GOOD SAMARITAN DIES FROM ELECTROCUTION IN CAR SMASH

A small town in northern NSW is in mourning over a dual tragedy – the electrocution of a young man who went to the aid of a teenager who’d crashed her car into a power pole.

The 19-year-old local woman is believed to have died after her Mazda sedan veered off the Oxley Highway near Gunnedah yesterday.

No one else was in the car and about an hour later a 20-year-old local man came across the accident. But he was electrocuted when he stepped out of his car, Inspector Fred Trench from the Oxley local area command said.

Both victims were from the small town of Mullaley, south-west of Gunnedah, and their bodies were found only metres apart.

”He’s pulled up some time after [the accident], got out of his vehicle and stepped on power lines that were down,” Inspector Trench said. ”We believe they were known to each other.”

The bodies were found by a passing motorist on the way to work some time after 4.30am.

The dead man’s car was next to the crash site with the engine still running, the lights on and a door open.

Bystanders tried performing CPR on the woman but were unable to revive her.

A post-mortem exam will be conducted as part of a coronial investigation.

Meanwhile, three people have died in separate accidents on Victoria’s roads yesterday.

The first fatality was a passenger in a ute which slammed into a power pole in McGregor Road, Pakenham, in south-east Melbourne. Later, a female passenger died when a car rolled at Denver, north-west of Melbourne.

The third death occurred around the same time when a motorcycle and a car collided at Springfield, north of Melbourne. The male motorcyclist died at the scene.

The state’s road toll now stands at 12.

MASSIVE INCREASE IN UKRAINIAN GRAIN PRODUCTION & EXPORT

Ukraine has bounced back from its 2010 drought with a vengeance, exporting a whopping 9.65 million tonnes for their marketing year, which began on July 1.

This is a 42pc year on year increase.

Ukrainian officials say 2011 was the biggest production year in the nation since independence in 1991.

CORN & SOYBEANS ‘How does your garden grow”

In a surprise bearish report, the US Department of Agriculture increased production estimates and harvested acres for both the corn and soybean markets.

On the corn supply side of the ledger, USDA increased corn yields 0.5 bu./acre to 147.2 bu./acre on a total of 84 million harvested acres (an increase of 45,000 acres). USDA increased corn use with South American weather pulling down world corn supplies. Exports were projected 50 million bu. higher due to lower projected supply prospects for Argentina. Ending stocks for corn now sit at 846 million bu., providing more leeway rather than the low end of trade estimates calling for a mere 582 million bu.

Terry Roggensack, analyst for the Hightower Report, noted that USDA lowered Argentina production estimates by just 3 million tons due to dryness over the critical grain fill period. However, he warned that the production drop may be too low, with many in the field projecting production cuts ranging from 12 to 16 million tons.

If those large production losses due come in, next month USDA could lower world production by quite a bit and raise U.S. exports again, again amplifying the tight world stocks situation in corn, Roggensack noted.

USDA also slightly increased soybean yields, up 0.2 bu. to 41.5 bu./acre, bringing total production to 3.056 billion bu. USDA lowered soybean crush 10 million bu. and dropped exports 25 million bu. from last month and down 226 million from the 2010-11 marketing year. Soybean ending stocks are projected at 275 million bu., up 45 million bu. from last month.

Global soybean production was projected at 257 million tons, down 2.2 million mostly due to lower production forecasts for South America. The Argentina soybean crop was projected at 50.5 million tons, down 1.5 million due to lower projected area and yields, USDA said.

In the short-term, prices will see downward pressure from the bearish news. However, South American weather will again take the front seat in driving prices forward to gauge the total production losses that could result from the continued dry weather.

LOCK LEWIS HAS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE ABOUT MARINO SHEEP

ESTABLISHED in 1976 by Geoff Lewis, Gnowangerup, Pallinup River stud farm is known for its quality wool Merinos and Poll Merinos.

The flock was established and built up over a number of years, loyal clients followed the stud’s progress and Geoff prided himself on overseeing the production of big framed, soft-woolled sheep.

But after Geoff’s sad passing in early 2009 his son Locky, fuelled by a sense of pride and nostalgia, continued Geoff’s dream of making Pallinup one of the most renowned Merino studs in the Great Southern.

Now 29, Locky is one of the youngest studbreeders in the State but it’s a title which still doesn’t sit comfortably with him.

“My dad was the studbreeder, not me,” Locky laughed.

“But it’s a job I could have never taken on without the support of a number of local studbreeders and the Gnowangerup community.”

Locky said without the help of friends and neighbours, Dick and Collyn Garnett, Willemenup stud, his transition to stud principal would have been made even more difficult.

Despite always knowing he would one day fill his father’s shoes on the farm, Locky said he had to take on a number of large responsibilities in a relatively short period of time.

But with the help of his mother (and farm bookkeeper) Kerry, sister Kelsie and fiancee Kristy Boxall, he managed to find his feet.

These days Locky is responsible for the day-to-day running and future planning of Pallinup stud and with 2200 breeding ewes, 1500 lambs and 100 rams on his 2225 hectare farm, it’s a job he doesn’t take lightly.

“There are so many prospects for young people involved in the livestock industry,” he said.

“WA’s Merino wool industry is in relatively good stead and it’s an exciting time to be involved.

“WA has some fantastic trade opportunities and after so many of our sheep were trucked interstate last year, it’ll be interesting to see how the industry bounces back.”

At Pallinup’s 33rd annual on-property sale last year buyers took full advantage of the 108 two-tooth rams on offer

ALPACA is said to be the fibre of the gods, but Australia’s alpaca fleece market is yet to reach stellar heights.

South Australian Alpaca breeders pic below compliments of country life news

A new concept Premium Alpaca is hoping to change all that, aiming to increase international demand for the luxury fibre.

The aim of a large consortium of growers across Australia is to develop a commercially viable market for alpaca fleece by producing consistent, sizeable consignments of high quality fibre.

Many alpaca owners produce only a few kilograms of fleece each year and usually give it away to home spinners, or it sits in their sheds. But Premium Alpaca is marketing the fleece in bales of about 100 kilograms.

The first Premium Alpaca bales were offered at auction in mid-December at Fremantle in Western Australia.

All three fleece bales sold were from South Australian breeders and realised about 10 per cent more than the highest advertised price at the time.

They were the only fleece bales to sell in the 21-bale auction, going to Australasian company Alpaca Ultimate.

The finest 20.2-micron bale made $20.35 a kilogram, the 22.2M bale $15.40/kg, and the 23.6M bale $12.10/kg.

Premium Alpaca hopes to hold another sale in March.

Its national coordinator Paul Vallely, Crookwell, New South Wales, says it is the first time a concerted effort has been made to build a commercially viable market.

Premium Alpaca is a natural progression from the Ultrafine bale scheme which has produced the world’s finest alpaca bale three times in the past five years.

Alpaca has been used in prestige garments but market analysis during the scheme shows there is a market for “high standard” fibre up to 26M to 28M.

“We found that there was a place for alpaca in the top-shelf range, but the crucial thing from our market analysis was that we have to reduce the variation in fibre diameter within consignments and we need commercial volumes – not 10-20kg,” he said.

“The average alpaca grower has only 10-30 kilograms of fibre, so the industry is highly fragmented with a whole range of colours and fibre diameter – it is useless to market unless it is a uniform consignment of commercial volume.”

LOT FEED INDUSTRY IN WA KEEN TO ABSORB STATES SURPLUS GRAIN

THE State’s excess supply of new season feed wheat and barley is being quickly snapped up by the WA lotfeeding industry.

During the season CBH comprehensively tested grain for falling numbers which CBH grain quality manager Mat Regan said saved hundreds of thousands of tonnes from automatically ending up in the feed stack.

But Wheatbelt farmers still delivered about a million tonnes of feed grade wheat to CBH this season, sparking grower concern about whether domestic or international markets would buy it for a respectable price.

“I thought there would have been far more feed quality grain around this season but falling numbers machines helped to save much of it,” Mr Regan said.

“About half the 1mt of Feed delivered has already been nominated, meaning there is quite a demand for it.”

And for those growers who stored their Feed grade harvest on-farm this year, with a view to sell it privately, the prospects also looked good.

Borden lotfeeder Paul O’Meehan and his feedlot manager Brett Page hadn’t yet bought high volumes of feed for the 2000 head of Angus cross cattle in their yards.

With about 4000 tonnes of wheat harvested from the O’Meehan’s own property stored on-farm, there hadn’t been the need to supplement stocks.

But with roughly 10,000t of feed needed to go through the troughs by the time their 2000 head finished 60 days in the feedlot, Mr Page wasn’t worried about finding good quality feed grain.

“By all accounts there is a fair bit of it around,” he said.

“We haven’t received as many direct phone calls as I thought we might have but I’m not worried about finding supplies once ours start to go down.”

Mr Page said heavy grain with low screenings was optimal for the feedlot and higher protein grain with higher moisture specifications than CBH’s receival standards was also advantageous.

Grainfed beef turned off from the enterprise were predominantly fed on a diet of tempered wheat, barley, lupins, oaten hay, straw and silage depending on the season.

The O’Meehan’s annual feed grain purchases can be upward of 6000t of barley and wheat.

SLASHING RED TAPE FOR EXPORTS BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

The Australian Government is boosting regional economies through $30 million in support and a further $30 million per annum in reduced red tape for agricultural export industries.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, said the changes to the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) export certification services were made under the Export Certification Reform Package to deliver better and more flexible arrangements for exporters.

“In October 2011, improvements in the meat inspection program introduced flexibility and efficiency through the implementation of AQIS Authorised Officers,” Minister Ludwig said.

“Changes to the meat program will reduce the regulatory cost of export certification by $27 million per annum and are being supported by $25.8 million in transitional assistance.

“On 1 January 2012, new arrangements commenced for exports of grain, fish and egg products.

“The Government will provide $1.5 million to support efficiencies in the fish and eggs program and $2.5 million to support the changes to the grain export program.”

Minister Ludwig said the changes were developed in close partnership with export groups to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements.

“None of the reforms that have been agreed and implemented could be delivered without an effective working partnership with exporters,” Minister Ludwig said.

“Australia’s agriculture industries support 300,000 jobs in regional communities.”

“I’m calling on the Opposition to support these important reforms, including underpinning regulations, and show their commitment to jobs in regional Australia rather than playing politics with regional communities.

“Export reforms will improve confidence in Australia’s export certification systems and improve the competitiveness of Australia’s $32 billion agricultural export industries.”

Highlights of the new service delivery arrangements follow. A full report on each project is available at www.daff.gov.au/ecri

EQUIPMENT & MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS TO INVEST IN CHINA

MAJOR world agricultural machinery manufacturers are ramping up investment in China, with CNH Global the latest to declare its hand.

Last week, the company announced it will build a new manufacturing plant in Harbin, northeast China, with an initial investment of $90 million.

Interestingly, the announcement came days after a report that China is planning to spend a lazy $160 billion this year to increase agricultural development.

The move is also focused on increasing farmers’ incomes, sending fleeting thoughts to cash-strapped WA farmers of a lifestyle move.

China’s finance minister Xie Xuren, said the majority of the money would be spent on water projects to increase water availability for irrigation.

“The central government has also urged financial institutions to increase lending to agriculture-related businesses through incentive policies,” Mr Xie said.

Apart from CNH Global, other major manufacturers, including AGCO and John Deere, are positioning themselves in China, obviously keen to expand production of tractors, headers and sprayers.

According to CNH, its plans include a new factory to produce high horsepower tractors, combine harvesters and other machinery featuring advanced technology.

With this investment, CNH will expand its manufacturing base in China, where it currently assembles high horsepower tractors and other agricultural equipment in Harbin, and operates a manufacturing plant dedicated to low and medium horsepower tractors in Shanghai.

CNH CFO Richard Tobin, who will take over as president and CEO later this month, said China was an important market for the company.

“We strongly believe in its potential,” he said. “CNH has invested in this country for more than 100 years, when the first International Harvester tractor was imported to China.

“We have since steadily developed our relationship with China and will continue to invest to ensure our customers have access to our best technologies and expertise.”

CNH is a Chinese market leader in high horsepower tractors and harvesting equipment through its two agricultural brands, Case IH and New Holland Agriculture.

SO WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE FARM WHEN WE RETIRE?

BUYING the family farm has become just about impossible for young farmers and fewer people are taking over when their parents hit retirement age.

However, there are some young farmers, like Michael Nichols, who are still keen to pursue the farming lifestyle.

The 28-year-old farmer is managing his parents’ 600-hectare farm at Sisters Creek, Redbanks Farm, Tasmania.

“Working in a company structure is a lot easier than taking ownership of the land,” he said.

“It is big dollars to buy the land and most young people can’t go and ask the bank for a loan of several million dollars.”

Mr Nichols said there had been no expectation from his parents for him to take over the family farm, but it was something he’d always wanted to do – the farming lifestyle had been instilled in his blood from all his years working and living on the land.

He said there were many farmers in the region who were reaching retirement age and would have to sell the family farm because their children did not want to take over.

“The mines have pulled a lot of people away,” he said.

“It’s high money for less work whereas farming is a lot of work and late nights and you are not guaranteed a profit at the end of the year,” he said.

However, Mr Nichols also has friends in their early 30s who are running their parents’ farm or are starting to buy.

He hopes agriculture will be sustainable into the future but says there has to be a guaranteed profit at the end of the day.

“It will be interesting to see how the water scheme in the Midlands will kick off,” he said.

“Maybe if they’ve got that security it will boost farmers’ confidence.

“There are also people who have grown up on a farm and done ag science at uni.

“They aren’t interested in taking over the farm, but we do need people who are farm-minded to work as agronomists.”

Mr Nichols believes the government can do a lot to assist farmers, such as stopping cheap vegetable imports and offering subsidies like they do in Europe.

He doesn’t think he will be able to buy the land but his feet are firmly planted in the rich, red dirt on the property and he hopes to continue in his current role.

The farming lifestyle has its pros and cons.

The hours are long, the work is hard and the rewards are not guaranteed but Mr Nichols loves the challenge.

He has a wife, Lauren, and three-year old son, Jack, and said he could choose when he started work so he could spend time with his family.

“I can have part of the day off, but I have to make it up that night,” he said.

“It can be flexible, which is good while my son is young.”

He said the nature of farming had changed and farmers now needed to be multi-skilled as they would be moving irrigators one day and in the office the next working out a budget or talking to the accountant.

“People used to think you could always fall back on the family farm. But now you need a whole range of skills to be a farmer,” he said.

Mr Nichols said his father had stepped back and allowed him to make changes on the farm.

“When I finished school I worked on a farm in the UK for two years, which is the best way to learn. You can’t be stuck in a rut and do things the same way year after year,” he said.

“It’s not hard to make things better, you’ve just got to be willing to change.”

One of the farm’s strengths is its diversity which means it is not dependent on just cropping.

“You’ve got to be diverse,” Mr Nichols said.

“If you are just a crop farmer and there is a bad year, it will be a really bad year.”

Cropping is the main focus of the farm, but it also has chickens, beef cattle, plantation trees, Hill Farm preserves and Mr Nichols has a combine harvester for contract work.

QUEENSLAND FLOODS A YEAR LATER-HOW IT IS

A year after the floods that devastated much of Queensland, many businesses are struggling to understand why little has been done to help those in flood-prone areas.

It’s not just last year’s floods that have hurt businesses across the state. Some are fed up with chronic, ongoing mismanagement around issues such as delays in settling insurance claims.

Steve “Burnsie” Burns, proprietor of the remote Nindigully Pub on the banks of the Moonie River, central Queensland, is one such operator wondering when compensation and assistance will arrive.

A far cry from when the floods hit … Steve Burns and Debbie Lee outside the Nindigully Pub. Photo: Supplied

At the dawn of 2010, as floodwaters threatened, Burns was told to cancel his pub’s iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations. The pub, which harks back to 1864, is the oldest continually licensed pub in Queensland.

New Year’s Eve is central to the survival of Nindigully – permanent population five – and traditionally the biggest night of the year, with celebrations attracting more than 3000 people.

He estimates he lost $100,000 as a result of the New Year’s closure.

Hit a second time

Then, last March, the pub was hit a second time, when Nindigully experienced its largest recorded flood, with waters reaching 4.65 metres and lapping at the pub’s floorboards.

“We lost all our plumbing from under the pub and all our tank water. We were surrounded by water, yet had none on tap. We were isolated for over a month,” Burns says.

“The flood that cut us off last year wasn’t as bad as the flood of 2010. But the issues we faced back then have still not been addressed. I can’t believe we’ve waited two years for anything to happen; nothing’s being done,” Burns says.

He submitted a compensation claim immediately after the first floods, but says he has “been mucked around for two years”.

“I keep supplying invoices and they keep dragging things out. I’m hoping they might make me a reasonable offer at some point,” he says.

Rivers rising

He believes the decision to shut down the pub on that New Year’s Eve was the result of a mistake by police who he says claimed the river was more than a metre higher than its actual reading.

“The inspector claimed the river was at 3.6 metres when it was 2.45 metres. I’m the river reader and I put the information on to the Bureau of Meteorology site. The inspector read the information the wrong way, but he shut the pub down anyway,” Burns says.

“We were the only business in Queensland officially shut down even when other businesses and pubs up and down our river were allowed to continue to trade”.

Early this week he was due to meet local council staff to discuss ongoing flood-related issues, including the need to fast-track insurance claims, a lack of available flood insurance for businesses such as his and the need for better communication between those who measure and report the river’s height.

Burns is now pushing for better communication between local authorities to reduce the risk of a similar situation in the future.

Closing its doors

Another business severely impacted by the floods last January was the Champions Brock Experience near Rockhampton (pictured below), the largest collection of Peter Brock cars in Australia. It was eventually forced to shut.

“We lost three-and-a-half weeks of peak holiday trading, and the business just wasn’t sustainable after that,” says former manager Heather Smith.

“We have been approached to move the collection and we’re investigating our options, but at the moment we’re closed permanently.”

“The floods had a major impact on the region, but there’s been a lot of people around this summer because many have decided to stay home as they are worried about leaving the region after what happened last year.”

A region hit hard

Bunjurgen Estate Vineyard, near Brisbane, has also spent the past year recovering.

Chief executive David McMaugh says the water-sodden vineyard and fairly serious mildew problems led to a smaller crop in 2011.

“That said, the good news this year so far is that although the crop is only 20 to 25 per cent of what it would normally be, quality is high and we look like making some fantastic rosé style wines,” says McMaugh.

McMaugh says the floods hit the region hard.

“A local winery closed due to lack of business, one local vineyard bit the dust and three more are for sale – so not a pretty sight in that department. But in a way having less opposition has worked well for us at least – the harsh reality of life I suppose,” he says.

Yesterday, McMaugh was facing the prospect of bushfires destroying his property. What a difference a year makes