Meg Powell

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Meg Powell

Tasmanian cheesemaker King Island Dairy has been sold after more than a year on the market and the threat of closure hanging over it. In an email sent to staff, current owner Saputo announced it had entered a binding agreement to sell the dairy to newly formed entity King Island Dairy 2 Pty Ltd. Saputo did not name those involved in the new entity but said it was being led by "two experienced Australian businessmen with supply chain and manufacturing expertise".

2 months ago | abc.net.au | Laurissa Smith |Meg Powell

Flower Industry Australia claims imported blooms now make up about half of Australia's flower market, and nearly all of its supermarket offerings. Many of these cheaper blooms are from countries with patchy human rights records and are treated with toxic chemicals for biosecurity reasons, but neither of these things are mandatory to declare to the customer. Local growers, who are struggling to compete with the flood of overseas flowers, are continuing their decades-long push for clear labelling.

Jan 6, 2025 | abc.net.au | Meg Powell |Tony Briscoe

Agriculture puts food on our tables, but it also contributes to a whopping 12 per cent of global pollutionAnd according to the Climate Council, it was responsible for more than half of Australia's methane emissions in 2022/23!From this year the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture will run a net-zero emissions horticultural demonstration farm at ForthResearch fellow Dr Tori Clark explained to Meg Powell what that will look like.

Dec 8, 2024 | abc.net.au | Meg Powell |Tony Briscoe

Every year, the University of Tasmania hosts a camp for bright young year 11 and 12 students who are interested in learning about career pathwaysThis year 21 students from Tasmania and interstate have been traipsing about the North-West, eating berries, drinking juice, picking flowers and learning about the latest tech and scienceMeg Powell caught up with some of them at the UTAS research dairy at ElliottElliott, Secondary Education, Agricultural Crops, Agricultural Weed Control, Dairy Farming

Dec 8, 2024 | abc.net.au | Meg Powell |Laurissa Smith

Farmers and producers say a scheme designed to alleviate the cost of shipping goods across Bass Strait isn't doing its job, forcing them to either charge more for their products, or wear the costs themselves. They want to see the "clunky" old scheme reviewed each year, and streamlined, particularly to suit smaller businesses.