Grain Growing

Diesel accounts for about 85 per cent of the energy used on Australian farms, but that mix is expected to change as alternative fuels and renewable technology become more affordable.

Some farmers and scientists say the removal of a restriction banning aerial crop spraying near farm dams and salt lakes poses a risk to both businesses and the environment.

South Australian farmers are banking on late winter rain to save their season but optimism is flagging as dry conditions continue.

After battling through a dry 18 months, some grain farmers near Geraldton are celebrating more rain in three days than they recorded across the whole of last year.

While shoppers battle with the cost of food at the check-out, farmers around the world are expected to sow fewer crops this year, as the cost of growing some produce is higher than its potential value. 

Graziers are hoping an east coast low dumping rain across NSW will spur a last minute burst of pasture growth for producers offloading stock, and crops will be boosted — if there's enough sunshine in coming weeks.

The West Australian town of Hyden's March average rainfall of 23 millimetres has been eclipsed after the Bureau of Meteorology recorded 118 millimetres from Saturday to Monday.

"Rice" and noodles made from oats are on track to replace the more traditional versions in Asian pantries as international demand for the Australian product continues to grow. 

Emergency services cut through the collapsed bottom of a silo at a rural Queensland property to help the trapped man who was "drowning" in grain.

The invasive insect causes millions of dollars in losses across Australia's summer crop-growing regions.

Barley exports to China are booming after tariffs were lifted in August, but are Australian farmers just repeating the same mistake?

Farmers say it took time to bounce back from China's tariffs on Australian barley, but the reopening of the market has been positive.

Australia's aquaculture industry contributes billions to the economy every year, but the fish food industry supporting its growth is also big business.

What were you doing at 21 years old? Most likely not overseeing the operations at one of the busiest grain receival sites in the country. But it's all in day's work for Ellie Murden.

Some mills have been given new life as art installations, but this southern NSW mill is still turning local wheat into flour much like it did in 1888.

Premier Steven Miles says rain and cloud in Far North Queensland has hampered efforts to airlift residents of Wujal Wujal to an evacuation centre, but another attempt will be made on Tuesday morning.

Many grain farmers in South Australia are celebrating an early harvest and planning how they will keep busy on what will be one of their earliest breaks at Christmas time.

The dry spring caused by El Niño and Indian Ocean Dipole climate patterns is expected to result in a $16 billion fall in the value of agriculture this financial year.

A heavy downpour across southern Australia has coincided with the peak of the busy grain harvest season, throwing farmers' plans into disarray.

John Snooke says the Pacific Seeds' "garrison" canola variety's underperformance has cost him more than $70,000, but the company will not pay compensation.

The 25-year-old French man died following a suspected brown snake bite while working as a grain harvest casual in north-west Victoria.

Some farmers say the hot, dry spring has brought on the earliest start they have ever seen, with a run of hot days ripening crops a lot quicker than expected.

Touted as a new-age biofuel by its promoters, a safflower harvest has been sold as birdseed after a lawyer found an alternative market for farmers who had been contracted to grow it.

There are more than 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice. If you've ever wondered about the differences between all the colourful rices at the supermarket, here's a rundown.

Some in the state have endured the driest periods in decades and say the falls will put them in good stead for the summer to come.