Agriculture

Nanopesticides are being hailed as an emerging technology that will minimise the adverse effects of pesticides on people and the environment, but is there sufficient evidence to convince the regulators?

Close up of wheat heads and blue sky in background

By embracing science and technology, Australia's agricultural industry could be more efficient, productive and sustainable.

Australia’s soil, water, vegetation and biodiversity, and our vast marine estate, are incredibly valuable national assets, which need to be managed effectively. There are still significant gaps in our understanding of these components, and the ways in which they interact. We need to understand them so we can manage them sustainably.

The new TRANSIT tool developed by CSIRO is identifying ways to cut the costs of transporting cattle—offering solutions that would reduce the vast distances travelled and the numbers of trucks on the road. The tool will be applied beyond the livestock industry for use more broadly in the agricultural and logistics sectors.

Some climate models show that, under high greenhouse gas emissions, Sydney could be up to 4.8C hotter and have 20% less rainfall by 2090. Others show the Harbour City could warm only by 2.3C and become 25% wetter. How do we deal with such large uncertainty?

Man and woman dancing hand in hand

For most of us, the word drought conjures images of a parched landscape, stunted crops, dry waterways and dead livestock. But what about rain dancing?