Insights and Stories of Colin Packham

Apr. 10, 2015 at 12:14 pm CDT

Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s largest private land owner will sell its cattle operations, including the world’s largest ranch and an area equivalent in size to South Korea, to raise cash for other businesses and investments. S. Kidman and Co. said it will sell its privately owned 11 cattle stations […]

By Colin Packham

Mar. 31, 2015 at 10:50 am CDT

Sydney | Reuters — Recent warming of the Pacific Ocean may signal an El Nino weather event is forming, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Tuesday. Climate models indicate the central tropical Pacific Ocean is likely to continue to warm, with El Nino thresholds to be reached or exceeded […]

By Colin Packham

Mar. 24, 2015 at 5:31 pm CDT

Sydney/Hamburg | Reuters — Japan’s Marubeni Corp. is to close its Australian grain trading business after a review of its global operations. The move “is not in any way reflective of the performance of Marubeni Australia’s grain trading business division, which has been trading profitably for the past three years,” […]

By Colin Packham, Michael Hogan

Mar. 17, 2015 at 11:51 am CDT

Sydney | Reuters — An outbreak of a feared disease affecting banana plants has been confirmed on an Australian farm, raising worries over the outlook for the country’s A$550 million (C$537 million) industry. The so-called Tropical Race 4 strain of Panama disease was confirmed at a farm in Tully in […]

By Colin Packham

Mar. 5, 2015 at 6:47 pm CST

Canberra | Reuters –– The Australian government has sided with farmers who say official data vastly underestimates foreign ownership of the nation’s farmland, as it moves to clamp down on overseas purchases of agricultural land. Foreign ownership is a key concern for many farmers, a crucial part of the conservative […]

By Colin Packham