There's an Elephant in my Paddock!

When Queensland University of Technology researchers Dr Carol Richards and Dr Rudi Messner first embarked on a social research project into sustainable grazing they found an unexpected gem. Everyone wanted to talk about it, but not many understood it. Some had dismissed it from their businesses, some couldn't wait to incoporate it. Carbon. It's well understood it's going to be part of beef businesses long into the future, but there's still a lot of murky detail about how it works, how we measure it and how we relate it to grazing businesses. In this final episode of our sustainable grazing series, we hear from Professor David Rowlings, a grazier from Southern Queensland and an expert in carbon sequestration. Thanks to Dr Rudi Messner and Dr Carol Richards, for their insights and their fascinating research, funded by Australian Research Council and supported by the Queensland University of Technology and Meat and Livestock Australia. Thanks again to the many producers involved in the project who gave up their time and expertise.

Wellness and self care- they aren’t concepts talked about too often when you’re running a busy farming business. But should they be? This is the second episode in a series with Dr Carol Richards and Dr Rudi Messner- researchers from the Queensland University of Technology. We’ll hear what producers are doing to look after themselves and by default their businesses and how goals are being achieved, no matter what grazing system is utilised. Thanks to Dr Rudi Messner and Dr Carol Richards, for their insights and their fascinating research, funded by Australian Research Council and supported by the Queensland University of Technology and Meat and Livestock Australia. Thanks again to the many producers involved in the project who gave up their time and expertise.

Are you worried about food security in Australia? Maybe you should be. For the most part, we have it pretty good- but to maintain market access and get food to where it needs to be, more work needs to be done. This is the first of a three part series on sustainable food production. In this episode we’re looking at food security and food system shocks with producers and researchers. Thanks to Dr Rudi Messner and Dr Carol Richards for their insights and their fascinating research, funded by Australian Research Council and supported by the Queensland University of Technology and Meat and Livestock Australia. Thanks again to the many producers involved in the project who gave up their time and expertise.

How important is wellness to rural communities? It’s time to take the broad brushstrokes out of referring to rural and regional Australia. Between the Regional Wellbeing Survey and initiatives like the Rural Community Wellbeing Initiative, there’s enough tangible evidence to ensure rural and regional communities have access to the resources they need. So why don’t they? In this episode we take a deep dive into the concept of wellbeing with Associate Professor Jacki Schirmer, manager of the annual Regional Wellbeing Survey, dairy farmer Stuart Crosthwaite, and Kirsty Wall a wool grower in New South Wales’ New England region and a child and family registered nurse. National Wellbeing survey- https://www.abs.gov.au/participate-survey/household-survey/national-survey-health-and-wellbeing

For generations, rural Australians have grappled home schooling their children between running businesses, households and being parents. Where there's an increasing emphasis on the quality of education, should these home tutors be paid for teaching their children? In this episode we hear from long term rural and remote education lobbyists, the Isolated Children's Parents Association, the parents themselves and a Queensland Distance Education Principal. 

Buying more land is an impossible choice for many Australian beef businesses. So how can they be more profitable with what land they have?  With rising costs of living, land, seed, livestock, fuel and power, the agricultural sector is becoming increasingly savvy at finding solutions that mean that businesses can expand and increase profits without having to buy more land. Join host Jayne Cuddihy with a cohort from the Queensland Government's Advancing Beef Leaders program for a lively discussion on how beef businesses can do more with less. The group includes James Kent, Stuart Buck, Zoe Rickertt, Matt Quinn and Sarah Donovan.  Advancing Beef Leaders is a professional development program produced by The Queensland Department of Agriculture and delivery partners. https://futurebeef.com.au/advancing-beef-leaders/ Not only do participants have a broad range of experience and expertise in the beef industry, but are determined to influence their sector in positive and constructive change.  This episode is sponsored by The Rural Financial Counselling Service Network. Find them here https://rfcsnetwork.com.au/

In Part 2 of our feature on building resilience in the Australian horticulture industry, we hear how improving the mental health of farmers is key to the industry’s longevity. Rural Aid is an organisation dedicated to improving the mental health outcomes of rural Australia. They often have multi-tiered roles in natural disasters… https://www.ruralaid.org.au/ Lauren Stracey is their national manager for mental health and wellbeing. The National Recovery and Resilience Agency https://recovery.gov.au/ was established by Prime Minister Scott Morrison in response to recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. We hear from Shane Stone, the Co-ordinator General of the agency and Bruce Scott- western Queensland cattleman, and one of Shane’s ‘boots on the ground’ with the Agency. They want to change the narrative around how the Federal Government supports rural industries and put more focus on preparation alongside recovery. We also hear from Lena Knudson from Growcom, the peak industry body for horticulture. Though based in Queensland, Growcom delivers national-scale projects and policy initiatives

In this episode we discuss a question posed by Richard Shannon- how do we ensure that horticulture is more resilient in the face of extreme weather events? To set the scene, what conditions are Australian horticulture growers operating under and how are they ensuring they remain financially viable when dealing with natural disasters? Central Queensland’s Sandi Groves has ensured multiple disaster events and has emerged with a stronger business- listen to how she did it. Ed Cowie is in partnership on a farm with his father and was severely impacted by the same 2019 fires. But in terms of disaster fatigue, Ed has unique insights, stemming from his roles in emergency services as a police officer, fire officer and SES controller, with an in-depth knowledge of farming systems. So how bad can it get… and what can growers do to be resilient to natural disasters? Richard Eckard is Professor of Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Melbourne and Director of the Primary Industries Climate Challenges Centre (www.piccc.org.au), a research centre addressing the impacts of climate change on agriculture. He says proactive farmers are already counteracting the effects of climate change. This episode is brought to you by Growcom and the Rural Financial Counselling Service NQ and the Rural Financial Counselling Service Network.

Imagine getting an insurance payout if you didn’t get your annual expected rainfall? It seems an idyllic, yet perhaps expensive solution to modern farming. Researchers at the University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Applied Climate Sciences are revolutionising the way farmers engage with the insurance industry. Leading the charge is Prof Shahbaz Mushtaq who is applying his expertise in agricultural economics to assist primary producers when they can’t adapt to or manage the climate.

The humble workboot; it’s a staple of every Australian bush setting. They can be leather boots, or old sneakers, some people prefer none and sacrifice their feet to the harsh environs of the cattle yard. But one brand synonymous with rural Australia is RM Williams. In this episode we’re going to take a look at what made the humble leather workboot world famous and what it means when something that’s considered ‘from the bush’ crosses over to boutique luxury branding of high end fashion markets. #rmwilliams #theresanelephantinmypaddock #agriculture #fashionicon #pattyhuntington #wtitleyandco