A Word from Rob Massina, President of RGA

Water Sharing & Resource Plans; Independent Social and Economic Panel Assessment; Australian Competition Consumer Commission water market inquiry; Research & Development Corporation review and Australian Agriculture to $100 Billion by 2030 submissions. It has been a very solid month for the RGA team as a whole and a lot of the above is ongoing. 

We have provided our Water Sharing Plan submission and have asked the NSW government for clarification on the language changes that have been used, prior to forwarding to the MDBA for approval. This is a critical piece to the access of supplementary water/off allocation water going forward and it is imperative that this access is not jeopardised. 

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 YOUR RGA TEAM ADVOCATING FOR YOU

From submissions to the government on 'Growing Australian Agriculture to $100 Billion by 2030' and  the National Drought Policy, to representing the interests of Rice Growers at the NSW Irrigators Council, Murray Darling Association, Biosecurity meetings with Department of Industry, the Australian Farm Institute and more.  This has been a busy month for your RGA team.

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IMPORTANT RGA DATES

RGA Rice Industry Leadership Program 2020:  Applications are open until the 22nd November for the Tier 1 Leadership program 'Introduction to the Rice industry'. This introductory program is for people with a passion and interest in the rice industry and/or supporting industries and communities. Developed in conjunction with Rice Extension team this course will be offered in February 2020...READ THE FULL ARTICLE

2019/20 Membership Subscription Reminders: Thank you to all RGA members who have already paid their subscriptions, this great organisation is able to function because of this contribution.  We will soon be sending reminders to those who have not yet paid.  If you have any queries about your membership, please do not hesitate to contact Carmel Cristofaro on 02 6953 0433 or one of the team at the RGA...  READ THE FULL ARTICLE

 THE RICE MARKETING BOARD FOR THE STATE OF NSW - NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING
Notice is hereby given that the Rice Marketing Board for the State of New South Wales will be holding its Annual Meeting at the Historic Hydro Motor Inn, Leeton, on Thursday 21 November 2019, commencing at 6pm. Refreshments will be provided prior to the meeting at 5.30pm. All rice growers are invited to attend.

Murray-Darling Basin water markets inquiry public forum 
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is hosting a series of public forums in November to hear the views of those engaged in, or affected by, markets for tradeable water rights in the Murray-Darling Basin. READ MORE

Save the date: Grower of the Year Field day
Thursday 12 December, Peter & Renee Burke, Jerilderie, NSW.

RGA Board and Central Executive Meeting
Monday 16 December, SunRice Office, Leeton, NSW.

EvokeAg 2020
18-19 February 2020 @ Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, VIC. 

RGA Branch Meetings
RGA Branch Meetings are being planned for February 2020. 
Dates and locations to be advised. 

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A word from RGA Berriquin Branch Vice President - Will Robertson 

First of all I would like to say a big congratulations to Rob Massina on his election as RGA president. Rob will do a great job in this role as he is passionate about the industry and agriculture in our region, and gives everything his best shot.

What was looking to be a reasonable year until the tap turned off 3 months ago, has seen some good bulk crops in the region that weren’t going to make grain. A good amount of crop was cut, which has seen a lot people flat out organising hay and all the joys that come with it. 

In the last week harvest on barley has started, with an indication of around 1.5- 2/ ha yield. Which is a good result given the year, prices have been pretty steady with every one watching what’s going to happen in the Mallee in terms of production 

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WATER MATTERS

Water (or rather lack thereof) hit the headlines in the city media in a big way in October. Coverage focused in large part on the water market and the Australian Competition and Consumer’s (ACCC) apparent focus on water barons in its Issues Paper released on 17 October. The environmental watering taking place through Barmah and elsewhere also attracted attention, particularly on 60 Minutes on 27 October. Drought, water access and markets also featured on the ABC’s Q&A on 28 October.

READ CLAIRE MILLER'S WATER UPDATE HERE.