Ag Tech

Grain Central stories that led the news in 2018

Grain Central, January 16, 2019

 

DROUGHT, trade tariffs, herbicide issues, harvest highs and lows, automation and ag tech innovations were just some of the issues and trends that shaped the Australian grain industry in 2018.

It was a year of mixed fortunes for Australian growers, with Western Australian producers revelling in a near-record winter cropping season, while those in the eastern states bore the brunt of a drought that, for many, turned 2018 into a year best forgotten.

In a snapshot of the ‘year that was’ in the Australian grain industry, Grain Central takes a look back over the stories that led the news in 2018.

(Click on story title to open)

January

Cotton crops damaged by off-target Christmas spray drift

New Ag minister to visit India to discuss Chickpea tariffs

Indian chickpea, lentil tariffs cloud planting intentions

Where did 5 million tonnes of Australian wheat go?

Rain needed to consolidate sorghum yields, complete CQ sowing

The wilds of Australia’s north open up a new future for rice + VIDEO

Sunflowers: lustre fades in low planting year

February

WA harvest is in the bin, southern growers bank rain’s bounty

India chickpea tariff jumps to 40pc; Australia’s December exports dive

High-demand year for fertiliser

Cotton feels the heat as early picking rolls along

Mind the gap – what can be done to reduce the yield gap?

Are you bogged mate?

Automated machinery revolution rises over farming horizon + VIDEO

March

Barley regains its zing as planting nears

India chickpea tariff rises again

Herbicide resistance on the march in the north

Water theft accusations to be tested in court

Tasmania unlocks potential for feed wheat expansion

ACCC moves to reset the bar for quad bike safety

Some till in no-till not such a bad thing: Freebairn

April

Injunction halts Californian glyphosate ‘cancer’ listing

Mice numbers set to peak at sowing time

Retiring herbicide resistance guru backs Australian farmers to beat weed threat

Green light for Bayer and Monsanto mega merger in US

China snub to US sorghum buoys Australian outlook

CBH train sets new record with 9000 tonnes of wheat + VIDEO

Court dismisses ASIC’s appeal in AWB case

Rice harvest on track to top 600,000 tonnes

May

Canola area slides as dry tightens NSW planting window

China reopens market to US sorghum

Herbicides: What happens if we run out?

Winter crop plans rejigged in summer-cropping areas as dry prevails

New wheat rust pathotype detected

June

Work set to start at South Australian port development

Pakistan buying kicks chickpea price to season high of $670/t

Harvest winds up on 1.4Mt sorghum crop

Options narrow for drought-hit eastern croppers

Record ARTC grain train helps cap northern feed values

July

Agtech: It’s no game of drones

Why did anti-GM activist Mark Lynas change his mind?

Urea price climbs on global demand/currency

Tractor rollover protection cuts tractor death rates

US stumps up $12 billion assistance package for farmers impacted by tariff war

August

Who will Australia back in US/China tussle?

Does rain follow the plough?

US decision on glyphosate ignores science: NFF

Cottonseed demand falters as prices continue to climb

What would be the consequences of a glyphosate ban in Australia?

Indian government lifts then reimposes pea import ban

September

Brazilian court drops suspension of glyphosate  

Train brings wheat from SA to NSW for feedlots, flour

ABARES cuts winter-crop estimate by 12pc in latest crop report

Southern frost zaps at least 1Mt from WA crop now seen at 15Mt

Southern growers weigh up crop salvage options

A century of tractor evolution that transformed agriculture

October

Can we continue to lift wheat yields – or is it ‘game over’?

Cargill to shut NSW crush plant as cottonseed supplies run dry

Ag responds to Four Corners’ glyphosate expose

Eastern drought pushes Australian winter crop forecast lower

Growers scramble for sorghum seed as supplies run low

Russian wheat aphid moves north

Hot, dry summer ahead as El Nino sets in

Trucks go west to cart grain amid paltry eastern prospects

November

Pulse faint on chickpea market as production outlook slides

Scientists find key to why cotton pest is developing resistance to Bt crops 

GrainCorp cuts mark drought’s latest bite on agribusiness

Tasmania on track to produce hyper yielding cereals

Growers release Borlaug in quest for high-yielding wheat

Guilty plea in water investigations

Sign onto the ag automation revolution – or be left behind

December

Winter crop production down after poor start to spring: ABARES

Seednet to pay $1m penalty for misleading barley performance claims

Low crop production/reduced export potential offset by rising prices: ABARES

Rains revive ailing eastern summer crops

GrainCorp awaits revised takeover proposal

Growers gear up for big mungbean season

 

Many other stories published by Grain Central can be accessed from Grain Central’s extensive story archive. Simply enter a key word or two into the Search box at the top, right-hand corner of the Grain Central website.

 

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