Administrators of Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel refinery have recommended it be liquidated in a report to creditors. The company, which previously ran the Federal M-P's Townsville nickel refinery, owes in excess of $100 million to creditors and employees.

Can there be a bipartisan approach to improving biosecurity in Queensland? A review of the State's biosecurity agency has found that it lacks capacity and capability to respond to the increasing number of pest and disease threats.

Questions have been raised about the modelling used to determine the impact of the coal seam gas industry on underground water levels.

A new virus from Korea is being trialled as a biological control agents for rabbits.

Growing barley grass in a fodder factory is proving a winner for a western Queensland grazing family who have been plagued by drought

-A review of the Queensland biosecurity system says a multi million dollar funding boost is urgently needed. The Queensland Biosecurity Capability Review has found that the State's biosecurity agency lacks capacity and capability to respond to the increasing number of pest and disease threats.

The trucking industry is in a spin after the Federal Court ruled against delaying the introduction of new minimum pay rates for contract truck drivers. Owner operators say the changes could force them out of business; Queensland Police say they'll consider applying to extradite three men from New South Wales, charged with stealing cattle from Cunnamulla in south-west Queensland; Natural resource management groups claim the Queensland Government has slashed funding by 25 per cent this year but the Government blames the previous-LNP administration for spending too much, too early; The organisers of a cattle drive re-enactment in Queensland say the event has reignited a passion for the region's beef industry. The Eidsvold Historic Cattle Drive left Camboon near Theodore in the central part of the state with 330 head on Saturday and travelled over a week to finish at Eidsvold Station - the country's oldest Santa Gertrudis stud; And, one woman in north Queensland is turning a negative to a positive by finding work for retrenched nickel workers in the sugar cane industry.

A major expansion of a Darling Downs abattoir is now likely to go ahead with the State Government committing two and a half million dollars to upgrade rail sidings in south-west Queensland; Local committees will meet this month to assess rainfall figures and make recommendations about whether individual shires should remain drought declared; New Zealand farmers say they want a foreign ownership of land register, and they are closely watching the recently introduced Australian model; Animal welfare is the buzzword at a major live export conference underway in Indonesia, where local agribusiness companies are being encouraged to invest in improving conditions for animals; The alleged murder of a remote area nurse in South Australia shocked the healthcare community, and renewed calls for a national approach to improving safety for remote health workers; It may be a tropical fruit, but too much rain ... or too much of anything for that matter ... can still be a problem for rambutan growers.

Farm lobby groups wait for a decision from the Federal Government's review of its so-called backpacker tax, which would see tax backpackers taxed at a flat rate of 32.5 cents for every dollar earned from July the first.

The price of chickpeas has surged and could go even higher. It is likely to see a vast area planted to the crop this winter, potentially even greater than the record planting last year.

Legumes seem to be the flavour of the decade! Nuffield Scholar and Mackay cane grower Simon Mattson believes more could be planted in cane areas, during the fallow, to increase nitrogen and reduce run-off into the Great Barrier Reef.

The University of the Sunshine Coast will be home to Australian Centre for Pacific Island Research, which is working hard to improve the economic viability of farming in the Pacific Island communities.

The ACCC to examine competition issues in the cattle industry. A wide-ranging beef market study will be the first major project for the ACCC's new Agriculture Enforcement and Engagement Unit.

The demand for wild dog cluster fences in Queensland far outstrips the $14 million being offered to part-fund pest control programs by the Federal and State Governments.

The International Wool Textile Organisation hosts a wool sale in Sydney, show casing the value of the open-cry auction system. The future of the traditional auction is under review, with those in favour and those against hotly debating the best system in the 21st century.

Reliving the droving days in the Burnett at the historic Eidsvold Cattle Drive, a week long drove retracing the route of early stockmen.

The Queensland Government has approved mining leases for the $21.7 billion Carmichael coal mine and rail project in the Galilee Basin.. The decision raises questions about whether the economic trade off is worth the cost to the environment.

A new report from the Australian Institute of Marine Science questions the effectiveness of the state's reef run-off programs aimed at improving water quality in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

The Burrumbuttock Hay Runners deliver 14,000 bales of hay to western Queensland graziers, providing feed for drought affected stock and boosting the spirits of western Queensland communities.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has amended regulations governing the use of drones. The new rules mean private landowners will be able to carry out some commercial-like operations under the "standard RPA operating conditions'' without having to hold an Unmanned Aircraft Operator's Certificate. The changes apply to private operators using a drone weighing up to 25kg, provided none of the parties involved receive remuneration.

The states and territories have signed off on the Federal Government's plans for new country of origin labels. The labelling will start appearing on packs from the first of July, and will be phased in over two years.

Sap-sucking bugs, specially bred in Queensland with the sole purpose of controlling the destructive coral cactus, have been released for the first time in Longreach.

ANSTO and UNSW have launched an initiative with a citizen scientist component that will enable tracking of the movements of waterbirds between regional wetland sites across Australia, through the creation of a 'feather map'.

The JBS meatworks in Townsville has reopened after an extended closure of sixteen weeks with the company blaming the lack of suitable cattle for the long layoff.

State and territory ministers have signed off on a new national code to label free range eggs. The Ministers have agreed that farms with up to 10-thousand birds per hectare can be called free range, as long as the birds have what's described as 'meaningful access' to the outdoors.

The banana prawn season in the Gulf kicks off on April the first and the mood is bouyant. After a tough decade of rationalisation the northern prawn fishery's been riding high on the back of a string of bumper seasons, strong demand and the lowest fuel prices in a decade.

The Deputy Premier Jackie Trad talks tree clearing, Shane Knuth from KAP wants to government action on power prices and we taste test the tropical fruit Feijoa with a devotee of the fruit.

Twelve months on from the discovery of Panama disease tropical race 4 on a Tully banana farm, growers and government have spent millions upgrading biosecurity and monitoring for the disease, while plant breeders are working hard to find a cavendish variety that tolerates the disease without compromising quality.

Pig producers are concerned imported pork is undercutting their market and increasing the risk of disease.

A new variety of the forage species leucaena that is resistant to a sap-sucking psyllid is showing real promise and could mean the legume can be grown on an extra million and a half hectares

Indonesia looking to Australian cattle husbandry to improve the domestic herd and unravelling the wheat genome using a collection of ancient varieties housed in St Petersberg, Russia.