Derailment causes cancellation
GRAINCORP says a derailment at its Murtoa subterminal in Victoria only caused short-term disruption to its grain outloading program.
A spokesman for the organisation confirmed the incident and said it caused the cancellation of one train, but said there would be no further impact in terms of clearing the site in readiness for harvest.
Fischer appointment
Former politician Tim Fischer has been named the next chair of the international seed preservation group Crop Trust and will start in the role on January 1.
Mr Fischer will replace Walter Fust, who was an early advocate for the establishment of the Crop Trust.
“We are excited to welcome Tim Fischer as our new chair,” Crop Trust executive director Marie Haga said.
“During Tim’s tenure as Vice-Chair of the Executive Board (2013–17), he demonstrated an unrelenting commitment to our mission: the conservation and use of the crop diversity that is a prerequisite for global food security.”
Russian bin-burster
Russia has recorded a total harvest of 132 million tonnes of grain for 2017 according to its official government agencies.
This figure is up on previous estimates of 127 million tonnes and is just short of the all-time Soviet record of 133mt set in 1978, for the entire Soviet Union, not just Russia.
This year’s harvest also is significantly larger than the 2017 crop of 120.7mt.
Hay safety day
National Hay Safe Day, a day focusing on safety in the hay and silage industry, is on Wednesday October 25.
In the lead up to National Hay Safe Day, the Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) is asking everyone involved in the fodder industry to run through the “Make sure your workplace is HAY SAFE” checklist every day with all of your all workers/operators and family members.
Work milestone
PACIFIC Seeds territory manager Rob McCarron is celebrating 35 years of service with the company, after starting work with the organisation in October 1982.
Mr McCarron, who now works as the Pacific Seeds Territory Manager for coastal NSW, Northern WA and the NT, started work as a depot supervisor in Dubbo where Pacific Seeds operated a processing plant in the early 1980s.