Welcome to the RURAL PRESS CLUB

	SA Stock Journal editor wins national leadership award Stock Journal editor Deanna Lush is heading to Canada in September after winning a prestigious national award for young rural journalists. Read more

City drives government policy – so make city understand us Farmers need to figure out how to sell to the community the important job they do, said Jock Laurie, President of the National Farmers’ Federation, last fortnight at the Rural Press Club in Brisbane. Read more

Tattersall's donates chairs to Western Downs Council When the Tattersall’s Club in Brisbane contacted the Rural Press Club with notice of 200+ chairs they would like to donate to an organisation hard-hit by recent natural disasters; Rural Press Club made it their mission to find a worthy recipient. Enter Western Downs Regional Council. A council area hit hardest by recent flooding, Western Downs Council is still in rebuild-mode and was grateful for the donation of chairs, of which will furnish four buildings: the Dalby Rugby Union Club, the Myall Youth Centre, the Condamine Sports Club and the Warra Memorial Hall. Mayor Cr Ray Brown (left) was on hand to personally thank the Tattersall’s Club for their generous donation.

The farmer's take on the milk price war Natural disasters + lower prices = A struggling dairy industry.  Life has been tough for Queensland dairy farmers this year, and with the milk price-war, things just got tougher. At this month’s Rural Press Club lunch, Brian Tessmann – President of the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation (QDO) – discussed the impacts and issues around the price-war. Read more

Queensland journalists scoop the prize pool at awards Queensland journalists are standing tall on the national stage today, after the State scooped the major prize pool in a comprehensive competition for excellence in rural journalism. Read more

 

Rural journalists in the USA have not forgotten their Queensland counterparts.
Donations are on the way from the rural community of Saltwater in Oklahoma thanks to the hard work of rural journalist Dan Crummett and his wife Jerrie.
After hearing of the devastation that has hit much of rural Queensland and now the city of Brisbane, Dan who is Executive Editor of Farm Progress decided to do his bit to help Queenslanders who he describes as 'folks like us'.
Dan contacted Rural Press Club President Genevieve McAulay after he saw the harrowing pictures that were beamed across the globe.
Right now he has called on his local community and his readers and is taking donations of US cotton socks, singlets and undies.
"One report we got said people needed some of these essential items and given that it looks like the Australian cotton industry is suffering some losses we decided to substitute with some good quality US cotton," Dan said.

2011 Rural Press Awards Now Open

The Rural Press Club of Queensland will once again reward the State’s most outstanding journalists and photographers for excellence in capturing the stories and images of rural Queensland.
The overall prize for the 2011 Excellence in Rural Journalism Awards includes airfares and registration fees up to a value of $5000 to attend the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists World Congress (IFAJ) to be held in Ontario, Canada September 14-18, 2011.  More Information

Japanese and Australian communicators link When the Japanese rural media wanted to learn more about the impact of disastrous floods on the sugar industry in Australia, the international contact network was put to good use. Read more

	Malcolm McCosker inaugural inductee into Rural Journalism Hall of Fame A legend of Queensland agriculture was honoured today, when Malcolm McCosker became the inaugural inductee into the Rural Journalism Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifetime of service to rural media. Read media release

 

Would you like steak or roo on your burger? At the last Rural Press Club event for the year, Sharyn Garrett shared her story from a wannabe surfer girl to advocate for kangaroo meat. Read more

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Prestigious prize set for 2011 rural writing award winner The Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists is pleased to announce a new partnership with the international agribusiness company John Deere which upgrades the prize for next year’s winner of the prestigious Australian Star Prize for Rural Writing.  Read media release      Rabobank increases sponsorship for national rural broadcasting award Australia’s best rural broadcaster will attend a gathering of their international peers in Canada next year thanks to increased sponsorship for the Rabobank Australian Star Prize for Rural Broadcasting, announced in Sydney today. Read media release    Aussie beef secure with Coles

Describing himself as “the humble son of a poor farmer”, Chief Executive of Australian Country Choice (ACC), David Foote, gave a lively overview of ACC’s operations and a look at what the future holds for the company at the Rural Press Club last Friday. Read more

New look Rural Press Club committee

The Rural Press Club has re-elected its executive team with only one change to the line up at the 2010 Annual General Meeting. Genevieve McAulay has been returned as President for her third year. Read Media Release

Greens back farmers on mining

Larissa Waters, the Greens party senator-elect and environmental lawyer, affirmed her commitment to protecting the environment from mining developments, while Drew Hutton, a Friends of the Earth activist, called for an alliance between farmers and environmentalists during his talk at the Rural Press Club’s AgShow breakfast in Toowoomba. Read more

Swift action  The Rural Press Club proved to be the platform for weighty agricultural issues, with Iain Mars declaring JBS Swift is no longer the 800 pound gorilla as described by AACo’s chief David Farley. The Rural Press Club’s Ekka breakfast drew more than 250 people to hear JBS Swift Australia’s CEO and director, Iain Mars give his take of the future direction of the Australian beef industry. As the world’s largest meat processor Swifts process 47,000 head of cattle worldwide each day. Read more.

ACAJ President visits the Ekka

Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists President Liz Harfull was a special guest at the Rural Press Club’s Ekka breakfast.
The event lived up to its tradition with a sellout crowd to hear Iain Mars the CEO of Brazilian-owned meat processing giant, Swift Australia.
Liz has become a best-selling author with the publication of the Blue Ribbon Cookbook which features country show cooks from around her home State, South Australia.
The book was named runner-up in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris last year and was a finalist in the 2010 Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards.
Liz was at the Ekka to check out Queensland’s country cookery talent as part of her research for a new national version.

Pictured at the Rural Press Club Ekka breakfast are guest speaker Iain Mars, ACAJ president Liz Harfull and Queensland Rural Press Club president Genevieve McAulay.

The future of farming

FUTURE farmers will need to produce more food with fewer inputs, with holistic farming identified as the way forward, according to farm management guru Terry McCosker. The Resource Consulting Services (RCS) managing director was optimistic of the future of agriculture, but warned the health of the environment and the entire population hinged on the development of sustainable farming practices. In an address to the Rural Press Club in Brisbane on June 3 Mr McCosker said farmers will be producing more food with less inputs using just rain, sun and the soil to grow their crops. McCosker is accustomed to opposition, receiving much criticism when he introduced grazing for profit and cell grazing into Australia over 20 years ago said that carbon would and soil biology would be the big issues in the next 20 years.  Read more.

What’s in the Federal Budget for agriculture? 

 President's report

Read the President's latest report

Country membership for just $20

The Rural Press Club has introduced a half-price membership category for people residing more than 100km from Brisbane.
This is expected to appeal to people with a rural interest who might be occasional visitors to the city and interested in attending one of the club’s monthly functions.
The new category offers the same priority email notices as regular and corporate members so popular events can be booked before they sell out.
It will also allow country journalists to compete for the growing list of awards on offer including trips to the USA for Queensland Excellence in Rural Journalism and the National Alltech Young Journalist Award.

Apply to become a country member online.