MLA ‘Give chops a chance’ ad

September 2nd, 2009

It’s the 40th anniversary of the famous Woodstock music festival, and the MLA has a top new ad out – Give Chops a Chance (We love our lamb in spring), featuring a bunch of ultra-clean (and healthy) hippies, tucking into barbequed lamb chops to ‘Turn, turn, turn’. Enough to make you want to run to the […]

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Alan Hayes (of Macquarie Pastoral Services and Prudential Pastoral Company)

August 27th, 2009

Alan Hayes was the Managing Director of Macquarie Pastoral Services from 2006 to 2009 and in 2006 – 2007 was the CEO of Paraway Pastoral Company (Macquarie Pastoral’s operating entity), which Alan developed for Macquarie from 2005 onwards. Alan was also Chief Executive Officer/Chief Operating Officer of Prudential & Colonial Pastoral companies, from 1989 to […]

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Dymocks – ‘Supporting Australian Authors’ (not)

August 26th, 2009

I’ve just had a good laugh this morning, on reading the annual Dymocks Book franchise Father’s Day catalogue. Books by a number of authors in this year’s catalogue appear with a little green & gold book symbol with the words ‘Supporting Australian Authors’. Well I’ve sold thousands of books, and as at today’s count the […]

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Australian roadtrains

August 25th, 2009

It’s amazing the good things that turn up when you’re poking around the internet, that turn out to be produced by someone who just happens to live just a rock throw away. ‘Roadtrains‘ is a great example. The ‘Roadtrains’ website is run by Townsville resident Howard Shanks and it’s full of information and photographs of […]

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People who make unexplained environmental statements re. agriculture

August 21st, 2009

I thought about starting this list when I read the unexplained clanger by a fashion editor in a spread on handbags in the The Weekend Australian Magazine last year: ‘do your bit for the environment by not buying leather handbags’ (Are petrochemicals really better for the environment? How about ‘do your bit for the environment […]

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Wrotham Park Station sold to Consolidated Pastoral Company

August 17th, 2009

The sale of Wrotham Park cattle station to CPC has been confirmed in today’s AFR by James Thackray, Partner in Great Southern receivers, McGrath Nicol. Great Southern paid the AACo $53.5 million for Wrotham Park, however the sale price is apparently much less than that top-dollar price; at around $48 million. Consolidated Pastoral Company’s bid […]

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Cubbie Station for sale & the discussion regarding water rights buyback

August 17th, 2009

Cubbie Station is Australia’s largest cotton-growing property, and reputed to be the largest privately-owned irrigation farm in the southern hemisphere. Cubbie is actually an amalgamation of a number of irrigation properties in southern inland Queensland – near Dirranbandi, on the Culgoa River; and St George, on the Balonne River. Both these rivers are part of […]

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Wrotham Park Station under contract to CPC

August 15th, 2009

Unofficial reports say that as of this week, Wrotham Park Station is under a sale contract to Terra Firma/Ken Warriner owned Consolidated Pastoral Company; 2 month settlement period.

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Great Southern Plantations being investigated by the Stock Squad

August 13th, 2009

Finally it has been made public that Queensland Stock Squad police are investigating the alleged disappearance of cattle owned by Great Southern investors (John Andersen’s story in today’s Townsville Bulletin). In particular, the Stock Squad are investigating the alleged vanishing of cattle from Great Southern-leased Crystalbrook cattle station – in relative terms, not far from […]

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Burdekin Agricultural College set to close

August 12th, 2009

There has been no official announcement however there’s no prizes for guessing that the Queensland Government is intent on shutting the Burdekin Rural Ag College (or as it is now known, the ‘Burdekin Campus of the Australian Agricultural College’). Word has it that the government will explain it away by saying it’s due to dwindling […]

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