Eric Barker

New South Wales

Reporter at Beef Central, aiming to become a socially acceptable golfer. Toowoomba via Mount Isa, Cairns, back to Mount Isa, Tamworth

Articles

Opinion: Big conservation now bullying family farmers

3 days ago | beefcentral.com | Eric Barker

THE Australian Conservation Foundation last week launched its latest attack on Australian beef producers, with several media outlets quickly turning around the conservation giant’s allegations of illegal land clearing with little scrutiny – forcing the industry to defend itself.
Idaho Roadless Rule won’t be affected by revocation of national directive

4 days ago | idahopress.com | Eric Barker

The Idaho roadless rule is not included in the effort by the Trump administration to rescind the national rule. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture told the Lewiston Tribune that “the Idaho state-specific roadless rule was part of the Administrative Procedures Act petitions and will not be affected by rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule.”The rule, a collaboratively written offshoot of the national rule, was spearheaded by then-Gov. Jim Risch in 2006.
Trump targets roadless rule on U.S. Forest Service land

5 days ago | spokesman.com | Eric Barker

President Donald Trump and his administration intend to revoke the 2001 roadless rule that protects 58 million acres of unroaded forest on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Red barns turn into high-rises as US loses more than 800ha of farmland/day

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Eric Barker

RED barns are being turned into high rise apartments at a rapid rate across the United States, with the beef industry now trying to find ways of preventing a “runaway sprawl” scenario. The situation was one of the main topics at the recent US Roundtable for Sustainable Beef conference in Fort Worth, Texas. Alongside neighbouring Dallas, Fort Worth is one of the country’s most rapidly sprawling cities, with the Dallas-Fort Worth “metroplex” home to 8m people as of July last year.
VIDEO: Qld producers push for industry support on deforestation

1 week ago | beefcentral.com | Eric Barker

WITH environmental groups consistently accusing the cattle industry of cutting down forests and supply chains making “deforestation-free” promises, a group of Central Queensland producers have come together to show why trees need to be managed. Europe is set to ban the import of goods linked to deforestation at the end of this year and supply chains like Woolworths and McDonald’s have made similar pledges to start in the next decade.
Trump spikes NW salmon agreement

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Eric Barker

Jun. 13—President Donald Trump is killing the sweeping agreement that pledged significant investments in salmon recovery and could have paved the way for breaching the four lower Snake River dams. In a presidential memorandum issued Thursday, Trump directed members of his cabinet to withdraw from a legal agreement between the Biden administration on one side and Columbia River Basin tribes and conservation groups on the other.
Division on show as soil carbon method goes under review

2 weeks ago | sheepcentral.com | Eric Barker |Eric Barker

A REVIEW of Australia’s soil carbon scheme is showing ongoing division about how the industry should be legislated, prompting the soil carbon industry to call for suspensions of the program to be quickly ruled out. Soil carbon is one of the only agriculture-based methodologies in Australia’s carbon market. It incentivises producers to measure soil carbon stocks, change practices and awards them with Australian Carbon Credit Units if they measure increases in the years after.
No more over-the-counter deer and elk tags for nonresidents

2 weeks ago | spokesman.com | Eric Barker

Idaho is requiring nonresident deer and elk hunters to open their wallets for a chance to obtain tags. Starting next year, nonresidents won’t be able to purchase over-the-counter tags for general season deer and elk hunts. Instead they will have to enter a lottery, similar to a controlled hunt drawing, to get the tags. But they must first purchase a nonrefundable $185 hunting license to be eligible for the drawing that comes with no guarantee they will ultimately win a tag.
Division on show as soil carbon method goes under review

2 weeks ago | beefcentral.com | Eric Barker

A REVIEW of Australia’s soil carbon scheme is showing ongoing division about how the industry should be legislated, prompting the soil carbon industry to call for suspensions of the program to be quickly ruled out. Soil carbon is one of the only agriculture-based methodologies in Australia’s carbon market. It incentivises producers to measure soil carbon stocks, change practices and awards them with Australian Carbon Credit Units if they measure increases in the years after.
Feeder cattle market: Flatback market steady as Angus premium goes to 80c

3 weeks ago | beefcentral.com | Eric Barker

THE gap between Angus and flatback feeder steer prices has continued to widen this week, with most grids now showing an 80c premium for Angus cattle. Feedlot buyers who spoke to Beef Central this morning were quoting between 360-370c/kg for 400kg+ flatback feeder steers, with Angus quotes hovering around 450c/kg. One quote for EU Angus cattle was 460c/kg. On Auctions Plus last week, 400kg+ feeder steers lifted 53c/kg to average 468c/kg, influenced by 83pc of the listings being Angus cattle.