If you are looking for a new way to waste time on the Internet, dive into the rabbit hole that is Google trends. Simply input a search item or two and it will show you how often that search has been performed compared to all other searches, which countries the searches have been originating from and what other terms have been used alongside that search. View the rest of the post here

Accepted wisdom is often a dangerous thing, as it provides an easy path for those wishing to advance a particular argument but who can't be bothered to first build the evidence. An example may well be the accepted wisdom that farmers as a general group are progressively ageing, and that this will result in reduced rates of productivity growth and a loss of competitiveness for the sector in the future.  View the rest of the post here

There is widespread recognition that all is not well with the agricultural innovation system in Australia, with agricultural productivity growth essentially stalling since 1997, and agricultural research and development funding in free-fall as state governments in particular use any excuse to shut down facilities and remove resources. It might seem illogical, but one way to improve the performance of the Australian agricultural innovation system may actually be to shut down agricultural faculties and schools in Australia's major universities. View the rest of the post here

The forecast of annual farm production for 2015-16 released by ABARES at its annual Agricultural Outlook conference being held in Canberra this week was quite positive, indicating that the gross value of farm production will increase by around 5% compared to 2014-15 and equal almost $59 billion dollars. However, a farm commodity that is very quickly growing in value was completely overlooked in ABARES estimates. View the rest of the post here

The resurgence of controversy in both NSW and Queensland about tree-clearing legislation highlights that little progress has been made in the past twenty years, and that a long-term resolution will never be achieved unless the fundamental inequity inherent in state and Australian Government policy associated with this issue is addressed.  View the rest of the post here

The latest agricultural outlook reports produced by the USDA, the FAO and others paint a picture of a world in which there is a growing oversupply of grain, where global grain production constantly exceeds previous records, and in which the number of people suffering starvation is steadily declining. It seems that Thomas Malthus, Paul R Ehrlich and even present day doomsayers like Bob Carr constantly underestimate the ability of the world's farmers to increase output, given the right market signals. View the rest of the post here

If some of the recent contributions to the debate on future taxation policy in Australia are anything to go by, there is real danger lurking for the agriculture sector. A recent contribution proposing a number of different forms of land or estate taxes highlights this risk, especially when poorly researched proposals are thrown into the mix with little real thought or analysis. View the rest of the post here

The recently announced staff redeployments at the CSIRO have generated a flood of media headlines about government cuts to science funding, and the apparent reversal by the Australian Government of recent policy aiming to encourage innovation and productivity growth in the Australian economy. Despite the hysterical headlines, the changes that have been announced by the CSIRO might just be a first essential step in reigniting innovation in Australia. View the rest of the post here