...

It seems that 20 year anniversaries are often widely celebrated.  One 20 year anniversary this year which will probably not receive much a...

The recent Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) conference in Canberra highlighted some of the ...

A recent advertisement for a global food forum caught my attention recently.   The conference is being organised by The Australian news...

A news item on ABC Rural caught my attention recently reporting that the price for watermelons had fallen below the cost of production.   ...