This Month
Westpac boss bets on farms in renewed agriculture push
A visit to the northern NSW town of Moree last month made it clear to Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller he should continue to reopen branches in regional areas.
April
Westpac and CBA face green ire over $500m loan to salmon farmers
High-profile environmentalists Richard Flanagan and Geoff Cousins say the major lenders are being misleading by describing the financing as “sustainable”.
The surprising winners from Trump’s trade war? Almond farmers
Steep Chinese imposts have locked out California, which supplies the vast majority of the tree nut to the world, creating a big opportunity for local growers.
The McDonald’s effect: Why Aussie beef can ride out Trump’s tariffs
Farmers and exporters are more worried that the wider economic impact of the tariffs could diminish global appetites for beef.
All your questions about Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs answered
From “what is a tariff?” to “what has Trump announced?” and “what does it mean for Australian beef farmers and drug makers?” All your questions answered.
March
SPC chief’s battle to remake the household brand
The ambitious Robert Iervasi is transforming his company, but faces sceptical investors, nervous suppliers and international trade winds.
February
Food producers taking a hit on power prices in Victoria
Victoria-based food, juice and infant formula maker SPC Global says power price rises are out of whack with other states, and that’s hurting the bottom line.
Outback Wagyu powerhouse to test appetite for top-end farms
The Taylors Plains property, which has come to the market with a $75 million guide, will be the first big test of appetite for trophy livestock properties in 2025.
January
How Australia became a test bed for the future of farming
Experimental fungi and “robotic bees” are among the agtech innovations being trialled in a country on the front line of climate change.
Group representing billionaires reveals financial misconduct
The Pastoralists and Graziers Association has revealed its investigating “serious financial misconduct” within its own walls.
December 2024
Pump and dumper behind NSW mining application wave
Gabriel Govinda denies his companies are spruiking stock they receive for selling exploration licences. Residents and politicians are concerned about the convicted pump-and-dumper’s involvement in mining projects along the NSW north coast.
Can a looming trade war revive this niche Australian industry?
Firms such as newly listed Merino & Co are positioning themselves between China and Donald Trump, who threatens to impose tariffs on Chinese products.
Orchard and vineyard values down 15pc as livestock farms rally
Farmland planted with permanent crops such as wine grapes and nuts has fallen 15pc on average over the past 12 months, according to a key index.
‘Authentic’ Jeremy Clarkson tops polls in disaffected, desperate UK
His shift from Top Gear cars to Diddly Squat cows has so enhanced Clarkson’s everyman appeal that people are asking if a political future beckons.
Trophy farms worth $120m change hands in year-end deals bonanza
Among the five properties sold was the 1900-hectare wool aggregation Avington – and its 16,000 Merino sheep – in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges.
Australian farmers caught in Trump’s $16b trade war crosshairs
Barley and other farmers face being squeezed out of the market as the incoming president seeks an agriculture deal with China.
November 2024
Aussie VC Artesian, horticulture R&D group partner to launch $60m fund
The new fund, dubbed Hort Innovation Venture Fund, will target up to 30 local and international startups for pre-seed or early series A funding.
Monday’s big deal shows domestic M&A is definitely not dead
For all the bluster we hear from bankers and lawyers about the ACCC, companies are still willing to take on the competition regulator.
Elders supercharges agribusiness consolidation with $475m Delta buy
One of the country’s largest farm services groups is buying its private equity-backed rival in a deal expected to be scrutinised by the competition regulator.
Trump will cost farmers money. But they still voted for him
Farmers, migrants and women were not expected to vote for Donald Trump. They explain why they voted against identity politics, lax immigration controls and globalisation.