Publication
Top corn crop
Arcadia cropping farmers have set a new Australian yield benchmark for irrigated corn, putting the region’s farming strength firmly in the spotlight. Leslie Farms, run by brothers Dean and Keith Leslie, harvested 23.78 tonne per hectare from a...
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Dairy input squeeze
Milk production is rising across Australian dairy farms, but rising input costs are threatening to impact profits. Dairy farm businesses are in a cost squeeze, and the global uncertainty due to the Middle East war is casting a long shadow across...
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Battery concerns
The Goorambat community has raised concerns over plans to add a 200 megawatt battery to a solar farm south-east of the town, in an area of prime agricultural land. The solar farm was bought by electricity company ENGIE from renewables developer Neoen...
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Turning up the heat
Dookie farmers and residents have strongly rejected the region’s inclusion in a renewable energy zone. About 200 people filled the Dookie Recreation Reserve rooms on Tuesday, May 5, with many challenging the proposed zone, which would invite the...
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Man faces court over record cannabis crop
A Toolamba cannabis crop worth an estimated $22 million to $26 million was the biggest hydroponic cannabis crop ever discovered by police in Victoria, a court has heard. Police discovered 8805 cannabis plants, ranging from seedlings to mature plants,...
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Animals vanish
“You will always find a dead body.” Her goats survived, her cows were accounted for, but the fate of 37 well-bred high-performance ponies missing from Dr Robyn Coy’s Tarcombe property after the Longwood fire remains a mystery. Despite flying drones,...
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Minister lobbied on buybacks
Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt has faced irrigation farmers worried about the impact of Commonwealth water buybacks on a visit to northern Victoria. Mr Watt attended a forum organised by local government in Echuca and visited a dairy farm...
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Ruffling feathers
When Torrumbarry landholder Max Marchetti first received notice of a planning permit for a proposed egg farming development near his property, he did not realise just how large the project would be. “I had no idea this sort of operation was even being...
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Farms threat
Farmers in northern Victoria’s Dookie region said they were blindsided by plans to declare the area a Renewable Energy Zone, warning the move threatens some of the most productive cropping land in the state. Local grain growers said the decision was...
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Haystack warning
Recent rainfall has prompted a warning from the Country Fire Authority after a number of damp haystacks caught fire across northern Victoria through spontaneous combustion. Since the start of summer, CFA volunteers have responded to more than 30...
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Powering up
It’s regional rooftops that are catching the sun in 2026, with new figures showing northern Victoria leading Melbourne in household solar uptake. Data from the Australian Photovoltaic Institute reveals that local government areas across the Goulburn...
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Long road to recovery
BlazeAid volunteers are working alongside farmers to repair bushfire damaged farms in the Longwood region. BlazeAid crew member Noel Baumgarten (pictured) gets to work clearing debris from the fire.
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Merger opposed
The peak representative body for Victoria’s dairy farmers, the Australian Dairy Industry Council, has expressed concerns with the Victorian Government’s proposed merger of key food safety regulatory bodies. The reforms are rumoured to be tabled in...
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Stoush is settled
An amicable merger looks set to settle a battle between two organisations to represent Victoria’s dairy industry. Dairy Farmers Victoria has agreed to merge with the historical United Dairyfarmers Victoria. The DFV was set up two years ago when...
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Outlook is dry
Irrigators have been warned opening water allocations for northern Victoria are likely to be low for the 2026-27 season. Major water storages are at their lowest level in six years, meaning opening allocations are expected to be low for the Murray,...
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Road to crisis
While billions have been spent on Melbourne-based transport upgrades, Victoria’s regional main roads are languishing in neglect. Farmers and transport companies have complained that maintenance is lapsing even on freeways and highways. Freight...
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Review launched
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has opened a three-month review of the multi-billion-dollar basin plan with a 100-page discussion paper. The basin plan was developed to ensure water could be sustainably shared between the people who use it and the...
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Frosty the champion
International Dairy Week has wrapped up for 2026 with Windy Vale ATW Frosty 2, owned by Geoff and Christine Peatling from Tallygaroopna, crowned Supreme Champion Cow. Frosty was purchased by the family in October from Somerelle Holsteins as a dry cow...
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Counting the cost
Farmers in the Strathbogies and Yarroweyah districts are counting the cost in property and livestock losses as the fire threat gradually winds down. The Longwood fire continues to burn out-of-control more than a week after it started on January...
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