Credit for rate cut help
Federal Minister for Drought, Water Resources and Rural Finance, David Littleproud, has applauded Rabobank, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia for passing on full the Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate cuts.
He said the three big agribusiness lenders' moves in the wake of this week's 25 basis points cut to the RBA cash rate, to 1.25 per cent, was a victory for many drought stricken farmers.
"Farmers in drought need every bit of relief they can get," he said
However he has slammed the ANZ and Westpac banks after they ignored calls to pass through the full RBA cut to customers.
"Now is not the time for profiteering. I encourage customers at these banks to consider switching to another bank," Mr Littleproud said.
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Horticulture's big week
Hort Connections 2019, Australian horticulture's biggest annual event, kicks off at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from June 24 to 26.
More than 3250 local and international industry members from across the horticulture supply chain will come together to listen to experts and discuss 'Growing our Food Future'.
At least 300 booths from the sector's leading agribusinesses will also be established at the Trade Show .
Key events at Hort Connections include addresses by food and agriculture sector thought leaders, former Masterchef winner, Adam Liaw; Foodbank Australia chief executive officer, Brianna Casey, and athlete Samantha Gash.
The program also includes more than 60 presentations and expert panel sessions to inspire delegates on topics ranging from on-farm productivity to updates on agricultural technology and industry issues affecting the entire supply chain.
- For more information or to register, please visit hortconnections.com.au.
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Corteva Agriscience launches
Farm chemicals business, Corteva Inc, has been officially spun out of the DowDuPont conglomerate after the merger of the two US chemical industry giants 18 months ago.
Corteva Agriscience has a global scale offering in the seed and crop protection sectors, including 150 research and development facilities and more than 65 active ingredients and a staff of more than 21,000.
Each DowDuPont shareholder received one share of Corteva common stock for every three DowDuPont common shares held on May 24.
Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, USA, Corteva began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under its new ticker symbol CTVA this week.
With a presence in more than 140 countries, Corteva Agriscience generated $14 billion in net sales in 2018.
"We are a new kind of agriculture company, well positioned to compete and win by providing farmers the complete solution they need for sustainable, long-term growth and improved profitability," said chief executive officer, Jim Collins.
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Young academics to Brazil
Bayer has selected 100 participants, from 45 countries - including two young Australian academics - for its Youth Ag Summit in Brazil.
Microbiology researcher, Grace Scott, from the University of Western Sydney, and weed control scientist, Guy Colman, from the University of Sydney's, I.A. Watson International Grains Research Centre at Narrabri in northern NSW will join the November summit, which will bring together change-makers aged from 18 to 25 looking at how to feed a growing population by 2050.
The event, part of Bayer's Agricultural Education Program, received 2800 applications.
Ms Scott is now completing her masters at the University of Nottingham in Britain, focused on developing sustainable alternative fertilisers in cotton utilising nitrogen-fixing bacterium found on sugar cane.
Mr Colman is developing autonomous precision weeding platforms focusing on machine learning and robotics.
Rural Bank scholar help
Rural Bank has expanded its annual scholarship program to support 10 students specifically from communities directly affected by the ongoing drought.
A total of 25 regional and rural students received funding support to pursue tertiary education through the program.
The undergraduate students each receive $5000 towards tertiary studies and their dream of contributing to the future prosperity of agricultural sector.
This year's program support students beginning university subjects in agricultural science, advanced science and medicine, agriculture, business, dentistry and other fields.
Rural Bank managing director, Alexandra Gartmann, said the expanded program reflected the bank's commitment to encouraging next generation leaders to pursue a career benefiting the rural sector and its communities.
Scholarship funding could be extended to support a second year of study.
Recipients are: Angus Malmo, University of Sydney; Brodie Crouch, University of Queensland; Clara Davidson, Charles Sturt University; Corey Cutler, University of New England; Ella Sprunt, La Trobe University; Hamish Green, UNE; Hayley Lewis, University of Adelaide; Hayley Smith, James Cook University; James Leeder, Deakin University; James Lines, University of Adelaide; John Schnelle, Sydney University; Kaidy Morgan, UA; Kayla Steinborner, UA; Lachlan Quibell, University of Melbourne; Laura Purvis, JCU; Leah Starick, UA; Liam Donaldson, UQ; Lillian Donald, UQ; Lily Cullen, JCU; Lucy McGilvray, UNE; Lydia Paine, JCU; Madeline Goldsworthy, Melbourne University; Patrick Heffernan, CSU; Pippita Terry, Australian National University, and Samuel Hill, LaTrobe University.