Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said Labor’s $2.3 million advertising cam­paign on the phase out of live sheep exports has been exposed as a sham, with ads be­ing targeted on the East Coast as well as Western Australia.

Senate Estimates has revealed most of the ads have been viewed in Greens and Labor areas in Victoria and New South Wales, rather than areas that are actually impacted.

“Labor’s ads for assistance are being aimed at inner-city seats, instead of helping our WA live sheep farmers to get the infor­mation they need,” Mr Littleproud said.

“It is obvious Labor is using the ads in Melbourne and Sydney seats to appease the animal activists and prove that it is fulfill­ing its election commitment to phase out live sheep exports.

“In the final days before the election is called, Labor knows it needs Greens prefer­ences and is clearly now using this money as the start of its election campaign. These ads are a waste of taxpayers’ money and another insult to our live sheep export trade.”

Labor’s live sheep export phase out Face­book ad, with over one million impressions, had 46 per cent of views in New South Wales, 19 per cent in Victoria and just 16 per cent in WA.

“Labor has turned its back on the farm­ing industry and has treated our live sheep farmers with contempt.

“A future Coalition Government will rein­state the live sheep export trade. If elected, my first role as Agriculture Minister will be to travel to the Middle East, to build those important relationships and ensure the live sheep export trade in Australia remains.”

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is launch­ing a new Social Media Academy to create the next batch of influential red meat am­bassadors to connect everyday Australians with the vital work of our producers. MLA is calling for producers to sign up to the So­cial Media Academy.

MLA’s Managing Director Michael Crow­ley said the program will help metropolitan Australians see how their favourite red meat is produced on-farm.

“MLA’s Social Media Academy will assist producers show best practice in caring for livestock and the environment so custom­ers can continue to feel good about eating red meat. We’ll be doing this on social me­dia where Australians are engaged in re­ceiving and sharing information.”

Social Media Academy participants will attend workshops at TikTok’s head office and walk away with the skills they need to build a community and following, as well as insights into boosting positive community perceptions about Australian red meat pro­duction.

The first cohort of participants will be trained by TikTok in Sydney on 23 April 2025 and learn how to create best practice content. They will also connect with other Australian agriculture content creators.

Selection criteria available at www.mla.com.au/mla-social-media-academy

The state’s peak farm body has welcomed a new government initiative to address acute shortages of vets across rural NSW.

Under the NSW Government’s Welcome Experience program, vets, vet nurses, vet technicians and their families are now eligible to receive assistance with sourc­ing housing, childcare and other services when moving to rural NSW.

NSW Farmers’ Member Dr Robyn Alders AO said news of the initiative had been warmly welcomed by farming communities across the state, as they continued to grap­ple with critical workforce shortages.

“Farmers know that healthy animals are productive animals and they need to have access to vets if they are to successfully protect animal health on-farm.”

“If we want to build a sustainable veteri­nary workforce here in rural NSW, then we need a range of solutions that address the complex challenges that have caused this shortage in the first place,” Dr Alders said.

“Globally, governments are supporting a range of initiatives to ensure the availability of appropriate, affordable veterinary ser­vices to livestock producers, and it’s critical our government does the same.”

Landcare Australia has opened nomina­tions for the 2025 General Jeffery Soil Health Award.

Back for the third successive round, the prestigious General Jeffery Soil Health Award recognises the work of people who care for soil health and who are educating or inspiring others.

Previous award winners and notable fig­ures in the world of soil health and science, Dr Oliver Knox and Emerita Professor Dr Lynnette Abbot have confirmed they will be part of the specialist advisory panel to se­lect the winner of the 2025 General Jeffery Soil Health Award.

The 2022 winner, leading soil health champion, educator and researcher, of ‘Soil your Undies’ fame, Dr Oliver Knox said “We all have a responsibility to our soils and our soil health and the more we all do, the more likely we are to see a fan­tastic future for Australia’s soils.”

The two previous award winners have teamed up to encourage nominations for the influential General Jeffrey Soil Health Award.

When asked what he was hoping to see from the next round of nominations, Dr Knox said “Passion, drive and impact. Soil is full of surprises, so I’m hoping to learn from all of the nominations and expect to feel disappointed there can be only one winner. It’s exciting and all that is needed now is for some nominations, so that are you waiting for? Nominate your soil’s guru.”

Leading soil scientist Emerita Professor Lynette Abbott and winner of the inaugural prize in 2020, is encouraging soil science experts across Australia to nominate col­leagues for the prestigious national award.

“It is a very valuable process for high­lighting the contributions that others are making to soil health in their various ways.

There are many approaches.”

To find out more about nominations you can visit https://landcareaustralia.org.au/soilhealthaward/

As the 2024 growing season faces set­backs due to adverse weather conditions, wheat growers across New South Wales are encouraged to showcase their exper­tise and innovation by entering the prestig­ious AgShows NSW Suncorp Bank Cham­pionship Dryland Field Wheat and Durum Competition.

This highly anticipated annual competi­tion celebrates excellence in wheat produc­tion and provides an opportunity for grow­ers to be recognised for their hard work in overcoming challenging conditions.

With frosts and dry weather across NSW throughout September, private forecasts predict Australia’s national wheat crop may fall below 30 million tonnes—well short of the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences’ (AB­ARES) September forecast of 31.8 million tonnes.

Stephen Hatty, Chair of the Wheat Ad­visory Committee, encourages growers to take part: “While we may see a lower na­tional wheat crop this year, the competition remains an excellent opportunity for grow­ers to demonstrate the effectiveness of their management practices under difficult conditions.”

The competition is open to growers from all regions of NSW, with 30th October the cut-off for growers in our region. To enter the competition, growers should contact their local competition coordinator. A full list of local coordinators can be found on the AgShows NSW website, along with entry forms and judging criteria.

Judging will begin shortly after the region­al deadlines, with regional winners being announced later in the year. The state win­ner will be revealed at the Wheat Presenta­tion Dinner in Dubbo on 12th January 2025.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has opened applications for its National Ag­riculture Leadership Program.

The flagship program provides exclu­sive opportunities for emerging leaders in the agriculture sector, including mentoring, policy development guidance, and meetings with Parliamentarians.

NFF President David Jochinke said the program is targeted at Australians aged under 35. “The program immerses our par­ticipants in the policy and advocacy worlds; they’ll have the opportunity to tour Austral­ian Parliament House and meet with federal politicians and government departments, and be mentored by leading policy experts,” Mr Jochinke said.

Now entering its fifth year, Mr Jochinke said the limited spots in the NALP are al­ways hotly contested.

“I encourage everyone with a passion for ag and an interest in leadership to apply.”

“Applications are only open for a month, so please don’t delay if you’re interested in this fantastic program,” Mr Jochinke said.

Program participants will meet up for a three-day advocacy retreat in Canberra where they’ll be matched with an industry leader and work on a policy project.

The program kicks off February 2025, ap­plications are open until 14 November 2024.

Find out more at https://nff.org.au/nalp/

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has today opened its popular photography competition, ahead of National AgDay next month.

NFF President David Jochinke said the competition attracts hundreds of entries each year. “It’s a real highlight of AgDay celebrations to see the amazing snaps of life on the land from every corner of this beautiful country,” Mr Jochinke said.

“I encourage everyone to send in their photos and videos over the next few weeks; there are some great prizes on offer.”

First place will receive $2,000, second place is awarded $1,000, and runners up receive $500 each.

Participants are also encouraged to share their photos on social media using the hashtag #AgDayAU.

The theme “Grow you good thing!” is again the catch cry for this year’s AgDay.

“National AgDay is a fantastic celebration of everything that makes the agricultural in­dustry so special,” Mr Jochinke said.

“You can show your support on the big day by attending or hosting an event, tak­ing part in the photo comp, or by proudly donning some “I love farmers” merchan­dise.”

National AgDay falls on Friday 15th No­vember 2024. For more information, visit https://agday.org.au/

Over 50 farmers, contract harvesters, truck drivers and grain brokers attended the re­cent Be Road Ready for Harvest Satellite Events in Tottenham, Parkes, Wirrinya and Bogan Gate.

The events were supported by the Na­tional Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Trans­port for NSW, the Grain Transport Safety Network (GTSN), NSW Police, SafeWork NSW, NSW Rural Fire Service, Local Lands Services, NSW Farmers and the Parkes Show Society.

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Coun­cils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Of­ficer, Melanie Suitor, said anecdotal feed­back from attendees was very positive.

“Regulations are constantly changing, so events like these are important to ensure we provide information about how to safely and legally move agricultural machinery, combi­nations and trucks on the road network in the lead up to the busy harvest period.

“We had presentations about conditional registration, auxiliary plates, fatigue, load restraint, mobile phone rules, chain of re­sponsibility, access, compliance as well as the Grain Harvest Management Scheme, last mile access to silos and the National Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle and Combina­tion Mass and Dimension Exemption No­tice.

“The highlight of the morning was the in­teractive activity, where we showed partici­pants how to use the quick reference guide for Class 1 Agricultural Notice to work out what the travel requirements would be for a header towing a front as well as various sized tractors towing implements.

“Participants took home windscreen stick­ers that can be attached to their machinery that acts as a quick reference for travel re­quirements such as pilots, lights and sig­nage.

“Harvest USBs and windscreen stickers will be distributed to local agricultural ma­chinery retailers and rural supply stores in late October” Ms Suitor said.