Else Kennedy

Bob Vale is one of many small-scale farmers expected to sell up after the federal government opened the biggest water buyback scheme the southern Murray-Darling Basin has seen in years, but big irrigators are unlikely join in.

Major Australian nurseries, including retail giant Bunnings, are selling plants listed by governments and their own industry body as invasive weeds.

Farmers fear a company that "couldn't do the right thing" when exploring western NSW for rare earth minerals won't be able to manage if its project goes into full production.

Since the imposition of hefty Chinese tariffs on Australian wine in 2020, wine grape growers have barely broken even and the federal government has signalled it will not fund growers to exit the industry.

A new industry is selling its services in Australia — weather forecasting using artificial intelligence and offering precise, hour-by-hour forecasts for areas as small as a football field.  

Citrus Australia estimates international orange concentrate imports halved this year as the result of a huge global shortage, and it might see mandarin and even struggling grape growers step up.

The tiny western Victorian town of Minyip could soon host one of the world's largest rare earth mines after a multi-million dollar funding injection from a US uranium giant.

While the state government says its budget is for all Victorians, some critics say regional infrastructure investment is being left behind in favour of major metropolitan projects. 

We need mineral sands for a number of products, including electric cars and even sunscreen. So how do we mine for them in Australia? And why are farmers worried about the process?

Farmers raise concerns about consultation practices, radiation and the contamination of their crops at a hearing into VHM's proposed Goschen mineral sands and rare earths mine.

Over 1.2 million Australians have used medicinal cannabis, but the industry says cheap imports aren't regulated properly meaning consumers don't know what they're getting.

In an Australian first, dingoes are now protected on private and public land in north-west Victoria, but farmers worry it will lead to more attacks on livestock. 

Five decades ago, when geologist Jim Bowler brushed sand away from the dome of an ancient human cranium, it changed the way we thought about Australia's past.

A large volume of pine destined for mills is declared "unsalvageable" following an out-of-control blaze west of Ballarat last month.

Medicinal cannabis company Cann Group is suspended from trading on the ASX after an auditor reports "insufficient evidence" of future funding.

A Mildura man has allegedly pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars after a cryptocurrency trading platform accidentally added an extra zero to the funds in his account.  

Farmers describe a "wall of flame" after losing machinery and sheds, while homes have been lost and Premier Jacinta Allan warns of dangerous conditions to come in Victoria.

Some are cheering the extra income from a proposed renewable energy transmission line, while others are vowing to lock their gates against electricity provider Transgrid.

Experts warn a water shortage is inevitable as almonds become the biggest crop by area planted on Australia's longest river.

Victoria's planning minister stuns farmers by ruling out a plan to save 1,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of water in the Murray Darling Basin, saying it could harm important native vegetation.

Major PALM scheme employer Plantgrowpick is trading again after entering voluntary administration last year. The company has vowed to make good on its debts to workers, but concerns about its ongoing viability have been raised.

Weeks of wild weather in Victoria is likely to mean less stone fruit on supermarket shelves, after hail and heavy rain smashed Australia's main production regions, costing growers millions of dollars in losses.

Victoria's floodplain restoration projects have stalled after the state and federal governments reached a stalemate over the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

The Electrical Trades Union says a visit to the Buronga substation construction site from November 27 to 29 revealed "water leaking from conduits containing electrical cables" and "toilets without toilet paper, soap, or hand sanitiser".

First Nations water groups have welcomed changes to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan which will formally acknowledge their connection to water and aim to increase Indigenous ownership.