Grain of Truth - Blogs

Port access next hurdle

MANY of the issues surrounding the ADM deal will not go away now that GrainCorp remains primarily in Australian hands.

ADM bid failed to engage

ADM’S failure to seal the deal to gain ownership of GrainCorp is the culmination of a complex range of factors.

Single desk still haunts industry

WE’RE five years or so into a deregulated wheat market, yet the spectre of the single desk still looms large over our industry.

THE NEWS that mobile phone coverage, a marginal bet at the best of times in many areas is under pressure due to increased data demand from tablet and smartphone users highlights the importance of an overarching policy on phone coverage.

Great escape masks inadequacies

THERE’S no doubt Victorian agriculture has dodged a bullet in the past fortnight, with the majority of farmers just scraping by in terms of diesel supplies through a combination of stored on-farm diesel supply, neighbourly co-operation and judicious rationing by the fuel companies.

A tough species of farmer

LOOKING at the rainfall map for north-west Victoria you’d imagine it would be a widespread tale of woe this harvest.

Rephrase the question on wheat

THE current saga regarding changes to the Wheat Marketing Act causing so much friction in the Federal Coalition is all about rhetoric and very little to do with the core question of whether Wheat Exports Australia should be retained.

Finding the common GM ground

SHOULD GM food crops be allowed? The short answer is yes, but that does not mean a free-for-all of commercialisation of GM food crops, writes GREGOR HEARD.

Water win-win shows MDBA the way

AT FACE value the news that Bayer plans to invest $14 million in a breeding centre at Horsham, nice story that it is, doesn’t appear to have too much consequence for the decision makers at the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).

How to get rural issues right

THE diversity of opinion within the Federal Coalition is shaping up to be a critical factor in terms of agricultural policy.

Why Holden's crutch matters to ag

IT WAS interesting to see two issues juxtapose this week. Firstly, the Holden bail-out scheme, where Federal and State governments chip in $275 million just to keep the car-maker in operation.

Competition watchdog must have teeth

IT’S A SIGN of the increasing globalisation of the grains industry that events in snowy Saskatchewan province in Canada could have a big impact on the Australian grains industry.

Chink of light on logistics front

MENTIONING grain freight logistics to farmers over the past 20 years has been enough to send them into a deep funk.

Pragmatism needed on carbon

IT’S FAIR to say most Australian farmers aren’t elated at the prospect of a carbon tax.

Strength of farming lobby a boost

DURING OUR travels through the US as part of the GRDC ‘Way We Were’ tour, we thought the Farm Bill would be a hot topic.

We want work on wheat

IT WAS heartening to travel the world and see the level of private investment going into grain breeding, writes Gregor Heard.

Concerted effort on mice

The oncoming plague of mice needs co-operation between the public and private sectors, and government, like the locust response, writes Gregor Heard.

Some compromise, please, people

THE GLOVES are off in the GM debate once again, and this time its property rights at stake.

Let's learn from floods

As a resident of flood ravaged Horsham, I'm moving away from the usual grains flavour of my blogs and having a bit of a look at flood management, particularly in Victoria.

End of an era with AWB purchase

MUCH was made of the end of the single desk when the wheat market was opened up, but the sale of AWB’s commodity business to Cargill brings virtually to an end another epoch in grain marketing, one possibly much less mourned in its departure by growers, the end of listed grain marketing businesses in Australia.

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