Mitch Hooke's one word answer to explain effective advocacy James Nason, 08/03/2022   FORMER mining sector leader Mitch Hooke offered a simple one-word answer in response to a question at an Australian Farm Institute forum yes... read more

ONFARM, 15/12/2023 When you take a high-level look at the environmental/consumer/farmer matrix it looks as if there is a small minority of so-called environmentalists who are exceptionally well resourced and organised on one side, and on the other side w... read more

Spring has sprung and that’s good news for gardeners who’ve been eager to dig into the soil once again. If you’re one of the few who’s added fruit trees to your crop list, there’s one practice you may want to think about integrating this season: grafting.... read more

Commercial farmers and home gardeners alike know the deep annoyance and damage that aphids can cause. One highly effective, environmentally safe and adorable method for fighting aphids is to release ladybugs into an affected area, as ladybugs will prey on... read more

2022 Extended-Release Oxalic Update Part 1 Randy OliverScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ March 2022   As more and more beekeepers try to wean themselves off amitraz, there is great interest in oxalic acid.  Unfortunately, a dose of OA by any... read more

12 days of homemade Christmas presentsDay 12???? Christmas Pudding Talk about saving the best for last! This recipe comes to us from deep in the Local is Lovely blog archives and before that, from Anna Derham aka @derhaminteriors’ late Grandma Booth. Than... read more

Beekeeper-funded Research A Test of Thermal Treatment for Varroa Part 2 First published in ABJ April 2021 Randy OliverScientificBeekeeping.com Last month I covered the theory of using thermal treatment (hyperthermia) to control varroa, and some of the des... read more

Wolves, and their predation of livestock, are a major issue for farmers, whether that’s a perception or a reality. And large carnivores are coming back to places where they had previously been eliminated, thanks to improved conservation efforts and, as in... read more

HOPGUARD 3 AS A SUMMER TREATMENT Beekeeper-Funded Research Randy Oliver, with collaboration by Aris Roberts First published in ABJ February 2022   In the summer of 2020, I tested using Hopguard 3 to control varroa. Unfortunately, the label was not clear, ... read more

A COMPARATIVE TRIAL OF THE POLLEN SUBS 2020 Part 1 Beekeeper-Funded Research First published in ABJ July 2021 Randy OliverScientificBeekeeping.com California has been in a “mega-drought” for a decade. In many areas, there is not enough natural forage in ... read more

When Tiffany Traverse thinks about growing and eating the same food that her ancestors ate, she gets excited. “I want others to feel that way, too! We should all be able to feel that connection to place and food,” says the Indigenous farmer. Traverse and ... read more

Most Americans think of peanuts in terms of peanut butter or as a snack at baseball games. The history of peanuts in America, of course, is more complicated than that, and it is often tied to the enslavement of African Americans. However, the history of p... read more

Pesky infestations of tar spot disease are expected to put another dent in farmers’ yields across the Midwest, according to a team of scientists that specializes in crop pathology. Tar spot is recognized by its raised black spots that sprout on healthy or... read more

Seaweeds are among the fastest‑growing organisms on the planet and are very regenerative if they are harvested properly. The number one rule for harvesting sustainably is: do not rip the seaweed from the rock. Always leave some of the seaweed attached and... read more

American whiskey has long been about corn. After all, it’s the star ingredient in bourbon, the country’s beloved spirit. Yet the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which is responsible for regulating and collecting taxes on alcohol, is set to... read more

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. As lockdowns went into effect in the spring of 2020 to slow the spread of the coronavirus, reports emerged of a global gardening boom, with plan... read more

With you, for you - AgForce delivered in 2020/21:   More than 152 Letters to Stakeholders 7 Submissions to Parliament More than 37 Ministerial Meetings 5 Parliamentary Hearings (reduced by COVID and the state election We helped keep ag powering ... read more

ONFARM, 5th April 2023. If anyone was 'remotely' interested in educating themselves about the process and the role that Australia plays in supplying livestock to countries around the world for the sustenance of millions of people every day, it's the team... read more

A COMPARATIVE TRIAL OF THE POLLEN SUBS 2020 Part 2 First published in ABJ August 2021 Vincent Riciglianoa and Randy OliverbaUSDA-ARS, bScientificBeekeeping.com   Last month I described how we set up our comparative trial of several pollen subs. Now it’s t... read more

Reaching for meats labeled as “raised without antibiotics” is a move that many consumers make in the grocery aisle. But are those shoppers actually getting antibiotic-free beef? As it turns out, that is not always the case.  The US Department of Agricultu... read more