Agribusiness buzz in brief

Brisbane-based AAM's interests currently span regional livestock exchanges in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, and its diversified agricultural fund's investments in poultry farms in South Australia, cropping properties in Central West NSW and pastoral stations in western Queensland and the Northern Territory.

The diversified agricultural fund's existing assets total about $420m with the new equity injection proposed to help it expand its beef activities in northern Australia, including buying about 40,000 cattle.

The agricultural fund, started two years ago, would also take over the 550,000 hectare Katherine aggregation lease currently held by AAM's older pastoral development fund.

The equity raising apparently involves a non-renounceable one for four entitlement offer to existing unit holders priced at $1.27 a unit, or other buyers identified by the National Australia Bank.

Former Agriculture Minister in the previous Labor administration, Joel Fitzgibbon, is joining the Australian Forest Products Association board as an independent director.

Mr Fitzgibbon, who followed his father, Eric, into federal politics as Member for Hunter in NSW in 1996, served as Defence Minister and Agriculture Minister in the Rudd-Gillard governments and as Labor's opposition agriculture and resources spokesman.

AFPA chairman, Greg McCormack, said Mr Fitzgibbon brought important attributes as a passionate supporter of forest industries and understanding of how the industry could work with the new Albanese Government to deliver climate change initiatives and more timber for builders and renovators.

Mr Fitzgibbon, who retired from parliament in April, co-chaired Federal Parliament's Friends of Forest Industries Group for seven years.

Claims of Qantas' anti-competitive, predatory behavior on regional airline routes, where it flew in to undercut Regional Express, have failed to find sympathy with the national consumer watchdog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has closed its investigations into Rex's complaints about Qantas' entry into low passenger traffic routes it had ignored until the coronavirus pandemic cut the national carrier's international options, prompting it to step up competition with its regional rival.

However, the ACCC said it would still pay attention to any Qantas behaviour which may be anti-competitive.

Rex claimed Qantas' entry into the Sydney-Orange, Sydney Broken Hill, Melbourne-Albury and Melbourne Mount Gambier services were examples of Qantas taking its revenge on the Wagga Wagga-based regional carrier for venturing into capital city markets with its own newly established jet services.

Rex said Qantas misused its domestic market power to subsidise new regional services, even adding more capacity to intercity routes when Rex's own jet services began.

It subsequently forced Rex to end its own low passenger services to Bathurst, Grafton, Lismore and Ballina in NSW and Kangaroo Island in South Australia at the end of June.

Qantas Group, which has 65pc of the domestic passenger market, contended it had launched more than 50 new domestic and regional services in the past two years, but only 10 were on routes flown by Rex.

National regional and agricultural newspaper publisher, Australian Community Media, is set to increase cover prices on most of its print titles later this month in response to steep hikes in imported newsprint costs.

ACM (the publisher of this masthead) starts next financial year with an 80 per cent increase in its newsprint bill, plus rising fuel and energy prices and other supply chain pressures, which have added unavoidable costs to production and distribution of the company's 140 local, state and national newspapers.

Managing director, Tony Kendall, said ACM's print publications had seen only one other cover price rise in four years.

The price increases would make a vital contribution to keeping publications in print, and help sustain local journalism and the business, although the rise would only go some way towards offsetting its higher costs.

"At less than the price of a cup of coffee, our newspapers still represent outstanding value to our readers," Mr Kendall said.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has concerns about Queensland-based rail services giant Aurizon's plans to buy coal and agricultural freight haulage business, One Rail, and then sell its east coast business.

One Rail provides rail haulage services on the Adelaide to Darwin corridor, and in NSW, Queensland and elsewhere in SA.

The ACCC is considering whether the deal would substantially lessen competition in regional rail haulage services for bulk commodities, including coal.

Aurizon, Australia's largest rail freight operator, plans to continue growing its non-coal bulk commodity rail haulage business.

Aurizon, One Rail and Pacific National are the key coal haulage players in NSW and Queensland.

"By reducing the number of competitors in the supply of coal haulage we have preliminary concerns that the proposed acquisition of One Rail by Aurizon would be likely to substantially lessen competition," said ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

"We're also considering the impact of this proposed acquisition on potential future competition in the supply of non-coal bulk rail haulage."

One of Australia's top agricultural engineers is to become the University of Southern Queensland's first Head of School and Dean for Agriculture and Environmental Science.

Internationally renowned researcher and academic leader, Professor Craig Baillie's career spans more than two decades of focus on precision agriculture, energy conservation and irrigation modernisation, winning him many accolades, including the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award.

Originally from a cotton property at Emerald in Central Queensland, Professor Baillie's career began at Bundaberg Sugar after studying Agricultural Engineering at USQ.

"I've come full circle and I'm so excited about it," said Professor Baillie (pictured).

USQ is the only Australian university offering agricultural engineering.

Its School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences was created this year to encompass a suite of academic endeavours in ag engineering, ag science, animal science, climate science, environmental engineering, environmental science, food science and wine science.

Australia's oldest organic beef company, OBE Organic, has released a report detailing industry-leading practices in sustainable agriculture, supply chain management and human resources.

Rich with information and QR codes linking to videos for each section, OBE's Flourish Report follows 18 months of work into how food and agriculture businesses can grow and differentiate in global markets increasingly demanding sustainability from environment, animals, consumers and products.

OBE Organic managing director, Dalene Wray, said although many businesses focused on crisis management during the pandemic, a renewed and urgent long-term commitment to sustainability was needed for the betterment of future generations and continued commercial growth.

"Global consumers are more discerning about how they spend their money; it is no longer enough to deliver on just one aspect of product, service or corporate social responsibility," she said.

"We know we can no longer just be 'organic' without being 'sustainable'.

"Nor can we be kind to animals and sensitive to the environment without also being ethical to/in our supply chain and the communities around us."

Founded in the 1990s by western Queensland graziers, OBE Organic remains the only premium meat exporter completely dedicated to organic beef production.

It supplies restaurants and retailers across the globe.

CSIRO is offering to help small and medium sized enterprises looking for new cyber security solutions via a free, 10-week online Innovate to Grow program to prevent the growing threat of cyber attacks.

On completing the program, participants will have access to facilitation support through CSIRO to connect to research expertise nationally, along with dollar-matched research and development funding.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, cybercrime reports in the 2020-21 financial year increased 13 per cent.

The program extends beyond cyber security companies to industries offering online solutions to customers, such as agriculture and health, wanting to improve the cyber security aspect of their offering.

CSIRO's SME collaboration lead, Dr George Feast, said the COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increased risk of cyber security attacks after many services moved online and more people began working from home

"To stay ahead of these cyber attacks, new solutions are required, and much of this is driven by SMEs developing new products and services through R and D," he said.

CSIRO's Innovate to Grow: Cyber Security program will be available for up to 25 SMEs from July 26. Applications close July 11.

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