Dear AFIA Members,
This weeks update is short and sweet as there is no hay report. The next hay report will be available on Friday 23 May, 2014. The main news this week is some exciting progression with Gen Ag read on for more info.
DAVID GIBSON 2014 AFIA LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNER
David Gibson was today announced as the 2014 AFIA Leadership Award winner. David will be
attending the Marcus Oldham Rural Leadership Program in late June thanks to award sponsors John Deere.
David will also be joining 2011 Leadership Award winner Corbin Schuster and Chairman of the New Zealand Young Farmers Cole Groves as a presenter in the Gen Ag session at this years National Fodder Conference in Adelaide.
2014 CONFERENCE PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE
The latest 2014 National Fodder Conference Program is now available on the AFIA website. The theme for this year’s conference is Pushing the Boundaries. Click here to view the full program.
Register for the 2014 National Fodder Conference today!
GEN AG & MURRAY DAIRY YOUTH NETWORK – FODDER IN DAIRY WORKSHOP
AFIA is partnering with Murray Dairy to host the first ‘Fodder in Dairy Workshop’ on Thursday 19 June. The event kicks off at Tom Acocks Dairy near Rochester. We encourage young people with an interest in the dairy and hay industries to get involved in this free event. AFIA and Murray Dairy released a full media release today on the details of the event, click here to read the article.
For more information on the workshop click here.or contact Caitlin via email or phone 03 9530 2199.
FEDERAL BUDGET UPDATE
There has been a lot of speculation in the media this week about the implications of the Federal budget on the agricultural industry. As always there are some positives and negatives that could impact AFIA members:
In good news:
- $100million invested in agricultural research and development.
- Continuation of the diesel rebate for primary producers; the government has indicated there will be an increase to the excise in line with inflation twice a year.
- Investment in infrastructure, particularly for projects in regional Australia.
Areas for concern:
- Cuts of $146.8m from CSIRO’s Budget, with about 500 jobs to go
- Cuts of $483m from the Landcare programs budget. However the Government will spend $525m on establishing a Green Army of 15,000 young people to do Landcare works.
- Cuts of $80m from the Co-operative research Centre.
- Cuts to RIRDC will mean restrictions to future fodder industry related research. Read the fullmedia release from RIRDC here
More information on the Federal Budget is available here.
INTERNATIONAL FODDER TOUR TAKES OFF!
Registrations are now closed for the 2014 International Fodder tour of the UK & Europe.
Twelve delegates are taking part. The group will be heading to the UK on July 2, 2014 with AFIA Industry Development Manager Caitlin Scholfield leading the tour. Stay tuned for updates on the tour via the AFIA Facebook page once the tour takes off.
That’s it from the AFIA team. Have a great weekend.
From the AFIA Team; Ann, Darren, Pru & Caitlin