Moffitts Farm

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.