The Wiggles will take the main stage at 2pm on Saturday, October 4, with other main stage performers including Zac Brown Band and Jackson Dean, John Williamson, Kasey Chambers, Troy Cassar-Daley, The Wolfe Brothers and more.
The SunRice Day Stage will also be hosting a plethora of established and up-and-coming artists across the weekend including The Pleasures, Tori Darke, Brendan Radford, Jay Santilli, Mak & Shar and more.
Check out the full line-up or grab your tickets at: deniutemuster.com.au
Vegie vax targets viruses
A new research project is putting science at the heart of defending the nation’s produce, by developing ‘plant vaccines’ to protect Australia’s vegetables from viral diseases.
The five-year initiative is exploring how peptides — tiny biological molecules — can be used to prime plants to defend themselves against viruses, much like vaccines do in humans.
The project will be focused on Queensland growing regions, where viruses like papaya ring spot virus and zucchini yellow mosaic virus are spread rapidly by insect carriers.
Funded by Hort Innovation and led by the University of Queensland, growers, advisers and industry stakeholders are encouraged to follow the project’s progress and explore future adoption of these biological tools.
To learn more about this project and other science-led initiatives, visit: horticulture.com.au
Report road issues
Greater Shepparton residents wanting to report problems with roads in the area can find out where to make a report in one easy spot.
While Greater Shepparton City Council looks after a large network of local roads, some roads in the region, such as major highways and arterial roads, are managed by Transport Victoria.
Residents can visit greatershepparton.com.au/bpi/infrastructure/road-maintenance to find out whether a road is maintained by council or Transport Victoria, and then report issues such as potholes, damaged surfaces or drainage problems directly through the appropriate channel from this website.
Council said once a local road issue was reported to council, it was prioritised based on regular inspection data, safety risk, traffic volume and the overall condition of the road.
Ag industry sends signal
The National Farmers’ Federation is calling on the Federal Government to enshrine eight core priorities in the development of the incoming Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation.
The UOMO, first announced by the government in February, promises to extend and safeguard access to basic mobile voice and SMS services across Australia, through Low Earth Orbit satellites and Satellite to Mobile technology by 2027.
The NFF supports the world-first proposal, but has identified eight critical issues to ensure the UOMO delivers for rural communities. A detailed explanation can be found on the NFF website.
The NFF said farmers were looking for assurance that investment in terrestrial mobile coverage will continue, that a competitive market will be supported, and that quality service will be guaranteed.
Pathways to STEM participation
In celebration of National Science Week (August 11 to 19), Agriculture Victoria’s Get into AgSTEM program will launch a new workshop exploring on-farm energy generation and cultivation of plants under solar panels.
The new Energy Ag – Agrivoltaics workshop gives students the chance to use laboratory-scale solar panels and circuitry to generate power.
Get into AgSTEM is a free curriculum-linked education program delivered by Agriculture Victoria and offered to secondary school students.
Students work to complete practical activities based on current research projects run by scientists at AgVic, learning molecular analytical techniques for on-farm efficiency improvements, through to digital data collection for precision agriculture.
For more information, go to: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/support-and-resources/education/get-into-agstem
NFF and Samoa talk PALM
The NFF and Samoan Government have reaffirmed the importance of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme and their shared commitment to ensuring its long-term sustainability and fairness.
NFF president David Jochinke said the PALM scheme remained a vital contributor to the Australian agriculture sector, as well as to the livelihoods of many Samoan families and communities.
Samoa’s High Commissioner to Australia, Hinauri Petana, welcomed the opportunity to engage directly with the NFF and expressed his country’s strong support for the PALM scheme.
As of May, there were 2650 Samoan workers participating in the scheme in Australia.
Hear latest Nuffield research
From carbon farming and regenerative agriculture to drought resilience and export markets will be explored at Nuffield Australia’s National Conference in Adelaide.
The conference will be held at the Adelaide Oval from September 9 to 10, with more than 30 Nuffield scholars presenting their latest research from across the globe.
Nuffield Australia chief executive officer Jodie Redcliffe said it was a particularly timely conference.
Another key element of the conference is the announcement of the 2026 Nuffield scholars at a presentation dinner on Monday, September 8.
For more information and to register, visit: nuffield.com.au/conference/2025-conference
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