Topic: Farming

Farmers are being encouraged to get bigger, produce more, to be export efficient only to get paid less for their produce. The biggest killer to profit…

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees or shrubs with crop and animal production. The result? A more diverse agricultural operation, boo…

In a recent report Dr. Robin Batterham outlines the benefits of conservation and regenerative agriculture and calls for greater scientific analysis of…

The number of known plant species has been estimated to be around 400,000. The majority (i.e. 260,000 – 290,000 species) belong to seed plants with …

Plant roots generally grow anywhere with suitable environmental conditions and readily explore soil macropores. The part of the soil that is directly …

As Carson wrote: "Chemical war is never won and all life is caught in its violent crossfire." Nor have matters improved on land. Neonicotinoids, insec…

The book “Silent Spring” was not just an ecological alarm call, Rachel Carson exposes experts to public scrutiny and makes it clear that at best t…

"Whose voice do we hear – that of science or of the sustaining industry?" The question remains as pertinent today as it did in 1962 when Rachel Cars…

The world is witnessing major shifts in dietary patterns and – in parallel – the threat to agricultural biodiversity. The implications for human h…

Organic gardening works with natural systems, using composts, crop rotation, rock dusts, seaweeds and microbes to improve soils, promote healthy plant…

Farmers have to make hard choices between protecting soil from erosion and controlling weeds. For example, large-scale farming relies heavily on tilla…

Small-scale farmers produce food for 70% of the global population. Yet, they are some of the world's poorest and most food insecure people. Permacultu…

A successful demonstration of sustainable farm practices is being conducted in Gippsland by Clinton Teppler, a trained forester. Clinton has applied h…

One of these plants that drive many to distraction is the common blackberry. Whilst it stabilises overgrazed and eroded ground magnificently and provi…

Brix is used in the food industry for measuring the approximate amount of sugars in fruit juices, wine, soft drinks and in the sugar manufacturing ind…

Bruce Pascoe’s book Dark Emu, which took out Book of the Year in 2016 NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, is a thesis that challenges the generally acc…

Why is there so much controversy when it comes to grazing systems? What’s the fuss about? Emotions seem to run high when graziers experience good or…

Animals Are Essential for Land Regeneration. Ultimately, the symbiotic relationship formed by the many animals on the farm does more than protect each…

To ensure quality why not grow your own garlic? People on the coalface, from growers through to greengrocers, suggest that the market is "flooded" wit…

After oxygen, silica is the most abundant element in sand and soil, and is found mostly as silicon dioxide.