Blackfella Beef - Concept Announced

At Beef Week in Rockhampton in early May 2018, the  Queensland Senator Matt Canavan launched the Blackfella Beef concept.

Quite a few news articles on line and worth a read.

The idea of Blackfella Beef was developed by the Wangan Jagalingou and Western Kangoulu Indigenous groups and has garnered financial support from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and the University of Southern Queensland.  The image below is of Jonathan Malone and Kelvin Dunrobin launching  Blackfella Beef at Beef Week  with Stairmaster the champion Senepol bull.

The next step is to identify how many Indigenous-owned cattle enterprises there are in Queensland that could market their beef products under the brand.

With a significant number of beef properties owned and /or operated by indigenous Australians, predominantly across north Australia, the concept has a lot of marketing potential.  There seems to be a degree of support among indigenous people in the industry, at least in Queensland so far.  Certainly there are many large cattle properties in the NT and the NW of WA that are owned and operated by local indigenous groups that could be part of such a group.  

But it has to do more than just be an indigenous brand - if it does not offer quality beef it will be wasted.  It has to offer advantage or it will be meaningless.

Quality beef includes genetics, stock handling, quality as well as seasonal issues, especially across the north, and management - on and off the property and through to customer quality and branding.  Certainly a lot to consider.

Will it be organic beef?  With organic beef a fast growing commodity, many of the northern properties could be set up to qualify for this category, but often handling through the slaughter process can be problematical to maintain authenticity.

There is a long way to go yet.

image copyright  to ABC Capricornia: Inga Stünzner

Queensland and North Australia Rainfall Variability

Queensland experiences some of the highest rainfall variability in the world. The chart below shows an analysis of the historical rainfall records from 1889–2017 and reveals 9 sequences of wet and dry periods, each lasting from 5 to 13 years. Our variable climate, especially long periods of drought, is one of the biggest challenges when running a successful grazing property in north Australia.

The maps also indicate graphically the situation for north Australia and includes the Northern Territory.

The maps are easier to see if downloaded separately from the original website.

Queensland has had a recent extended period of low rainfall [ see reddish and brown areas], while north and northwest Australia has been wetter than normal [blue and green areas].

There are some indications that at least for Queensland it might be getting wetter. 

Queensland's Extended Wet/Dry Periods (1889-2017) (PDF, 2.1M, last updated 01:48PM, 21 June 2017)*

The Drought and Climate Adaptation Program (DCAP) is an initiative to improve drought preparedness and resilience for Queensland producers. The program aims to do this by delivering a range of research, development and extension projects.

The Queensland Drought Mitigation Centre is a collaboration of national and international climate modelling expertise and has been established to facilitate the research, development and extension projects under the DCAP program. The Centre is a collaboration between the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation (DSITI) and the University of Southern Queensland (USQ).  It has a Queensland focus, but data tends to cover north Australia more generally.

Drought and Climate Adaptation Program

The research projects include:

• Managing for climate variability and improving drought preparedness in Queensland grazing enterprises: Rural specialists' perspectives and suggestions
• Quantifying and communicating risks associated with multi-year drought in Queensland
• Customised Pasture Alerts by email
• Redevelopment of the LongPaddock website
• Necessary climate change projections data for quantitative agricultural risk management
• Communicating climate change impacts on Queensland’s agricultural sectors
• Learning from the past – incorporating palaeoclimate data into water security planning and decision-making
• Improving seasonal forecasts
• Predicting multi-year droughts
• Quantifying multi-year droughts
• Enhanced multi-peril crop insurance
• Economic value of risk management from seasonal forecasts
• Developing drought monitoring indices
• Developing crop forecasting models

• Enhancing decision support tools
• Crop production modelling under climate change
• Regional climate change adaptation
• Managing for climate variability workshops

More details on the results of the projects will be available soon.

This type of approach may offer deeper insights for the rural communities in north Australia, as well as mining and other industries in the north.

Rural America is Stranded in the Dial-Up Age

This is the heading for a pertinent article in the Wall Street Journal [ www.wsj.com ] of 16 June 2017. 

It highlights the deplorable plight of rural America in regards to decent internet coverage, now seen as a necessity for business, education, healthcare and rural properties, let alone households.

While Australia has made considerable efforts to provide a decent service through the NBN, the once great US of A is struggling with services to rural areas.

We are not doing fantastically in Australia, but may be doing a great deal better than the USA it seems.

Read here - https://www.wsj.com/articles/rural-america-is-stranded-in-the-dial-up-age-1497535841 

This should be relevant reading for all those outside capital cities in Australia, in terms of pursuing additional pressure on the Australian government to really consider rural Australia in NBN planning.

Early Rainfall or Not - late 2015?

The BOM recently issued the late August 2015 assessment of onset of the rain season across N Australia.  For the Darwin / Daly region, a slightly higher chance now of earlier rain that exceeds the 50mm accumulation. 

Maybe for the Top End it is now somewhat confusing as it could be argued that it is about evenly poised between early and later accumulation of 50mm of rain, as the difference is quite small for earlier rain.  Is there much difference between 5% either side the 50%?

I think there are serious quibbles about the definition used - 50mm of accumulated rainfall after September 1, but that is what they are using at present.  There is no value apparently placed on close events nor size of an individual event or period between events, features that could be more relevant for effective rainfall.  More work needed in this space I think.

However, some progress is being achieved.

Recent analysis is available here - 

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/rainfall-onset/#tabs=About-the-rainfall-onset

with additional links to further mapping on adjacent pages.

The BOM links to this rainfall outlook do seem to indicate a good rainfall situation for central Australia though with more rainfall considered likely for the pre End of year period.

If you think the analysis needs more work, contact the BOM!   The more that do, the greater likelihood of further R and D on this important area.

-----------------

This was written a month ago, and yes, there was some early rain, in some cases more than 50mm.  BUT........it has been extremely dry since and the pattern of continuing dry weather at least around Darwin seems to be likely to continue.  Any pasture growth from those early events is well and truly now dried off.

Would 50mm after 1 October be more appropriate as a measure of early seasonal change, rather than 1 September?

Quinoa to be Grown AND Processed in Western Australia

A $500,000 grant from Coles has provided the impetus for the first quinoa processing plant to be built in WA.  This is a big step for local food processing in Australia where so much has been written about the loss of food manufacture in Australia.

Australian Grown Superfoods, involving Highbury farmer Ashley Wiese, Dumbleyung farmer Megan Gooding and agronomist Garren Knell, received news it had secured the Coles Nurture Fund grant late last week

Mr Wiese said the grant money was the missing link in moves to get quinoa onto Australian supermarket shelves, although I do not agree necessarily with the statement, as my observation is that there is quinoa already present in reasonable quantities in major supermarkets [including Coles]. 

He said - "The total investment in the plant will be $1.5 million, so this grant will make up a significant portion of this and will help us reduce the risk," he said.  "It has given us confidence that we are doing the right thing and are on the right track.  "We are getting the production, we know the market is there, it has just been the processing part of the equation holding us back.  "The only alternative to process quinoa without a domestic plant was to send it overseas, so we would have had to ship it out of the country to process it and then ship it back.  "With the fall in the Australian dollar that would have been a very expensive exercise. Plus, in conversations we have had with our customers, they want traceability of the product and we were nervous we could lose that if the product had to be shipped overseas."

Mr Wiese said there would still be a cautious approach to increasing production of quinoa.

quinoa growing at altitude in S America

quinoa grain colour varies with different varieties

This year's crop totals 500 hectares and should produce 300 to 400 tonnes.  "We will increase production slowly," he said.  "Initially we will target the domestic market and hope to replace some of the Peruvian conventional product in the market now.  "We are also looking at exporting to Asia, but that will take a few years.  "We are conscious of taking it slow and making sure the demand is there before we increase production.  "Even though the grant came with no strings attached we are talking to Coles and this grant has provided us with a foot in the door with them and conversations are happening which is a great thing for us.  "We are keen to supply Coles and that is where we will start and at this stage we won't look to expand too far ahead of that.  "If we are going to get into the export market we will have to lift supply."

Mr Wiese said there has already been a large amount of planning done on the plant and it could be built and ready for processing as early as December this year.  "Megan's family has built a pilot plant in Narrogin and that has worked really well and gave us the confidence we could build a larger scale plant," he said.  "The plant will be built on my property and the sheds are going up now and most of the machinery is built so it will happen quite quickly."

Coles managing director John Durkan said the project was exactly the type of innovative business that the Coles Nurture Fund had been set up to support  "We chose it to receive one of the first grants because it is innovative and providing a local product that is currently imported into Australia and will be available in WA," Mr Durkan said.

Coles launched Coles Nurture Fund in April, announcing it would provide $50 million in grants and interest free loans over five years to businesses in the food and grocery sector so they could grow and innovate.

Quinoa production is expanding modestly around Australia and expanding into non traditional areas including the tropics and sub tropics, even with interest in the NT and Queensland, with continuing interest in the broad north Australia area, where production may be an irrigated or partially irrigated crop in the dry season, whereas so far most has been produced in temperate areas.  There is a range of varieties available, including those with different grain colours, and some of these seem to have potential for north Australia.

Local market demand is increasing, but one has to wonder if it will be a short lived curiosity, only to be cast aside as fashion changes, or if some detrimental issue arises with the product and will it continue to displace sales of other food products.

There is no doubt that post production aspects of the whole production chain for many agricultural products is a stumbling block to wider use and potential for export.  It is much easier to increase in paddock production than to commit $$ to post growing processing or treatment, yet that is often where the bottleneck is!

Lets hope it progresses well. 

partially sourced from online edition of Qld Country Life 10/915

Is Biosecurity Adequate in Northern Australia?

There is a lot of  future for north Australia that is dependent on effective biosecurity in the region.

Over the past several years the litany of biosecurity breaches seems to be significant :

• Panama disease in a major production area of bananas in north Queensland - Tropical Race 4 [ TR4] a highly pathogenic variant
• known areas of the same disease around Darwin, and banning bananas being grown in some NT areas, and restrictions on banana plant movements
• a major effort at eradication of Banana Freckle disease near Darwin  after the exotic disease was found in the NT
• Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic Virus in curcurbits, especially melons, in the NT in 2014 and adjacent states also potentially infected, but not all jurisdictions are looking yet
• an Asian Bee colony discovered in Darwin in the last few days, after hitching a ride on a caravan, but with an absent queen - who is suspected of absconding with a new colony and may be setting up locally [ if that establishes then there will be mayhem]

Asian honey bees

• culicoides driven diseases also seem to be increasing - with blue tongue arriving many years ago from wind borne insects, and more recently a few more cases of chikungunya around the north [ at least so far the mosquito involved in spread does not seem to be around]; dengue outbreaks in some locations in north Queensland [ although the Australian derived disease in mosquities - Wolbachia may be a great agent to make a difference] if needed, as well as considerable issues surrounding other mosquito diseases such as Ross River Fever and variants as well as Murray Valley Encephalitis.  

We would like to see more agricultural development in the north of Australia, but biosecurity does need to be remembered......and emphasised.

While there has been money marked to be used for improved biosecurity in the north the track record is not all that encouraging.  And one must not forget human diseases either.

A meeting this week included a presentation on the dollars to be allocated to biosecurity improvements, R and D, upgraded awareness etc.  And presented by someone from outside the north Australia area seemed to leave local north Australia scientists and producers rather underwhelmed.  Some stated that industry  - a very diverse one at that - is not being adequately consulted or even advised.  One thinks of plant based industries - but often just the major ones of temperate Australia, but seems to forget fish farms, prawn farms, crocodiles and other non mainstream animal industries let alone the plant and animal based industries that thrive in the north - nurseries, asian vegetables, sugar, chia, cattle, pastures etc.  Are they being assessed adequately for biosecurity threats?

http://www.agricultureminister.gov.au/pages/media-releases/agwp-biosecurity.aspx

http://www.agricultureminister.gov.au/pages/media-releases/12-4-million-for-indigenous-rangers.aspx


These are recent media release on new measures in biosecurity for north Australia, but there is little detail.  Finding any information on detail is also VERY difficult, as it seems to be hidden away from easy access.

Biosecurity might not be very sexy in terms of rural development - but it is important, and needs greater highlighting of what is being planned.

Development of North Australia - Real Progress to Start??

Newly released today is the Australian government white paper on north Australia, along with actual $$ to do some things.

Lots of people and organisations are poring over the document today, but it seems to have been broadly well received do far.

Check it out yourself, with the web address to access it at the bottom of the press release.

As someone living in north Australia it is a long felt need to invest and do more in north Australia but successive governments have seemed reluctant to really commit the money to develop the region, especially on a long term basis.

Lets consider the issue in five years???

Our North, Our Future: A Vision for Developing North Australia

18 June 2015

Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development

Minister for Trade and Investment

The Government has today released its White Paper on Developing Northern Australia: Our North, Our Future.

This is Australia’s first White Paper on developing Northern Australia, building on our Green Paper and pre-election statement.

It is an essential part of our plan for a strong, prosperous economy and a safe, secure Australia.

With a land mass covering over three million square kilometres, and a population of over one million people, the north has untapped potential.

It is home to some of our most treasured icons including the Great Barrier Reef, the wet tropics of Queensland, Uluru, Kakadu and Cable Beach.

The White Paper is a roadmap for achieving our vision for the north by 2035 and we are starting work right away – alongside the people who live and do business in the north.

We have set out an ambitious long term reform agenda for the north because a strong north means a strong nation.

The White Paper delivers an initial investment of $1.2 billion.This is in addition to the $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to provide concessional finance for infrastructure projects in the north.

The Commonwealth Government has already committed nearly $5 billion of its $50 billion nationwide investment in transport infrastructure to the north (including $3 billion for northern sections of the Bruce Highway, $172.2 million for the North West Coastal Highway and $90 million for the Northern Territory Regional Roads Productivity Package).

The White Paper includes measures to unlock the north’s potential across six key areas: simpler land arrangements to support investment; developing the north’s water resources;  growing the north as a business, trade and investment gateway; investing in infrastructure to lower business and household costs; reducing barriers to employing people; and improving governance.

Land in the north has the potential to support greater and more diverse economic activity. But the complexity of land arrangements has slowed development to date.

The Government is supporting simpler and more secure land arrangements in the north, by investing:
• $20.4 million to support native title bodies to realise their potential and negotiate more efficiently with business;
• $17 million to support secure property rights for cadastral surveys, area mapping and township leases; and
• $10.6 million for pilot land tenure reforms to help fund ‘next steps’ for projects that demonstrate the benefits of tenure reform, particularly on pastoral leases.
The Government will also work with the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to:
• reduce native title costs and delays – the Government wants all existing native title claims settled in the next 10 years; and
• allow Indigenous Australians to borrow against or lease out exclusive native title land.

The Government will support the development of more water resources in the north by establishing a $200 million Water Infrastructure Development Fund. The Fund will provide up to $5 million for a feasibility analysis for the Nullinga Dam near Cairns, and up to $5 million for a detailed examination of land-use suitability for Ord Stage 3.
Secure water rights will be a condition for any water delivered through new Commonwealth funded water infrastructure.
The Government will also provide $15 million for water resource assessments of the Mitchell River (Queensland), West Kimberley (Western Australia) and Darwin region (Northern Territory).

More business, trade and investment means stronger growth, more jobs, higher incomes and better living standards in the north and across Australia.

The proximity to the fast-growing Asian and tropical regions means boundless opportunities where demand for Australian goods and services is reaching unprecedented levels.

The Government will help attract more investors to the north by:
• hosting a major northern investment forum in Darwin in late 2015 to bring together international investors, supported by the new investment prospectus: “Northern Australia emerging opportunities in an advanced economy”;
• setting up a new $75 million Cooperative Research Centre on Developing Northern Australia;
• investing $15.3 million to position the north as a global leader in tropical health;
• providing $12.4 million for Indigenous Ranger groups to expand biosecurity surveillance, with further details on biosecurity to be announced in the forthcoming Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper; and
• helping business enter new markets and supply chains by increasing access to the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme and Industry Skills Fund.

For too long, governments have tied up investment in unnecessary red tape. The Government will end these delays by partnering with the Northern Territory Government to establish a ‘single point of entry’ in Darwin to streamline regulatory processes and cut red tape for major investors.

The Government will also remove excessive regulatory burden by streamlining and simplifying cultural heritage, fisheries, and wildlife trade regulations, and supporting northern industries including fisheries and crocodile trade.

Infrastructure is critical to fast tracking growth and unlocking the north’s economic potential.

The Commonwealth Government will focus on funding high priority infrastructure through:
• a $5 billion Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, providing concessional loans for major infrastructure in the north and supporting projects prioritised on the new infrastructure pipeline;
• a new $600 million roads package to improve key roads in the north, including consideration of upgrades for the Arnhem, Barkly, Flinders, Great Northern, Savannah and Hann highways, the Outback Way and the Tanami Road;
• a $100 million beef roads fund which will help improve cattle supply chains;
• investing $39.6 million to upgrade airstrips and subsidise air services in remote Australia; and
• investing $5 million in rail freight analyses — starting with a pre-feasibility analyses of the Mount Isa to Tennant Creek railway and an upgrade of the Townsville to Mount Isa line.

The north’s workforce needs are unique. Many businesses effectively shut down or cut back during the wet season; working long hours in the dry season. For example, tourism workers often need to work outside standard hours, while mining or agriculture workers can be required to stay onsite for extended periods of time.

The Government will build on existing initiatives across Australia, including reforms to higher education, skills and training and the $5.5 billion Growing Jobs and Small Business Package to create the right conditions for small business to grow and create new jobs.

The Government is also helping more Australians to work in the north by:
• assisting the Northern Territory Government to streamline recognition of occupational licenses from other jurisdictions, abolishing red tape and expanding job opportunities;
• supporting northern business to invest in the skills of their workforce with additional assistance under the Industry Skills Fund; and
• supporting remote job seekers to work in real jobs through reforms to the Remote Jobs and Communities Programme.

To complement our investment, we will continue to work with Indigenous Australians, the northern jurisdictions and industry so the north can reach its full potential.

The Northern Australia Strategic Partnership — the biannual gathering of First Ministers from the Commonwealth and northern jurisdictions — will be made permanent.

The Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia has been continued for the life of the Parliament to ensure ongoing bipartisan support for developing the north.

Shifting the Office of Northern Australia to the north will also increase links between the north and the Commonwealth.

Northern Australia can grasp its full potential and become an economic powerhouse within our great country.

We will drive down the costs of operating in the north for business; making it a more attractive place to invest and work.

By building a prosperous north, we will build a better future for all Australians.

More information on the White Paper is available at: https://northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/