EnvironmentMore than a dozen South Australian towns break September heat records
Hot, gusty northerlies pushed temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average, to the mid-to-high 30s; Adelaide had its second hottest September day on record.
Source
ABC Rural
Reporting from this source, summarised, rewritten or translated and published under its name · 20 stories
Environment
CropsWeekend deluge in Western Australia lodges oats but lifts crops weeks before harvest
Almost 100mm fell in parts of WA's south after one of the driest Julys on record; a Bremer Bay farmer's oats were flattened while farmers further north who missed the rain hope for more.
FisheriesMenindee fishway reopens for final trial year as low water raises fish-kill fears
A camera-monitored fish passage run by Finland's Fishheart has reopened on the Darling-Baaka at Menindee for the last season of a three-year trial, with up to 50,000 fish expected to move upstream.
FruitsRiverland couple turn 40 acres of pulled-out vines into refuge for regent parrots
As wine grape growers in South Australia's Riverland rip out vines in an oversupplied market, one Murtho property has been returned to native vegetation instead of a new crop, creating habitat for the endangered regent parrot.
LivestockVictoria delays tougher poultry cage rules by a year because of bird flu
The new welfare standards, part of a national plan to phase out conventional cages by 2036, now start in mid-2027, while caged-egg farmers vow to fight the phase-out.
EnvironmentDairy farmers help heal Queensland's Mary River, once among its most degraded
Pile fields, fenced banks and effluent reuse on farms now keep an estimated 27,000 tonnes of fine sediment a year from reaching the southern Great Barrier Reef.
AgribusinessAustralian farmers win short-term deal to fast-track backpacker visas for harvest
The National Farmers' Federation and the federal government agreed to prioritise urgent working holiday visa applications for farm work, after a processing slowdown left harvests short of workers.
AgribusinessAustralia could face diesel rationing within weeks if US bans exports, analyst warns
MST Marquee's Saul Kavonic says a US diesel export ban could push Australian diesel above $4 a litre, a risk for farmers and miners in the world's largest diesel importer.
LivestockNew Bass Strait terminal could halve cattle freight costs for island farmers
Bass Strait Freight plans a direct service from King and Flinders islands to a new livestock terminal at Port Anthony in Victoria, carrying up to 40,000 cattle a year from late October.
AgribusinessStonier Wines buys Seppelt as Treasury Wine Estates sheds brands
The family-owned Mornington Peninsula producer has bought Seppelt's Great Western winery and vineyards, the first brand Treasury Wine Estates has sold as it cuts its portfolio to fewer than 30.
LivestockRecord sheep prices lure Riverina farmers from crops to stock as the north stays dry
A Temora family sold first-cross ewes for a reported Australian saleyard record of $620 a head, while about 45% of New South Wales remains in drought.
AgribusinessAustralia's last grower-owned sugar mill seeks a $9m state loan to stay afloat
Isis Central Sugar Mill in Queensland, which takes cane from about 200 growers, has an in-principle deal for a state loan capped at $9m and wants Canberra to match it.
CropsIrrigators and One Nation want Murray-Darling environmental water opened to summer crops as rice output falls another 22 percent
SunRice has shed 80 mill jobs and MP David Farley wants 75 percent of available environmental water sold to irrigators before planting; the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder says its entitlements are cut by the same allocation rules in a dry year.