Oil and gas exploration site the 'size of Singapore' approved in Queensland
By Grace Nakamura and Brandon Long
The Queensland government approves new oil and gas exploration in a region they believe could become Australia's first new major oil province in 50 years.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-10/oil-gas-exploration-queensland-taroom-trough/106325922
New home for old machines as collector bids goodbye to lifelong passion
By Brandon Long and Dan McCray
As the last man standing, 78-year-old cattleman Mervyn has parted with his collection of tractors and utes, pledging his estate to charity.
Family to farewell herd to grow restaurant dream
By Brandon Long and Dan McCray
A Queensland family is trading decades of purebred cattle breeding for life in the kitchen, selling off 20 years of stud work to focus on a new paddock-to-plate restaurant.
Family to farewell herd to grow restaurant dream
By Brandon Long and Dan McCray
A Queensland family is trading decades of purebred cattle breeding for life in the kitchen, selling off 20 years of stud work to focus on a new paddock-to-plate restaurant.
Inside the push to shade 1.3 million feedlot animals
By Brandon Long
Once seen as barren landscapes, feedlots across Australia have been reshaping their image. With industry encouraging its operators to install shade, uptake has been widespread.
#BeefCattleFeedlots #BeefCattleFarming #LivestockHealthandWelfare #BrandonLong
Farmers feel 'forgotten' as environment, land clearing laws tightened
By Crispian Yeomans, Megan Hughes, and Brandon Long
Queensland producers say a blanket approach to environmental laws will restrict their ability to manage land sustainably and responsibly.
#LandClearing #EnvironmentalManagement #Agriculture #Conservation #AgriculturalPolicy #EnvironmentalPolicy #CrispianYeomans #MeganHughes # #BrandonLong
Company pauses plan to release controversial genetically modified mosquitoes
By Brandon Long
An organisation that planned to sell "friendly" mosquitoes to reduce the spread of diseases like dengue withdraws its licence application after backlash from scientists and health experts.
#InfectiousDiseases #GeneticallyModifiedOrganisms #PestsDiseasesandControlMethods #Pests #BrandonLong
Right to repair reforms to be expanded to farm machinery
By Brandon Long
After years of depending on dealership networks for essential repairs, farmers will have the right to fix their own equipment.
'Decade overdue' salt conversion plan could rewrite coal seam gas future
By Brandon Long
Five million tonnes of salt could be dumped in ponds over the life of the coal seam gas industry. Now, there could finally be a better solution.
Regulator suspends use of dimethoate insecticide on berries
By Brandon Long
Australians' surging appetite for berries has prompted the national farm chemical watchdog to suspend a popular insecticide.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-12/apvma-suspends-dimethoate-use-on-berries/106001530
Exoskeletons trialled to reduce physical strain of repetitive labour
By Brandon Long
An ordinary worker puts on a power suit and gains extra strength. It sounds like the plot of a superhero film, but this is no work of fiction.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-26/exoskeleton-trials-in-australian-workplaces/105924332
One of Australia's worst weeds unearthed in Australia's 'salad bowl'
By Brandon Long
A Lockyer Valley man has accidentally found a toxic weed not seen in the region for more than half a century.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-21/rubber-vine-weed-found-in-lockyer-valley/105912736
#Weeding #AgriculturalWeedControl #AgriculturalPestControl #Pests #BrandonLong
Queensland family fears new gas plant will destroy 30 years of work
By Brandon Long
The Queensland government's recent approval of a major coal seam gas-processing facility three kilometres from a farming family's home has left them feeling "extremely disappointed".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-16/darling-downs-arrow-energy-gas-plant-approval/105900018
Queensland family fears new gas plant will destroy 30 years of work
By Brandon Long
The Queensland government's recent approval of a major coal seam gas-processing facility three kilometres from a farming family's home has left them feeling "extremely disappointed".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-16/darling-downs-arrow-energy-gas-plant-approval/105900018
German chemical giant to release Roundup alternative in Australia
By Brandon Long
We've been spraying it on our farms, gardens and roadsides for 50 years, but the world's most used weedkiller is starting to run out of steam. But after 10 years and hundreds of millions of dollars in R&D, Roundup's owner says it has an alternative.
Farmers fight back as environmentalists blame beef for deforestation
By Brandon Long
The beef industry in Queensland improves its land-clearing record, but environmentalists say the deforestation debate is far from over.
#LandClearing #EnvironmentalManagement #EnvironmentalPolicy #LandManagement #Agriculture #Conservation #Farmers #LivestockFarming #BrandonLong
GMO ingredient concerns suspend fire ant treatment on organic farms
By Jennifer Nichols and Brandon Long
Fire ant treatments have been suspended on organic farms, and alternatives sought, after baits containing genetically modified soybean oil and corn grit were found to have been unwittingly distributed.
#InvasiveSpecies #GeneticallyModifiedOrganisms #AgriculturalChemicals #LocalFoodSystems #OrganicAmendments #PestControl #AgriculturalPestControl #PestsDiseasesandControlMethods #JenniferNichols #BrandonLong
Surge in berry consumption prompts call for pesticide ban
By Brandon Long
Australians are eating so many berries that regulators are considering restricting the use of a widely used pesticide.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-02/berry-consumption-prompts-apvma-dimethoate-review/105684394
Thongs the only requirement at this bush weekender turned nudist haven
By Brandon Long
When you think of nudism, you might picture postcard-perfect beaches or serene forests. But what about swathes of rugged Queensland bush, where the only neighbours are cattle herds and coal mines?
Rare strain of horse virus found in two separate Qld regions
By Brandon Long
A rare neurological form of equine herpesvirus that can cause pregnant mares to abort foals is detected around Townsville and Toowoomba.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08-13/equine-herpesvirus-type-1-detected-in-queensland/105641010
