South Australian Country Hour

As global prices soar, one of Australia's largest olive oil producers doesn't expect a good harvest until 2025, GPSA launches a young grains producer committee to help foster the next generation of leaders and policy makers, and demand for seedless fruit varieties grows as the genetic breeding technology needed to create them is rapidly improving.

The wool industry calls on Australians to make submissions opposing a new European labelling system for natural fibres, Australian Grape and Wine supports the inclusion of wine in the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, and CCW Cooperative responds to Accolade Wines' offer to buy out Riverland grower contracts for red wine varietals.

Federal Trade Minister Don Farrell visits the Riverland to meet with growers and winemakers amid an industry crisis, south east sheep producers discuss concerns around the proposed phase-out of live exports from Australia, and a survey of 300 SA grain producers finds around one third are in the process of succession.

SA's dairy industry unveils a plan to grow its milk production by an extra 200 million litres over the next five years, the SA No Till Farmers' Association says its services are no longer needed and will wrap up after 25 years, and the seafood industry claims the government's proposed biosecurity protection levy could send businesses in the sector to the wall.

A Senate inquiry holds its first hearing into the Federal Government's proposed biosecurity protection levy, the veterinary industry calls on the government to provide education fee relief to vets to address workforce shortages in rural areas, and a record amount of lamb travels from drought stricken areas of WA to the east coast.

Producers raise concerns over proposed changes to Livestock SA's constitution and committee structure, a new study finds inconsistent laws between states is making it more difficult to prevent water theft from the Murray Darling Basin, and the safety and maintenance of thousands of dams dotted across the Adelaide Hills the focus of a new project.

South Australia raises urgent concerns with the Victorian Government over changes to wild dog management, researchers who've spent decades coming up with a better bioharvesting method for wool say they're almost to the point of commercial viability, and Australia's octopus fisheries are being trained in how to age an octopus to help the resource remain sustainable.

The National Farmers' Federation calls for the Food and Grocery Code to be made mandatory for the major supermarkets, a new report suggests while global production is up, Aussie consumption of veggies is down, and Elders trials a state-wide online clearing sale for the for the first time in its 185 year history.

Beston Global Food Company splits its payments to its milk suppliers amid challenging conditions facing the dairy industry, the Federal Government decides that the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority will stay in Armidale, and Australian wool producers get a revamped scheme to set certified sustainable wool standards.

South Australian irrigators that rely on the River Murray likely to get their full water entitlements in the coming financial year, a two year old heifer from the state's South East sells for $130,000 to top this year's Elite Wagyu Sale, and a Senate inquiry looks at supermarket price transparency and the codes governing the relationships between fresh food suppliers and retailers.

The Almond Board of Australia expects the industry to be worth $2billion in the next five years, a number of cases of Bovine Ephemeral Fever found in cattle in the south west region of NSW, and the feral goat population almost eradicated in the Montacute area of the Adelaide Hills.

SA producers shown how to use EID ear tag technology to make some production gains in sheep, recent heavy rains in parts of the outback, and the floodwaters arriving from the north take their toll on the state's most remote roads, and research continues on the potential impacts of releasing a carp herpes virus on both pest and native fish.

Studies investigate the impact and potenital benefits of invertebrates such as lady beetles, lacewings and spiders, in canola, the lobster industry renews calls for bans on their seafood to also be dropped by China following wine's re-entry, and lab-grown meat alternative producer Vow becomes the first Australian company to receive approval to sell to consumers.

SA's final crop production for the financial year estimated at 8.7 million tonnes, with an estimated farmgate value of $3.3 billion, Croplife says delays by Australia's pesticide authority are stopping farmers from tackling pests and diseases, and Citrus SA says issues with retailer margins have long plagued growers.

Riverland Wine calls for removal of 13% of the region's vines and an exit package for growers, Australia's Chief Veterinary officer says the government is closely watching bird flu developments around the world, and Australia to get an Olive Oil Quality Monitoring Program to tackle counterfeit products and keep quality high.

A pilot program launched to help South Australia's primary industries prepare for natural disasters, grants available for Riverland wine grape growers for routine costs amid the red wine oversupply crisis, and South Australian researchers funded to develop a fully autonomous agriculture system for Low Earth Orbit.

The Federal Ag Minister asked to step in to allow farmers to gain access again to a stronger mouse bait, snail data collection cameras trialled in SA and WA, alongside biocontrol measures, and a former South East cattle property purchased for restoration into a conservation site for threatened species.

Pastoralists remain wary over recent changes to legislation to encourage renewable energy projects on South Australian pastoral land, drone technology trialled as a way to detect bushfires at much earlier stages, and Ngarrindjeri Elder and Kuti Co CEO Uncle Derek Walker named a Sustainable Fishing Hero by the Marine Stewardship Council.

New modelling suggests Australian farmers be prepared for future mega-droughts that could last decades, the National Farmers Federation calls for a mandatory code of conduct for the chicken meat industry following an 18-month investigation, and snail and slug numbers not expected to be as high as last year, but farmers warned to stay vigilant.

Farmers across Australia grapple with the imminent closure of a widely-used record keeping and decision making tool, outback families at the 2024 Isolated Children and Parents Association of SA meeting pursue options for better access to services, and citizen scientists asked to spot and report any signs of the plant fungus Myrtle Rust in South Australia.