Groundcover • 5th October 2020

Versatile vetch a winner for Murray Plains mixed farmer

Sanderston farmer Adrian Bormann was looking for an alternative break crop 10 years ago when a neighbour suggested he try vetch. Adrian operates a mixed farming enterprise growing dryland crops, with a flock of 550 Merino ewes producing Merino and first-cross lambs.

Groundcover • 29th June 2020

On-farm pulse push at Pyramid Hill in north-central Victoria

Grain legumes were not part of the family farming landscape where Ash Moon grew up west of Pyramid Hill in north-central Victoria. He became familiar with them when he was a student at Longerenong Agricultural College, near Horsham.

The Farmer • 1st February 2020

Why is mobile phone service a luxury in regional and remote communities?

NICOLE Dimos-Byrnes would love to set up electronic sensors to monitor troughs for her Merino sheep and send alerts when water levels fall too low. With two properties 70km apart and totalling more than 6,000 hectares, the water run currently takes one person up to four hours every second day.

TurfBreed • 12th January 2020

Three generations of ideas, innovation and diversity

Three generations of Mifsuds have always thought differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective in terms of farming. Ventures have ranged from vegetable production in New South Wales in the 1950s to farming vegetables in China during the 1990s, and turf production since 2009.

AuctionsPlus Blog • 5th December 2019

Narweena weaners bounce back from a tough autumn

Narweena Station manager Rob Perkins keeps an eye on weaner prices but says fluctuations during the year don’t really matter – the only price that counts is on sale day each September and January. Rob and his wife Angela run a split calving herd of about 900 breeders on 1100ha near Woodhouse, east of Hamilton, in the Western District region of Victoria.

TurfBreed • 5th October 2019

Townsville’s revival from drought, economic downturn & floods

From drought to flooding rains and the ripple effect of a building industry slump caused by the mining downturn, Townsville turf producers have copped the lot in the past five years. Sandra Godwin speaks to four Townsville growers to find out how they’re coping.

The Farmer • 1st October 2019

Australian mushroom growers: the crop that is taking off

WILD mushrooms have been used in cooking and Chinese traditional medicine for centuries, but commercial farming of the edible fungus is relatively recent. The first Australian mushroom grower was a Spanish migrant, Raymond Mas, who experimented in a disused railway tunnel under Sydney’s Circular Quay in 1933.

TurfBreed • 10th September 2019

Childhood vision yields superior turf for growing retail sector

After a childhood spent living on golf courses, Paul Bardsley was never going to look for an office job. His father, Chris Bardsley, was a golf course superintendent for 44 years and Paul lived with him on the Centenary Park golf course until he was 20. “I’ve been in turf forever,” Paul said. “It was all there in front of me."

TurfBreed • 26th June 2019

Turf grows property values

A healthy well-maintained lawn is essential for getting the best price, because vendors “never get a second chance to make a good first impression” on potential home buyers. That's the advice from celebrity agent and auctioneer Damien Cooley, who will be familiar to regular viewers of popular Nine Network television series The Block.

TurfBreed • 10th June 2019

Are you making the most out of your Facebook posts?

Word of mouth is still the most powerful form of advertising, but half of it now takes place on social media through recommendations and reviews. How can you tap into this market? Sandra Godwin talks to two turf growers who share some of their secrets for making the most of Facebook.

The Farmer • 1st May 2019

Is a national horse traceability register a viable option?

MOST dogs living in the city have them – microchips embedded painlessly just under the skin, so when they slip the lead, they can easily be reunited with their owners. In NSW, it’s the law. When it comes to horses, however, there is no legal requirement to identify, register or trace their movements.

TurfBreed • 2nd April 2019

Turf robots - taking autonomy into farming systems

Turf growers are among those leading the adoption of the cutting-edge technology, which was unveiled with the demonstration of a Mowbot at the Turf Australia Annual Conference two years ago. The first commercial order of the Swarmbot 5 – the fifth iteration of the Mowbot prototype – was delivered to a Brisbane turfgrower in 2018.

TwentyOne • 17th October 2018

Confidence key to no-till adoption

The Munro family has farmed land near Ouyen for more than a century. Their forebears were part of the ‘land rush’ attracted to the region by the opening of the Ouyen-Murrayville railway line, government incentives, good rain and high wheat prices.

The Weekly Times • 26th October 2014

Shielded sprayer combats weeds

THE looming problem of herbicide-resistant weeds forced forward-thinking Swan Hill grain grower Leigh Bryan to become more inventive. Some years ago Mr Bryan began looking at wider row spacings as a means of making inter-row weed control easier and more effective.

The Weekly Times • 11th March 2014

The travelling clothes horse

BEV Langley blames her “big mouth” for the huge collection of retro, vintage and antique clothing packed into her back shed. The Tyntynder resident and her husband, Neil, were foundation members of the Lake Goldsmith Steam Preservation Association in the late 1950s, when she began to agitate for more female-friendly entertainment at rallies.

The Weekly Times • 23rd December 2013

A thirst for something new

WITH five wine show trophies to its name already, the first commercial release of Australian-grown verdeljo is proof that the team at Trentham Estate still knows how to pick a winning variety. Managing director and winemaker Anthony Murphy and his brother Patrick, who manages the vineyard, established Trentham Estate in 1988.

The Weekly Times • 16th January 2013

Poon Boon boom

HOW does a lamb producer build a financially sustainable business after suffering through more than a decade of drought conditions? David and Janine Quinane embarked on a bold plan to reduce stocking rates on Poon Boon Station at Koraleigh and increase margins by cutting out the "middleman".

The Weekly Times • 5th December 2012

A family's wine tail

THE Casella family story started much like any other tale of post-war European migrants seeking a better life in a new country. Now Australia's biggest family-owned winery on 60ha, Casella Wines employs 727 people and crushed 170,000 tonnes of grapes from more than 30 regions this year - about 10 per cent of Australia's grapes.

The Weekly Times • 10th October 2012

Oranges are in the blood

AT A time when diversification was still the watch-word for agriculture, three Griffith cousins decided it was high time to specialise. As young boys, Vito Mancini and his cousins, Leonard and Anthony, savoured exotic blood oranges from their grandfather's backyard tree.

The Weekly Times • 3rd October 2012

Selection theory a mother of an idea

CATTLE producers may be culling the wrong females if they base decisions solely on weaning weights. Research into the social behaviour of cattle has found "good mothers" typically spent more time with their own calf, leading to higher growth rates.