The lucrative business of mustering feral goats
With the help of their kelpies, the Mannion family have found great success in mustering feral goats in western NSW.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin deal brings certainty for businesses and communities,...
Irrigators and Indigenous groups are cautiously optimistic about a deal struck by the Coalition Government and Labor to give certainty to communities in the Murray-Darling Basin.
View ArticleMurray-Darling report finds drought and population decline costing more jobs...
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority's latest research, released today, finds of a 37 per cent decline in farm sector jobs, only 7 per cent were the result of the Basin Plan.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin Plan: How $13b of investment can make a difference to...
Billions of dollars are being spent on infrastructure and environmental water to save the Murray-Darling Basin environment. Is it working?
View ArticleDrought-hit farmers urged to apply for government assistance payment
Drought has ravaged large swathes of Queensland and New South Wales for years, but about half the farmers eligible for an assistance payment have not applied for it, with many citing bureaucratic red...
View ArticleThe big dry: 'See us, hear us, help us'
Ninety-eight per cent of NSW and 57 per cent of Queensland is in drought or is drought-affected. Farmers and communities are facing ruin and say it's time their plight was recognised.
View ArticleFarmers suffer as drought and over-harvesting sees goat numbers plummet
Free-ranging goats have provided an alternative, easy income for arid-land graziers in NSW, but due to drought and large-scale mustering the goat numbers are drying up.
View ArticleDrought drives demand for feed grain, forcing up prices and creating new...
Demand for hay and grain is headed for "uncharted waters" as farmers struggle to find feed for their livestock.
View ArticleSeasonal workers flock west as drought shrinks number of casual jobs in the...
As the Western Australian industry struggles to meet demand for seasonal workers, farmers now want to hire workers impacted by the drought before backpackers.
View ArticleBarnaby Joyce's call to divert environmental water to drought-hit farmers...
Australia's new drought envoy Barnaby Joyce wants water being held for the environment to be given to farmers to grow feed crops for livestock.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin Plan has failings in governance, timelines and...
The Productivity Commission's draft report into the Basin Plan's implementation has highlighted a number of significant risks to its full implementation.
View ArticleThe Nationals not on the same page about water rights in the face of...
A call to use environmental water to help drought-affected farmers has been rekindled by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, but his own colleagues are ruling out the idea.
View ArticleThe Murray River's biggest 'fish hotel' submerged under water to increase...
Community groups in South Australia's Riverland are taking the fate of fish stocks into their own hands and building fish hotels from scratch in an effort to restore the river's original habitat.
View ArticleWater ministers on cusp of 'momentous' Murray-Darling Basin Plan decision
Water ministers are on the cusp of a "momentous" decision on the Murray Darling Basin Plan that could see the controversial rescue plan delivered in full.
View ArticleFish kill blame game unhelpful, amid perfect storm of problems
For farmers these are very difficult times, seriously exacerbated by the drought. Those looking for a scapegoat for the recent tragedy of fish deaths below Menindee Lakes achieve nothing more than...
View ArticleFish kill study ordered by Federal Government, as another mass fish death...
The Federal Government calls for an independent review of the mass fish kill in the Lower Darling, after Labor called its own scientific study.
View ArticleConflicts, cost blowouts, time delays in Murray-Darling Basin Plan says...
Productivity Commission's review of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan finds costs and time blowouts and recommends the MDBA be split in two.
View ArticleThe cotton grower, the water minister, the pumping ban and the broken meter
Facing close to $750,000 in fines for taking 381 megalitres of water during an embargo, irrigator Anthony Barlow pleads guilty to water offences, but maintains the former water minister told him he...
View ArticleMass fish kill due to 'exceptional climate conditions', Government's interim...
The lower Darling River remains in a critical condition and without significant inflows and more fish deaths are expected, says the Government' preliminary report.
View ArticleThe future of farming in the era of climate change
Relentless climate-related headlines paint a picture of an agricultural industry under siege and farmers say they need more help to adapt.
View ArticleDrought wipes billions from Australian farm production
The National commodity forecaster, ABARES, finds three quarters of dairy farmers and half of all broadacre farmers will receive a lower income than they did last year because of the drought.
View ArticleIrrigators without water signal electoral challenge in safe Liberal seat...
There is a part of Australia where the rivers are high but the crops are dying, where farmers can see plenty of water but have no access to it. And that could mean a change in political fortunes.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin Plan to be reviewed if Labor elected
Opposition Water spokesman Tony Burke has announced Labor would change the way 450 gigalitres of water is recovered, by "restoring the socio-economic definition" for delivering water.
View ArticleFederal Budget contains drought support, trade assistance and disaster relief...
This year's Budget reflects a horrific summer of natural disasters, with increased support for natural disasters and drought relief.
View ArticleFish kill final report recommends cameras to live stream river, water meter...
Buying water entitlement from irrigators, installing cameras on the river, and a subsidy to install water meters are at the centre of a $70 million Government spend to prevent fish kills.
View ArticleDid Barnaby Joyce miss an opportunity to get a better deal on water buybacks?
A Murray-Darling Basin community leader says the former agriculture minister originally opposed water purchases as the Queensland Government suggests there was a better deal.
View ArticleThe 'watergate scandal' is still as clear as mud in a drought
Labor is intent on pushing the so-called "watergate scandal". What exactly it is alleging is about as clear as the water flowing through the Menindee Lakes, writes Kath Sullivan.
View ArticleFloodwaters lift the spirits of graziers in drought-ravaged outback Queensland
Floodwaters are swelling rivers in drought-ravaged outback Queensland and lifting the spirits of graziers.
View ArticleCoalition makes on-farm pre-election pledge of cheap loans and water market...
Fair water trading and cheap on-farm loans are at the centre of a Coalition pre-election promise to boost Australia's agriculture sector.
View ArticleDrought support review recommends separating Farm Household Allowance from...
A fortnightly welfare payment for farmers, considered to be the cornerstone of drought assistance, should be removed from social security legislation, an independent review recommends.
View ArticleRiver Lives: Tour from fish kill epicentre to mouth of River Murray in South...
Locals at the heart of a devastating fish kill say politicians lack the vision or intent to overcome water management deficiencies, as the ABC visits towns from Goolwa to Menindee to find out who, if...
View ArticleFarmers celebrate record lamb prices but it's not good news for everyone
It is a familiar story, high commodity prices benefit some parts of the supply chain, but not others. That is the case in the sheep and lamb industry, where record prices are a boon for farmers, but a...
View ArticleDrought of 1891 to 1903 reconstructed shows today's conditions likely to have...
A CSIRO reconstruction of the Federation drought of 1891 to 1903 finds that if it were to occur again today, its effects would likely be even more devastating.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin inspector-general to oversee water efficiency,...
A Murray-Darling Basin inspector-general will focus of water efficiency, compliance and theft under a proposal by Water Minister David Littleproud.
View ArticleDesperate citrus growers forced to give up on crops as they wait for decision...
Citrus growers on the lower Darling River stare down an unprecedented disaster, with some being forced to abandon their crops as they wait for the Federal Government to agree to a water buyback.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin Plan 'untenable' says NSW, as Inspector-General says...
NSW and Victoria commit to an independent review of Murray-Darling water modelling, and Inspector-General Mick Keelty flags the possibility of unearthing more corruption.
View ArticleACCC to study Murray-Darling Basin's $2 billion water market to see who owns...
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will investigate who actually owns Australia's water, in particular the Murray-Darling Basin's $2 billion water market.
View ArticleMurray cod fish kills 'every week' have graziers concerned about depleted...
As heated debate about water policy continues, native fish are continuing to die in the lower Darling River in shrinking residual pools.
View ArticleWater prices in southern Murray-Darling skyrocket as increased water demand...
New analysis of water prices in the southern Murray-Darling Basin finds water prices sitting at levels only previously seen during the Millennium Drought.
View ArticleMurray-Darling Basin corruption undermining faith in $13b plan, Mick Keelty says
Mick Keelty says a string of scandals involving water thefts and corruption have fostered public mistrust in the plan to save the Murray-Darling Basin.
View ArticleABARES crop report forecasts another poor harvest for Australia's grain growers
Australian grain growers will produce one of their smallest crops of the decade this year.
View ArticleCalls for a water trading exchange much like the ASX get louder in hopes to...
While the competition watchdog investigates Australia's water market, those pushing for a central exchange for water trading say it could solve many problems.
View ArticleFarm trespass laws pass making it illegal to use websites, social media to...
People who use a carriage service such as websites and social media to incite others to break into farms could be sent to jail under new laws passed through Federal Parliament.
View ArticleGenetic modification law reform could see cotton industry swoop on South...
South Australia'sdecisiontoaxe its banongeneticallymodified cropscouldopen the doors for the cotton industry many locals have traditionally opposed.
View ArticleFarmers ask Scott Morrison to consider financial incentives to leave...
Exit packages are one of six measures the National Farmers' Federation has requested of the Federal Government in a bid to help those affected by what it says is unprecedented drought.
View ArticleDrought-hit towns anxiously await federal economic stimulus package
Hopes are raised in drought-stricken towns that the Federal Government is on the cusp of delivering a stimulus package, with local mayors urging a generous spend.
View ArticleWater traders without connection to farming are 'failing the pub test',...
Sussan Ley says she believes only people who have a "connection to farming" should be allowed to own water in the Murray-Darling Basin.
View ArticleExit packages might help some farmers, but history shows the take-up is slim
The Federal Government is unlikely to adopt the National Farmers' Federation call for exit packages for drought-ravaged farmers. But even if it did, history suggests they're unlikely to have much impact.
View ArticleDrought-affected farmers and businesses to be offered super-cheap loans to...
The ABC can reveal the Federal Government's latest drought measures will include sweeping changes to an existing finance scheme as part of a $500 million drought stimulus package.
View ArticleDrought stimulus package includes $100 million for SA to turn on desalination...
Murray River water destined for Adelaide will be reallocated to farmers upstream so they can grow feed for their livestock, as part of a federal drought stimulus package announced today.
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