The AFI "Managing the future of Australian farm land" conference held over the past two days provided many interesting insights into the challenges of policies to manage farm land in Australia and internationally, but perhaps the most telling quote out of the conference was that "rural subdivision is a cancer for profitable agriculture close to cities."  View the rest of the post here

Coverage of the Institute's forthcoming conference on farmland management policies in Australia is highlighting the complex issues involved in making decisions about the future use of ares of prime agricultural land. View the rest of the post here

There are plenty of reasons for Australian farmers to be critical of the state of transport infrastructure and associated costs, but compared to Indian farmers it seems things might not be too bad! View the rest of the post here

An interesting perspective on Australian media priorities was provided by the most recent ABC TV Lateline program, during which successive stories dealt with the alleged mistreatment of Australian cattle being slaughtered in Indonesia, and the continuing famine in Niger which is resulting is a rapidly escalating  death toll. View the rest of the post here

In a development that acutely highlights the almost impossible task that confronts the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, the much vaunted 'liberation' of the dammed up waters on Toorale Station near Bourke cannot occur at present, because the 'wetlands' created by the dams are now the nesting areas of ibis and brolgas, which are protected species. View the rest of the post here

It is interesting to note that concerns about a loss of farmland are not confined to Australia, with this topic the subject of discussion in many nations, including developing nations. View the rest of the post here

In a recent report examining the role of China in global commodity markets published by the Australian Treasury, the authors concluded that China's impact on global agricultural commodity markets has been 'more modest' than its impact on global energy and metals markets. Yet a recent USA Farm Foundation report identified China as one of the two key factors (the other was biofuels) driving global agricultural prices to their current high levels. Has the Australian Treasury report misunderstood the role China now plays in agricultural markets? View the rest of the post here

There is probably no issue in Australian agriculture more likely to pitch crop producers against livestock producers than the question of whether or not Australia should adopt mandatory biofuel targets. And somewhat surprisingly, when it comes to politics the positions of the major parties on this issue are the opposite of what might be expected. The Coalition - the parties which philosophically favour small government and deregulation - support mandatory biofuel targets, while the ALP - often painted as the party in favour of bigger government and regulation - oppose mandatory targets. View the rest of the post here

The decision by the South Korean Parliament to adopt legislation creating an emissions trading scheme has been welcomed by Australian policymakers and climate change advocates, but a close look at the available details of the South Korean Scheme suggests there are some fairly major differences between the two schemes. View the rest of the post here

If ever a reminder was needed of the added importance of retaining consumer confidence in 'luxury' products such as beef and lamb (and wool), the current US beef market situation should serve as a perfect example. The 'Pink Slime' crisis, closely followed by the recent BSE detection, has resulted in a significant drop in beef prices and analysts are not confident how quickly the market will recover. View the rest of the post here