The future of farming

Australia must act now to accelerate agricultural innovation to achieve productive, resilient and sustainable farming systems by 2050, according to a new report released by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO.

Australia’s farmers are ready for ‘no net carbon’

Australian agriculture remains a major contributor to carbon emissions through land clearing, livestock and other factors, but the nation’s farmers can profit from opportunities to reduce emissions to net zero in the future.

The brave new world of agriculture

Advanced automation and genetic technologies need to be adopted globally in each region to deliver local food production capability that can provide secure sources of food in future pandemics.

New discovery may help cut agricultural methane emissions

An international research collaboration has made an important discovery in the quest to help lower global agricultural methane emissions.

Droughts, extreme weather and empowered consumers mean tough choices for farmers

Achieving the best for agriculture, our rural communities and the national economy will require tough choices as environmental concerns increasingly shape public attitudes and consumer choices towards destructive farming practises.

Digging below the surface of Australian farming

Like the Anzac soldier and bronzed surf lifesaver, the farmer holds a special place in the Australian imagination, but the costs imposed on the environment and indigenous population must also be acknowledged.

It’s time to embrace carbon farming

The widespread adoption of regenerative agriculture in Australia would improve farmland productivity by restoring the natural capital of the land while stemming the global effects of climate change.

Fighting the drought with natural sequence farming

Slowing flows in rural creeks with “leaky weirs” may help reduce erosion and rehydrate the floodplain and more research on their effectiveness could help the nation’s farmers battle drought.

More efficient irrigation doesn’t help the environment

Increasing the efficiency of irrigation by lowering evaporation and leakage should lower consumption, but in practice farms simply use more water for their crops, with even less being returned to the environment.