Grain gathering, rural women winner, caged eggs, Murray commission

We head to the inaugural Thriving Women Conference held in the Adelaide Hills today, Labor says they'll commit to a new deep port in the Spencer gulf if elected and what does royalties for regions look like, as we head into the election.

South Australia's Biosecurity department has quashed ideas of restricting fruit imports from Tasmania, despite another fruit fly outbreak occurring in Metropolitan Adelaide, For about 30 years, pastoralists Ross and Jane Fargher have been protecting some of the most important fossils in the world at Nilpena Station in the Flinders Ranges and now they are working with the State Government to turn part of their property into a national park, With Murray-Darling Basin communities pondering what's to come, a major player has committed to keeping the Basin Plan alive, Queensland has joined South Australia in assuring it will stay on, SA Rural Women Award Finalists, Alex Thomas, Jo Bonner and Lauren Theil speak about their projects ahead of Monday's night awards.

Talks between federal politicians are expected to continue behind closed doors in Canberra today amid uncertainty over the future of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Reactions from Riverland irrigators, St George Irrigators and those protesting the Broken Hill pipeline. A farmer from the south east has taken on the challenge to produce a movie to protest against gas extraction in the South East, A new genetically modified canola crop has received the green light for commercial use in Australia which could not only sell for a premium but also take pressure off wild fish stocks.

Indigenous nations in the northern and southern Murray Darling Basin are calling on the Senate to block key changes to the Murray Darling Basin plan, later today. Renmark Irrigation Trust says having two states pull out would be a huge blow to an agreement well over half-way through completion, A southern Queensland farmer, who blew the whistle on allegations of water theft, says the Murray Darling Basin Plan is deeply flawed and lacking compliance, Webster's Limited, based a Menindee in Far West New South Wales have been working with the NSW Stock Squad to try and find 403 ewes and 96 rams that went missing in December last year. The rams were worth $2000 each, and the ewes about $150 each. But Webster's Livestock Manager, Paul Martin, says it's the potential earnings lost is more like nine-hundred-thousand dollars, as they were breeding stock. A series of automatic weather stations will help farmers in the state's mid north avoid counter the risk of spray drift.

The fishing industry has welcomed news the Environmental Protection Authority will investigate the possibility of dumping dredge spoil from Outer Harbour on land, rather than in Gulf St Vincent. Flinders Ports says it would better and more cost effective to dump the spoil out to sea. South Australian oyster growers are waiting on tenterhooks about whether or not fees and charges will be dropped by the State Government this year. Big Moo the South East's famous six foot three guernsey steer, was the victim of a domestic dog attack this Friday night. With reports that SA Police are offering more cautions than fines in recent times, South Australian Road Transport Association says truck drivers were certainly not receiving any leniency from police.

Murray plan stoush, chemical reform, dead kangaroos, pulse tariff

Federal Assistant Water Minister, Anne Ruston, said she's surprised and disappointed that the Federal Opposition has decided to block changes to the Murray Darling Basin Plan. The Labor Opposition will support a Greens motion, that aims to block a proposal by the Government to reduce the amount of water the Commonwealth is set to acquire from the Northern Basin by 70GL. She said Federal Labor's Tony Burke has succumbed to the pressure of the left, and that the bipartisanship - a cornerstone of the Murray Darling basin agreement - is now under threat, SA Greens Senator Sarah Hanson Young is responsible for the motion to block the reforms to the Murray Darling Basin Plan. She said she is doing the right thing by South Australia, and rejects criticism that she is threatening the future of the Murray Darling Basin Plan, Livestock SA has rubbished calls for the dingo fence to be dismantled.

You might be surprised to learn that some agro-ecologists are suggesting that dingoes could be good for pastoralists, An issue of fraud has arisen in the shearing shed where some wool classers stencils are being used by the wrong people.

The Federal Government has rejected a report by some of Australia's top water scientists that calls for a halt to the spending of billions of dollars on water saving projects in the Murray Darling Basin, It's time for the major political parties to come together and map out Australia's energy future, Wine grape harvesting is underway at the moment in the Southern Flinders, Port Lincoln's tuna fleet is about half way through the season's catch, From now on, pig producers will have to fill out a 'pigpass' every time an animal leaves their property.

After steering Horticulture's peak research and marketing body through major change, John Lloyd is stepping down, Australia's biggest commercial real estate agency CBRE says changes to foreign ownership laws won't encourage more Australian investment in agricultural land, Alex Thamm from real estate company Colliers International says it could risk private sales, properties that never hit the market, Shiraz and Sauvignon blanc may dominate Australia's wine grape production, but increasingly, growers and wineries have been experimenting with alternative varieties, The feral pig population in Australia is growing and farmers are copping the consequences