Agribusiness buzz in brief

The bacteria-killing abilities of wings on cicadas and other insects have resulted in a natural antibacterial texture to improve packaged food shelf life and reduce waste.

The lab-made nanotexture comes from an Australian-Japanese team of scientists (pictured) and kills up to 70 per cent of bacteria.

It retains its effectiveness when transferred to plastic and sets the scene for significantly reducing waste in meat and dairy exports.

Professor Elena Ivanova of RMIT University in Melbourne said the research team knew the wings of cicadas and dragonflies were highly efficient bacteria killers and were subsequently able to create a non-chemical nanotexturing which retained its antibacterial power when printed on plastic.

The research is a collaboration between RMIT, Tokyo Metropolitan University and Mitsubishi Chemical's The KAITEKI Institute.

Credit reporting bureau CreditWatch's latest Business Risk Index has identified trade payment defaults and insolvency court actions continuing to rise in March, but not in the West Australian Wheatbelt.

The southern WA region has lowest probability of default in Australia at just 3.48 per cent, just ahead of South Australia's southern Grampians and Mid North at 3.5pc and 3.67pc, and Victoria's Murray River-Swan Hill area and Esperence in WA at 3.7pc.

CreditWatch's results generally indicated positive signs for business recovery, with trade activity up 55pc on its January low, and credit enquiries up 45pc on the previous quarter.

Industry sectors with the lowest credit default scores were agriculture, forestry and fishing, at 3.6pc; Health Care, 3.3pc, and manufacturing at 3.7pc.

Regions where default probability was highest included Sydney's Bringelly, Merrylands and Guildford suburbs and Queensland's Gold Coast, all at 7pc or more.

NSW Farmers dairy committee chairman Colin Thompson says the best way the wider community can thank farmers, and help those hit by flooding and waterlogged paddocks in NSW and Queensland, is to be savvy when they shop.

He said with the focus on agriculture during the Sydney Royal Show over Easter it was important not to forget those flood-affected producers on NSW's north and south coasts.

"Supporting our farmers can be as simple as choosing quality branded Australian food products at the supermarket," he said.

"Everyone on the east coast copped an absolute drenching in recent weeks.

"Recovery will take a long time, but every little bit helps."

Coles supermarket house brand products will soon be sold by Singapore's biggest supermarket chain, NTUC FairPrice.

As part of a new alliance between the two retailers, about 140 products will sell in a dedicated Coles section of the Singaporean stores.

The product range includes Coles' soups, Wellness Road healthy food products, Urban coffee and Coles' Ultimate biscuits.

NTUC has about 60 per cent of the supermarket trade in Singapore.

The retailer was keen to take advantage of a strong country of origin preference among its customers for Australian-sourced foods.

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The first order for breaches of Australia's foreign investments rules on property has been issued by the Federal Court of Australia, attracting $250,000 in penalties.

The offshore investor was penalised for buying multiple outer Melbourne properties without receiving permission from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Vijay Balasubramaniyan purchased four properties without permission and simultaneously owned two established properties at once, in contravention of the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeover Act.

Foreign investors are limited in the type of property they can acquire in Australia and must apply before buying, otherwise civil penalties enabling the government to recapture capital gain or 25 per cent of value of the property apply.

Gold Coast fertiliser business, Plant Doctor, has shown its propensity for growth by expanding into a third factory and ramping up production in food processing.

It will be Plant Doctor's second Gold Coast-based facility, focusing solely on food, a component of the business which has gained momentum as a contract packaging venture for smaller production runs.

The family owned business initially manufactured liquid and granular fertilisers, but also does dried food products in bags, jars and capsules.

Managing director, Adam Fitzhenry, said the food manufacturing arm gave small businesses and start-ups the chance to book minimum production runs, which helped their cash flow as they did not need to outlay big costs to fit with larger companies' production schedules.

Last year Plant Doctor established a northern NSW site focused on making and packing liquid and granular fertiliser.

Rural Bank has awarded $60,0000 in scholarships to regional and rural students as part of an expanded 19-year-old scholarship program to foster agriculture's next generation of leaders.

Many of Rural Bank's scholarship alumni have achieved considerable success, going on to be important contributors to agriculture and rural communities, said the bank's sales head, Andrew Smith.

Rural Bank opted to award 12 scholarships this year instead of the 11 originally announced because of the calibre of applicants and their passion to contribute to the future of Australian agriculture.

Mr Smith said 70 per cent of applicants were women, who comprised 83pc of scholarship winners.

Recipients will study agribusiness, veterinary and agricultural science and resource economics at universities in Armidale, Wagga Wagga, Bundaberg, Bundoora, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart, and Tocal and Longerenong agricultural colleges in NSW and Victoria.

Horizon Scholarships have been awarded to 20 applicants as part of an initiative supported by seven Research and Development Corporations, along with Co-operative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia and farm chemical company, FMC Australasia.

The Agrifutures Horizon Scholarships aim to help develop the next generation of rural leaders provides scholars with a $10,000 bursary over two years.

As part of the program, students attend an annual four-day professional development workshop and complete two weeks of industry placement each year, all of which is covered by the support of their sponsor.

Students are carefully paired with industry sponsors that align with their career aspirations and industry experience.

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