The drought has not happened suddenly, but suddenly it’s mainstream news. I have been asked to do several media interviews in recent weeks and each reporter’s focus has been the effect that the drought might have on grocery prices. Since drought is a recurring feature of Australian agriculture there is precedent to call on and - as this paper from John Quiggin outlines - during previous periods of extended drought, grocery prices have risen by about twice the rate of inflation. View the rest of the post here

AgTech Takeaways - the expanded menu (part 3): In March, I participated in an Austrade-facilitated Australian Agtech Delegation to the US and wrote a blog about my takeaways with four main points of conclusion. Over the next month each of those key points - integrated systems approaches, farming practice adaptation, genomics / computational breeding and open data - will be expanded on in turn. View the rest of the post here

Thanks to an increasingly strong economy delivering better than expected tax receipts, Treasurer Scott Morrison has been able to deliver an election-friendly 2018 budget, including tax cuts and infrastructure spending. Whether you are an individual, business or government, higher levels of income provide more options and opportunities. The trick is in having the confidence that those increased receipts are sustainable and will not be impacted by your spending choices. View the rest of the post here

AgTech Takeaways - the expanded menu (part 2): In March, I participated in an Austrade-facilitated Australian Agtech Delegation to the US and wrote a blog about my takeaways with four main points of conclusion. Over the next month each of those key points - integrated systems approaches, farming practice adaptation, genomics / computational breeding and open data - will be expanded on in turn. View the rest of the post here

In March, I participated in an Austrade-facilitated Australian Agtech Delegation to the US and wrote a blog about my takeaways with four main points of conclusion. Over the next month each of those key points - integrated systems approaches, farming practice adaptation, genomics / computational breeding and open data - will be expanded on in turn. View the rest of the post here

Venture capital funding of agtech is here and it is a weird and confusing place. Ever since the Monsanto acquisition of The Climate Corporation in 2013 there has been a frenzy of activity trying to cash in on the boom that is agtech. Silicon Valley is well and truly in love with agriculture and food - and start-ups who are going to solve the problems of the world through better and more sustainable farming practices are everywhere.  View the rest of the post here

In a week that had us all reaching for the popcorn waiting to see what spectacular political calamity was going to unfold in the next 10 minutes, Australian agriculture bucked the trend with two significant announcements of unification and common purpose. View the rest of the post here

The 2018 Australian and Senior Australian of the Year awards have been bestowed upon two eminent scientists, Professor Michelle Simmons and Dr Graham Farquhar. In the age of Wikipedia wisdom and the Google guru, these awards are an important reminder that being an expert is not something to be ashamed of but instead something to be celebrated and admired. View the rest of the post here

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) recently held its first meeting with the new Agriculture and Water Resources Minister, David Littleproud. In this meeting the NFF emphasised the goal for agriculture to be a $100 billion industry by 2030. That target would require another $30 billion to be added to the value of agriculture (including forestry and fisheries) over the next 13 years, a significant growth in output and one that is not going to happen by accident.  View the rest of the post here