Accreditation for AI techs

Australian artificial insemination technicians can now gain independent accreditation through a nationwide initiative to formally recognise their skills and experience.

The relaunched National Professional AI Accredited Technician Program, driven by the National Herd Improvement Association of Australia, responds to strong demand from both technicians and producers for certification.

Accreditation is also expected to strengthen on-farm quality assurance programs, giving producers confidence in the welfare standards, expertise, and professionalism of their herd improvement advisers.

NHIA chief executive officer Sara Merckel said it was time the industry formally acknowledged the important role AI technicians play across the livestock sector.

“Successfully breeding cows underpins our livestock sector, it’s the key to industry sustainability and profit,” she said.

Eighty years of ag research

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences celebrated a milestone of 80 years of operations on August 21.

Originally known as the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, one of its first functions was to “investigate the economic prospects of primary industries with particular reference to efficiency factors”.

The bureau has been through a series of mergers, most recently with the Bureau of Rural Sciences in 2010, bringing with it the capacity to undertake integrated economic, scientific and social science research.

ABARES’s functions have ranged from shaping Australia’s post-war agriculture policies to addressing contemporary challenges like climate change, sustainability and biosecurity issues.

Road plan draft feedback

Campaspe Shire Council’s Road Management Plan is currently under review.

The purpose of the plan is to establish a system for road management functions and to set a performance standard for these functions.

The plan identifies responsibilities, maintenance standards and inspection regimes for all road assets within council’s control.

The Draft Road Management Plan is now open for community feedback via the Now Open page on council’s website at campaspe.vic.gov.au/NowOpen until 4pm Friday, September 12.

Anyone can make a submission on the draft plan. Submissions must be made in writing, marked as ‘Draft Road Management Plan Review’ and addressed to PO Box 35, Echuca, 3564, or sent via email to shire@campaspe.vic.gov.au before the submission deadline date.

Strengthening timber plantations

The Victorian Government is fast tracking the establishment of timber plantations in Victoria.

Agriculture Minister Ros Spence has announced $10 million as part of the Victorian Plantation Support Program to establish new long-rotation timber plantations.

This additional funding will be for projects approved under select rounds of the Commonwealth’s Support Plantation Establishment Program.

Victorian growers looking to develop new plantations can receive up to $1000 per hectare under the program to assist with plantation establishment activities.

Combined with the Commonwealth program, new plantations of 20 hectares or more in Victoria can receive up to $3000 per hectare, with a cap of up to $200,000 per project.

Safeguard the next generation

Rural Aid has launched a new fundraising campaign to secure the future of rural Australia by supporting the next generation of farmers — the children growing up on the land today.

From natural disasters to financial stress, country kids often grow up surrounded by uncertainty, with the weight of the farm’s future on their young shoulders.

Rural Aid is raising funds to provide both immediate and long-term support for country kids and their families.

Donations will help deliver practical support including hay, domestic water, financial assistance, specialist counselling services, and continued delivery of Rural Aid’s Mustering Growth program — a school-based mental health and wellbeing initiative designed to build resilience and emotional strength in rural students.

New guide for phosphine use

A new best management practice guide for phosphine use in stored grain fumigation is now available.

This new guide offers a comprehensive resource for growers, bulk handlers, researchers and extension specialists across the grain industry.

The BMP guide covers key topics including:

Ag event returns to Melbourne

The Victorian Government welcomes Asia Pacific’s premier agri-food innovation event, evoke AG, to Melbourne.

The forum brings together the brightest minds in agtech, food production, research and agricultural investment.

Agriculture Minister Ros Spence said it would return on February 17 and 18, 2026, at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

Entrepreneurs and growing companies will showcase their work, together with live demonstrations, food and beverage experiences and interactive sessions designed to inspire, inform, and drive collaboration.

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