TasFoods owned the Betta Milk brand from north-western Tasmania.
Dairy goat farm plan submitted
A proposal to establish a dairy goat farm on agricultural land at Tabilk, south of Nagambie, has been submitted to the Strathbogie Shire Council.
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The 11-hectare property is on the Avenel-Nagambie Rd, just off the Hume Fwy.
The property already has grazing goats and shedding as the dairy business is a conforming use in the planning zone, but the business has submitted an application to build a farm manager’s house.
The business proposal for the Toggenberg Milk House is to produce milk for human consumption from the Swiss Toggenberg goat breed.
The planning application assures the council that the farm will manage pest plants and animals, restrict the movement of goats within stands of native vegetation, reduce impacts from past livestock grazing, and introduce a sustainable and more appropriate farming method consisting of mixed farming and environmental conservation.
The improvements include sustainable grazing, biodiversity protection, native vegetation screen planting and soil enhancement.
The council will decide on the planning application after September 1.
Bega Cheese buys Tassie dairy company
Bega Cheese has purchased the Tasmanian Betta Milk brands from TasFoods for $11 million.
The business, located in north-west Tasmania and established in 1956 as a co-operative, produces whole milk, cream and lactose-free varieties.
Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin said the purchase of the iconic Tasmanian brands fitted with Bega’s corporate goals to become a great Australian food company.
The purchase includes the Meander Valley Dairy and a licence to use the Pyengana Dairy brand.
TasFoods purchased the two companies just four years ago for $13.6 million.
TasFoods retains ownership of the Burnie land and buildings.
The sale is subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
EU trade talks resume
Australian and European ministers have held talks to resolve an impasse over a potential free trade deal.
Negotiations stalled after Federal Trade Minister Don Farrell walked away from the table, claiming a lack of market access for sectors such as agriculture meant the high quality deal being sought could not be achieved.
It was initially hoped the free trade agreement could be wrapped up by the middle of the year.
Senator Farrell spoke with EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis via teleconference on Thursday, August 31, where both ministers agreed to meet in person in coming months.
“We are making progress, but we need to bridge the gap between our expectations, and what the Europeans are offering,” Senator Farrell said.
The Europeans are pushing for geographical indicators, which would stop Australian producers from using names like feta, prosecco and kalamata.
Senator Farrell said this was a non-starter for Australia.
Looking at emission reduction opportunities
A forum in Beechworth on September 13 will help farmers and agricultural service providers to understand on-farm requirements and supply chain demands as the world moves to a low-carbon economy.
Agricultural consultant and farmer Cam Nicholson will provide an overview of where carbon requirements are headed and the evolution of possible emission reduction technologies.
He will explore options farmers have to maintain business flexibility while starting to participate in the carbon space.
The forum will be held on Wednesday, September 13 from 10am and 3.30pm at The Priory, 8 Priory Lane, Beechworth.
For more information contact Lachlan Campbell at lachlan.campbell@necma.vic.gov.au or 0400 852 452
This event is supported by the North East Catchment Management Authority and Agriculture Victoria, with funding from the National Landcare Program.
Wild Dog Management Plan a ‘no-brainer’
The VFF says the Wild Dog Management Plan balances the needs of farmers and the protection of native animals.
Photo by
Ray Sizer
The VFF is urging the Victorian Government to renew the successful Wild Dog Management Plan that has seen a drop in wild dog attacks on livestock since launching in 2012.
VFF Livestock Group vice-president and Tallangatta farmer Peter Star said the VFF had written to the government seeking the plan’s renewal, after 11 years of positive results protecting farmers, livestock and native wildlife from the effects of wild dogs.
“Since launching in 2012, the Wild Dog Management Plan has been instrumental in a 75 per cent reduction in livestock loss and attacks on properties neighbouring public lands in east and south-west Victoria,” Mr Star said.
“Livestock farmers have come to rely on this plan to protect their livestock from the harrowing impacts of wild dogs and renewing it is a complete no-brainer.”
The VFF’s calls to renew the program come as a Victorian Government review is being undertaken in response to the parliamentary review into ecosystem decline, which recommended that dingoes, which are considered a threatened species in Victoria, are protected across the state.
“The current Wild Dog Management Plan balances the needs of farmers and the protection of native animals,” Mr Star said.
Solutions to country vet shortage
NSW Farmers has three suggestions to help solve the shortage of vets.
Photo by
Mark Myerson
A peak farm group has laid out a plan for government to resolve an acute shortage of large animal veterinarians in country NSW.
NSW Farmers has given evidence to the Inquiry into the Veterinary Workforce Shortage in NSW, highlighting the concerns of the agricultural sector and putting forward three solutions being used internationally.
Student loan waivers to incentivise new graduates to practice in under-served rural areas (such as had been implemented in the United States) was one of the ways put forward by NSW Farmers to help address the shortage.
Another solution was to improve veterinary services in rural areas through greater partnership between the public and private sectors, in line with a recommendation from the World Organisation for Animal Health.
They also suggested adopting the Canadian approach of rolling out telehealth for veterinary medicine, offering grants to equip mobile veterinary clinics and contributing to travel costs associated with farm visits to share the costs of biosecurity risk management.
Have your say about the biosecurity levy
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has opened consultation to help shape the way the new biosecurity protection levy will be applied.
The Federal Government has announced a new biosecurity protection levy as a mechanism for producers, as major beneficiaries of biosecurity controls, to contribute to the long-term biosecurity system.
The proposed levy would start from July 1, 2024 and is intended to collect around $50 million a year.
“The amount producers are being asked to contribute is equivalent to six per cent of Commonwealth biosecurity funding in 2024-25,” Biosecurity and Compliance deputy secretary Chris Locke said.
“By comparison, importers will contribute around 48 per cent and the taxpayer will contribute around 44 per cent.”
Visit the biosecurity protection levy consultation website for more information and to have your say by October 6.
Modernising Victoria’s grain growers
The Victorian Government is set to fast-track cereal, oilseed and pulse crop improvements by transforming the Australian Grains Genebank (AGG) into a more accessible database by 2027, thanks to a $15 million investment.
Agriculture Minister Gayle Tierney recently announced a $30 million co-investment between the government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation, which will give researchers more access to a wider range of genes to boost productivity and profitability in grain crops.
Located at Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm, the AGG is the national centre for grain crop genetic resources in Australia.
This investment will better connect the AGG to international genebanks and link plant genetic resources to research and breeding knowledge — allowing better crop varieties in grower’s paddocks sooner.
Research supported by the AGG will see high-yielding, adaptable and profitable grain crop varieties developed faster, ensuring Australia’s $40 billion grains industry is more climate change resilient and continues to thrive.
The announcement coincides with the completion of a $1.8 million seed multiplication facility that uses cutting-edge technology to enable rapid production and distribution of seed for plant genetic resources stored in the AGG.
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