18 pages., via online journal., Findings in rural communities prompt authors to recommend a customized policy framework that is responsive to the diversity and uniqueness of local contexts in connectivity and digital inclusion.
8 pages., More than 800 Australian adults responded to an electronic questionnaire distributed via email and social media. Respondents "were challenged to accurately perceive silhouettes corresponding to an obese body mass index (BMI) in themselves and others. Misperception of weight status was more likely to exist among those with a BMI less than 18.5 - or 30 or more ("overweight" and "obese"). "Silhouettes may act as an effective visual cue in initiating weight related discussions."
9 pages., Through in-depth interviews with farmers having an existing relationship with extension advisors, researchers explored the processes of of advisory relationship building, maintenance, and the nature of commitment to an advisor. Findings identified six guidelines associated with increasing commitment to an advisory relationship.
17 pages, Southern Australian farming systems operate predominantly under Mediterranean climatic conditions, which limit the choice of cover crops suitable for enhancement of ground cover and soil moisture retention, erosion control, atmospheric soil nitrogen (N) fixation, and weed suppression between cash crop rotations. Given that the successful establishment of cover crops is climate-driven and also influenced by edaphic factors such as soil pH and salinity, there has been increased interest by southern Australian producers in identifying potential cover crop species well adapted to specific Australian farming systems, which provide vital ecosystem services and sustainable economic benefits through the improvement of soil properties. This review summarises recent findings on cover crop inclusion in diverse farming systems in southern Australia, including continuous and mixed broadacre cropping as well as viticulture and horticulture systems, to identify opportunities and limitations related to their use. Cover crop inclusion in viticulture and pasture systems with lower moisture stress was observed to benefit the subsequent cash crop through enhanced production potential. Long-term, multi-site field experimentation incorporating summer cover crops in winter crop rotations showed that cover crops enhanced ground cover and soil water infiltration in some locations across southern Australia while sometimes increasing winter crop yield, suggesting that soil type and regional climatic conditions greatly influenced the delivery of multiple cover crop benefits. Collectively, these studies have suggested a need for longer-term field evaluations using multiple cover crop species and investigations of termination options under varying environmental and soil conditions to better quantify the legacy effects of cover crops.
5 pages., Author reported "overwhelming response" to biofertiliser courses delivered by community-based family enterprise RegenAG and hosted on-farm by landholders in central Queensland, with the support of Fitzroy Basin Association (FBA) - as "catalyst for forming a community of practice for peer-to-peer support and mentoring in regenerative agriculture."
8 pages, Cultured meat is a novel food technology that promises to produce meat in a more environmentally friendly and animal-friendly way. We conducted an internet survey in ten countries (Australia, China, England, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and the US) with a total sample of 6128 participants. Results suggest that there are large cultural differences regarding the acceptance of cultured meat. French consumers were significantly less accepting of the idea than consumers in all other countries. Perceived naturalness of and disgust evoked by cultured meat were important factors in the acceptance of this novel food technology in all countries. Trust in the food industry, food neophobia and food disgust sensitivity indirectly and directly influenced the acceptance of cultured meat in almost all countries. In order to increase the acceptance of cultured meat, the similarity of cultured meat to traditional meat needs to be emphasized rather than the rather technical production process, which may evoke associations of unnaturalness and disgust.
7 pages., Article presents learnings and observations from the perspective of delivering a targeted sugarcane agricultural extension program across the Wet Tropics. "Importantly, this program has continued to find the need to understand and align with local community and industry dynamics to ensure prioritisation supports the intended outcomes, including that communities and landholders are actively engaged in water quality improvement and remain resilient."
Via online. 1 page., Announcement of Leigh Radford, retired national head of rural and national programs with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Regional, as recipient of the 2019 Order of Australia Medal(OAM).
