- A national update to the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry (S&G) was endorsed last week following a joint meeting of the federal and all state agriculture ministers. Cage egg producers in Queensland were left disappointed given that a definitive and appropriate date for the phase out of cage eggs across Australia was not set as part of the deliberations. Read the updated S&G here and Egg Farmers of Australia’s media release here.
- QFF’s Water & Energy Policy Advisor Sharon McIntosh and QFF member Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers’ (QFVG) CEO Rachel Chambers recently spoke at the Food Security Parliamentary Inquiry Committee’s Public Hearings in Brisbane. You can read QFF’s submission here and a summary of QFVG’s position here.
- QFF corporate partner BDO have written an article on succession planning and governance obligations in family agribusiness. Read it here. BDO is excited to offer QFF peak body members the choice of a free, dedicated 60-minute initial consultation on a range of these topics, including tax and financial resilience. More information here.
- Today marks the beginning of Farm Safety Week. Farmsafe Australia has a series of Toolbox Talks and a free Online Induction Tool to help you acquaint your workforce with safety risks and how to report and manage them.
- The Queensland Government has released the draft 2023 Queensland Renewable Energy Zone Roadmap for consultation to support the coordinated growth of Queensland’s renewable energy sector. Have your say by emailing your feedback as a submission to REZRoadmap@epw.qld.gov.au by Friday, 22 September 2023.
- Australia’s first raw sugar shipment to the United Kingdom under the new Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement was loaded in Townsville last week, opening an important new market for the Queensland sugar industry. Read more here.
- The Queensland Government’s Food and Fibre to Market: Industry Partnerships Program (FF2M) will provide $600,000 to eight industry organisations and grower collectives to increase international exports to diverse international markets. Read more here.
- The Australian cotton industry’s 2022 Sustainability Update was released last week, detailing improvements in several key areas such as water efficiency, female and indigenous workforce participation, pesticide hazard reduction and more. Read it here.
- QFF has welcomed the Australian Government’s decision to reject a substandard trade deal with the European Union and continue negotiating for fair market access for Australian farmers. QFF CEO Jo Sheppard said “Our farmers produce some of the best food, fibre and foliage in the world and that needs to be valued. These are long term agreements and it’s very important to get it right for Australian farmers, our economy and communities.” The National Farmers’ Federation has also welcomed the decision. Read more here.
- AI is set to revolutionise barramundi farming, with the University of Queensland using computer simulations to test different genomic, breeding and production technologies. Read more here.
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