Fostering debate – a range of opinions

Too many journalists fail to ask their on-air guests questions about generalisations made, in this case about different types of meat production in Australia versus overseas.

In part two of a three article series on regenerative agriculture Patrick Francis examines why the concept is creating unnecessary divisions amongst Australia’s broadacre farmers.

The people that we trust adhere to rules and standards and act with integrity. How people have acted in the past also becomes part of our judgement about whether to trust them.

On current trends, the area of land under conservation or protected from commercial uses will exceed that allocated to grazing by the year 2045. By then, both grazing and conservation will each command around 35% of the Australian land area.

The history of sheep farming in WA since 1990 demonstrates farmers have the capacity to find alternative enterprises to live sheep trading.

In this essay David Smith contends that the message that agricultural scientists have promoted for decades and the core of the courses in land management they have taught, is acceptable, and a recognition of the work of the agricultural science/natural resource management profession.

The latest CSIRO Biodiversity Knowledge Project seems premised on agriculture being a negative force. In reality farmers have some really positive stories of land use and climate resilience, which we should be sharing and learning from.

Many Australian farmers have dramatically improved the state of the environment over the past decade, however, while these improvements are noted in the State of the Environment report released in March 2017, the authors persisted in painting a gloomy picture of the future.,

After 30 years of landcare farming practice change, greater emphasis should be put on protecting the enhanced environments built up across participating farms. It’s time for more dollars being allocated to exclusion fencing for its long-term benefits in protecting farm ecosystem functions and livelihoods.

The recent statement by Animals Australia that farmers who are involved in the live export trade are being “kept in the dark” over the treatment of their stock seems to be correct. This situation can be easily changed to give farmers knowledge about what happens to their livestock overseas.

The latest expose showing killing cattle with a sledge hammer in a Vietnamese abattoir highlights the inability of the Australian government’s Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) to prevent animal cruelty.

Patrick Francis summarises the key points in his submission to the Victorian government’s Animal Industries Advisory committee’s review into a presumed intensification of livestock farming.

New animal welfare standards for sheep will still result in people not being legally liable for many undesirable sheep husbandry and handling practices.

Domestic processing of cattle in Australia could come under threat from live export.

Petition fails to understand the complex animal husbandry and ecosystem functions associated with Blackmore’s move to finishing his Wagyu cattle on farm.

Livestock farming intensity is a relative term which should not be categorized by the percentage of daily feed intake which an animal eats. What is important about intensity are the outcomes associated with livestock health and welfare, outcomes for ecosystem functions across the farm concerned, and issues with feeding logistics and transport in the vicinity of the farm.

Webinars are close to the ultimate extension tool because they give farmers specific information on a topic of interest without the farmer having to leave home

The RSPCA is the target of a concerted campaign by state farmer organisations and vested interest commentators to discredit it and possibly diminish its role in overseeing animal welfare on farms.

The greatest value-add for meat comes via processing and retailing, both are lost with live exports unless joint ventures are involved.

By Patrick Francis  

By Patrick Francis Key points Most farmers have a different agenda to the rest of agriculture’s sectors when it comes

By Andrew Lang I am sitting in a small hotel in Finland having woken up early by my brain which

 – Ignores cruelty risk and consumer demand for Aussie quality meats Comment by Patrick Francis The Australian Farm Institute’s analysis

Comment by Patrick Francis In a recent blog the Australian Farm Institute’s director Mick Keogh provided a counter explanations for

By Patrick Francis Dr David Smith is the quintessential agricultural scientist. Now retired, Smith has been at the forefront of

By Patrick Francis In October 2012 the Prime Minister announced that Major General (retired) Michael Jeffery is Australia’s first Advocate

The Australian newspaper editorial of January 15, 2013 continues the highly simplistic thinking being used by pro-GM companies and supporters.

By Patrick Francis There are plenty of claims made about the potential benefits of GM crop varieties but their unsubstantiated nature

By Patrick Francis The National Food Plan Green Paper should be amongst the top four policy documents prepared by the

Funding buys environmental policy acceptance By Patrick Francis The Australian government’s Clean Energy Future legislation package has become law and

By Patrick Francis The words “Product of Australia” on exported foods carry with them critically important attributes about all aspects

It is rare for leaders of agricultural organisations to present unreserved opinions about the direction their industry is taking. One