The NSW Government has announced a two-year extension of six water sharing plans across the Murrumbidgee, Macquarie-Bogan, Gwydir, Lachlan, Belubula, Namoi and Peel regions to implement recommendations to their replacements. 

Executive Director of Water Planning Giselle Howard said water sharing plans are legal documents which lay out clear rules for the equitable and sustainable distribution of water among users over a 10-year period. 

“We’ve extended six plans by an extra two years to give us more time to collect detailed data, complete analysis and hear from stakeholders which will help inform each new water sharing plan that will now come into effect on 1 July 2025,” Ms Howard said. 

The following water sharing plans will remain in effect until 30 June 2025: 

• Water Sharing Plan for the Murrumbidgee Unregulated River Water Sources2012

• Water Sharing Plan for the Macquarie-Bogan Unregulated Rivers Water Sources 2012

• Water Sharing Plan for the Gwydir Unregulated River Water Sources 2012

• Water Sharing Plan for the Lachlan Unregulated River Water Sources 2012

• Water Sharing Plan for the BelubulaRegulated River Water Source 2012

• Water Sharing Plan for the Namoi andPeel Unregulated Rivers Water Sources2012

Wheat Grains at harvest.

Rural Aid has thrown its support behind a campaign to help Australians better understand where their food comes, how to eat seasonally and ways they can stretch their “food dollars”. The National Farmers Federation (NFF) inspired campaign featuring Sydney-based culinary experts Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards from Cornersmith will showcase a different Aussie-grown product every week for the next six weeks. Recent research commissioned by the NFF found that 51 per cent of the Australian population is “extremely” concerned about fresh food and grocery costs. 

Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said it’s concerning that same number of people said they only “know a little” about Australian farming and agriculture, according to the new research.

Mr Warlters said while Australian farmers were world-renowned for the quality of their produce and their efficiency, closer to home many people were less familiar with how their food was grown and how to make the most of their food purchases.

The adventure begins this week on the Australian Farmers social media accounts. Tips, tricks, recipes and farmer profiles can be found at farmers.org.au

A research report released by CSIRO and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has shown that the Australian red meat and livestock industry has reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 65% since 2005.

According to MLA’s Managing Director, Jason Strong, the reduction in red meat industry GHG emissions in 2020 was partly explained by reductions in livestock numbers following the years of drought leading into 2020.

“The number of livestock on the ground has an influence on industry’s overall emissions, and we know these numbers will fluctuate with seasonal and market conditions,” Mr Strong said.

The new research report examined the production of beef cattle, sheep for meat, and goats, as well as the domestic processing of these animals.

Emissions were attributed to the red meat industry based on animal numbers, feed intake, livestock processed, and resource use. It’s part of the industry’s work in annually benchmarking its GHG footprint, which has been occurring since 2015.

“MLA and the red meat industry are ready to further reduce emissions” Mr Strong said.