Agribusiness buzz in brief

The trial with maggot breeder and circular economy solutions company, Goterra, will start later this year.

The City of Sydney will be collecting food scraps to feed black soldier fly larvae housed inside shipping container-sized units at Alexandria.

Their manure is processed as fertiliser and the maggots themselves are dried and processed into a protein meal which is used in fish, poultry or pet food.

Unlike other insects, the black soldier fly is not a vector for disease and its larvae breaks down bacteria in the organic material consumed, eating twice their body weight each day.

All NSW local councils are expected to provide food and garden waste collections for households by 2030.

The Australian Government's discount farm business lender, the Regional Investment Corporation, has won a global banking and finance award recognising achievements in innovation and transformation.

RIC is the InfoSys Finacle Innovation Awards Gold Winner for Transformation Excellence title in the international awards program for banking and financial services.

"This award recognises RIC's successful transformation of our operating model from predominantly out-sourced to now being a full-service lender delivering a complete end-to-end customer experience," said RIC chief executive officer, John Howard.

"As farm business lender largely regionally staffed, and headquartered in Orange in NSW, we welcome the opportunity to shine a light on regional and rural Australia through this accolade."

The awards attracted more than 200 nominations in 10 categories from organisations world-wide.

Cattle facial recognition platform, Stoktake, has won the Climate and Ag Tech pitch run by Melbourne-based The Startup Network.

Stoktake won nearly $200,000 in prizes including $11,000 in technical development and strategy from OK200 and a two-month residency at Melbourne's Stone & Chalk Hub.

Stoktake's process uses a three-five second video of the animal's face on a smartphone or tablet, uploading it to a proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning cloud platform which produces a unique profile of the cow.

"The algorithm profile produces an outcome as unique as fingerprints on humans, with more than 99.6 per cent accuracy, based on the 25,000 cattle images we have tested," said Stoktake founder, Dr Phillip Zada.

Stoktake was developed to combat cattle theft which, according to a recent PwC report, results in 28,400 head rustled annually in Australia.

"We believe the figure is significantly higher because many farmers would not know their animals might be missing and it is a nightmare for law enforcement to track down stolen livestock."

Farmers have less than two weeks to secure a seat at the National Renewables in Agriculture conference in Toowoomba, Queensland on July 4.

This year's event puts a spotlight on innovative ventures ranging from on-farm projects to reduce energy bills, to fuel alternatives and large scale renewable options which can create new revenue streams.

Keynote speaker, Mike Casey, has made his New Zealand cherry orchard fully electric and fossil fuel free, using electric frost-fighting fans from South Africa, a solar powered irrigation system and a Monach electric tractor.

NSW Southern Highlands dairy pioneer, Cressida Cains, will share how she has built her award-winning sheep cheese operation, Pecora Dairy around sustainability, including using 100 solar panels to make it energy positive.

Conference organiser, Karin Stark, started the annual conference in 2019 after struggling to find the best information about renewable installations on her own farm.

Australia has assumed the chairing role of the World Wine Trade Group, which brings together government and industry representatives to simplify international wine trade.

WWTG supports trade through information sharing, discussion and co-ordination on regulatory issues in wine markets, and joint actions for the removal of trade barriers.

Australia will host delegations from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Georgia, New Zealand, South Africa, the US and Uruguay in Adelaide for the WWTG annual meeting in October.

"Our time as chair gives us the stage to advance the group's trade priorities, strengthen collaboration with other members, and highlight the people, places and stories that make Australian wine unique," said deputy secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry policy, Matt Lowe.

"Opening up more trade opportunities for our wine producers will contribute to overcoming Australia's current wine oversupply."

Charles Sturt University's Cool Soil Initiative has won almost $2.1 million from US food giant, PepsiCo and a global initiative backed by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the World Farmers' Organisation.

PepsiCo and the WFO and FFAR's AgMission have partnered to use agriculture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, awarding $US6.7m to projects in Australia, Mexico and Canada to support evidence-based research on the effectiveness of climate-smart practices incorporating regenerative farming principles.

The $US748,394 grant to CSU from AgMission was matched by PepsiCo and supplemented by the university.

The total investment, of more than $5.5m is set to assist Australian grain farming practices.

The Cool Soil Initiative began in 2018, collaborating with farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve soil health through a scientifically credible and globally recognised framework.

AgMission and PepsiCo first called for research proposals in early 2023 focused on research and implementation projects that developed, studied and expanded climate-smart agricultural transition in crop regions.

Grant recipients will work closely with farmers to co-develop plans to introduce regenerative practices and contribute to scientific evidence to help overcome adoption challenges.

Funds also went to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to assist regenerative climate-smart adoption in wheat and maize, and the South East Research Farm in Canada's prairie provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Elders has delayed the commencement date for its newest board director and former Australian rugby international, Damien Frawley, who was appointed in April for an intended July 1 start.

The 1980s Wallaby, turned banker and now chairman of Australia's fourth biggest superannuation fund, Hostplus, and Queensland Treasury Corporation's board, has delayed signing on until August because of an unexpected clash of commitments.

He will fill the seat left by Australian Competition Tribunal director, Diana Eilert, who departed Elders' board last September.

Meanwhile, Elders' strategy, sustainability and innovation general manager, Anna Bennett, has been named as one of the 50 most influential ESG professionals working at ASX-listed companies.

The ESG Power50 list comprises individuals from diverse industries weilding significant influence addressing environmental, social and corporate governance challenges, particularly climate change mitigation.

Adelaide-based dairy and meat products processor, Beston Global Food Company, has lost two of its directors amid ongoing concern about the company's finances.

The board of six is down to three directors after this month's departure of Kevin Reid for health reasons and Cheryl Hayman to pursue other professional opportunities.

Beston produces cheese and lactoferrin and processes consumer meat products at through its Victorian-based Provincial Food Group, which was put up for sale last year.

The company blamed the past two years of high milk prices and a fall in dairy product prices on global markets for squeezing its cash flow.

Despite raising $28 million from shareholders two years ago to pay down debt, including a big commitment by founding chairman, Roger Sexton, Beston's debt load has increased to $69m, most of which is owed to National Australia Bank.

The company's share price has been below one cent since February.

Agribusiness Australia will host a breakfast panel discussion on renewable energy projects in NSW on July 31 in Sydney.

The event will explore innovations, challenges and future opportunities in the renewable energy sector with participants Angus Shaw from property agency group, CBRE; commercial lawyer, Sam Richardson of Cowell Clarke, addressing legal issues related to renewable energy projects and Charles Sturt University's Mark Frost talking about agrivoltaic farms and microgrids.

The event at Cowell Clarke's Pitt Street office, runs from 7.30am to 9am and costs association members $35, or $50 for non-members.

A national program to build trust in agricultural exports to South East Asia has awarded 11 new grants totalling $3.9 million to industries and institutions on the cutting edge of supply chain traceability.

Grants through the Building Trust in Australian Agricultural Traceability and Credentials program are designed to boost credibility and establish robust traceability credentials for Australian agriculture in South East Asia.

Those selected ranged from Meat and Livestock Australia's program showcasing Australian red meat integrity systems and the University of Adelaide's enhancing agricultural traceability for market sustainability project, to a Monash University trustworthy honey trade through honeybee hive provenance technology program, and the Australian Mango Industry Association's work assessing integrated traceability systems for mangoes exported to Asia.

The department's agricultural trade and regulation group, deputy secretary, Tina Hutchison, said the initiative aimed to support collaborative projects which built on traceability to grow new and existing markets and build confidence in Australian products.