At the recent Growing SA Conference in Adelaide, I was asked to present on the topic, ‘is SA still a leader in agricultural research and development?’ There was a time when I would have staunchly argued in the affirmative without hesitation. But in preparing for my speech, I found myself needing to pause and reflect.
Keep ag in mind to avoid growing pains
IT would take a brave person to argue against building more houses in the midst of the widely-reported housing crisis. I am not that person. However, what I and the Primary Producers SA policy council do argue is that the planning decision-making framework should pay...
Reaching out can make a world of difference
We all know the feeling – lying in bed at night, thinking of all the things you need to get done or about all of the problems in the world. But what if these feeling won’t go away and they start to affect your life in a very negative way? One of the biggest challenges...
Madness on the roads needs to end
South Australia is having a horror start to the year on its roads. The state’s fatalities are more than double the figure recorded at the same time last year, and about two thirds of those fatalities have happened on country roads. Any life lost on the roads is too...
Biosecurity threats still looming over industry
It was not long ago that plenty of media attention was being paid to the threats from Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin outbreaks occurring in Indonesia, and the dangers it meant for Australia’s agriculture sector. While the media attention has died down, the...
Smoke taint fears lingering
It is not that long ago that the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires led to serious issues in our nation’s winegrape industry. In 2020, bushfires resulted in tens of thousands of tonnes of Australian wine grapes being lost to smoke taint. While some growers managed to dodge the...
Incentivising investment key to addressing shortages
Availability of adequate housing for regional workers continues to be a major challenge to the agricultural sector, particularly at peak times such as vintage and harvest. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing issue around adequate housing stocks in regional...
Long-term flood recovery support crucial
The peak of the River Murray flood has hit, restrictions on activities along the river are easing and now the long, hard road to recovery begins in earnest. It has been pleasing to see the immediate response from government and other organisations but a long-term...
Year ahead: Agriculture faces another challenging year
Surging input costs, global supply chain issues, floods and an extended wet season meant another challenging year for South Australian farmers. Looking at the positives, almost all sectors of primary industry were buoyed by the promise of a record season coming into...
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