Today
Potash giant says life about to get harder for BHP
Global fertiliser giant Nutrien predicts big challenges ahead for BHP as it tries to make an expensive leap into potash production.
- Brad Thompson
This Month
Court ruling rejecting weedkiller link to cancer welcomed by farmers
Federal Court rejects class action linking Australia’s most widely used farm chemical, glyphosate, to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
- Brad Thompson
May
Nufarm boss says he wants even playing field, not handouts
Nufarm chief executive Greg Hunt says other nations treat grain production as a critical industry.
- Brad Thompson
- Updated
- Agriculture
Fonterra puts its Australian dairy assets up for sale
The New Zealand-based co-operative is behind household brands such as Western Star butter and Mainland cheese and has eight local manufacturing sites.
- Updated
- Brad Thompson
Biofuels battle: GrainCorp puts $500m-plus price tag on oilseed plant
Robert Spurway says market was underestimating the cost of building a major expansion, and the potential returns amid growing demand for biofuels.
- Brad Thompson
March
‘It’s a lot cheaper than buying a Tesla’: low-carbon milk has arrived
Dairy producer links up with Tasmanian start-up to produce the world’s first low-emissions milk.
- Gus McCubbing
Rinehart boss blasts Labor’s ‘nature-positive’ agenda
Gina Rinehart’s business empire has hit out over what it argues are flawed plans to rewrite national environmental laws.
- Brad Thompson
Farmers have $6b sitting in tax haven accounts
Australia’s farmers have almost $6 billion sitting in tax haven accounts and most are financially secure despite a much smaller national grain harvest and big fluctuations in cattle prices.
- Brad Thompson
February
WA lobster worth more than $150m slips through China trade ban
As it celebrates the Year of the Dragon, China is being supplied with big volumes of WA-caught “lucky red” lobster through unofficial trade routes.
- Brad Thompson
Nufarm wants biofuel mandates to send agriculture flying
Nufarm chairman John Gillam says he wants government green fuel mandates to cash in on a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity for agriculture.
- Brad Thompson
January
Joe Lewis’ reach on AACo board left out of US ban
In his plea deal, the UK billionaire relinquished control over board representation of any US-listed company. Australia’s AACo has two Lewis-linked directors.
- Liam Walsh
Most farmers big winners from El Nino-defying rain
The cattle industry and summer crop producers are entering 2024 in good shape as rain continues to tumble down across the eastern states.
- Brad Thompson
‘No PC, no d---head’ policy at AACo stoked safety fears: lawsuit
The beef giant proclaims a commitment to safety, but a workplace lawsuit alleges a philosophy made famous by footy teams had the opposite effect.
- Liam Walsh
Rain to soften fall in farm export earnings from record high: forecast
The fall will be largely driven by lower crop export values as global prices for most commodities are expected to decline in 2023-24 due to higher global supply.
- Gus McCubbing
December 2023
Floods, heavy rain put squeeze on mango, sugarcane crops
The rain appears to be easing from severe floods in North Queensland, but some lingering concerns remain with agriculture.
- Liam Walsh
Rinehart to claim Australia’s truffle farming crown
Australia’s iron ore and cattle queen, Gina Rinehart, is well on her way to becoming the biggest truffle grower, and is looking to add the delicacy to menus that already feature her wagyu beef.
- Brad Thompson
Murray Cod Australia throws out a line to hook $400m fund
That would dwarf the company’s current market capitalisation of about $107 million and be used to fund infrastructure development and holding water rights.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
AACo made manager a whistleblower, then retrenched him a month later
Beef giant AACo maintains the job loss was simply due to a restructure. But a dispute has emerged about the timing.
- Liam Walsh
November 2023
Buying your steak direct from paddock to plate
These food companies are bypassing retailers altogether and selling fresh produce direct to consumers.
- Nina Hendy
GrainCorp to pay special dividend, buy back shares
Undaunted by the onset of El Nino, GrainCorp will pay a special dividend and buy back shares as it looks to Western Australia for a big agri-energy investment.
- Brad Thompson