Sat, Mar 18, 2006
Buyers from across northern Australia gathered in Emerald last week for the historic sale of the Nobbs family's droughtmaster cattle. The herd sold for more than $2.6 million. Bidding was fast and furious as beef producers competed for their share of some of the best commercial cattle in the country.
Sat, Mar 25, 2006
Few other industries have grown at such a speed as the Australian Wine Industry. The eighties and nineties were periods of extraordinary domestic and export growth. But a couple of years back, some experts warned of major problems ahead and now those warnings are reality, too many grapes, too many wineries. Let's take a quick look at the industry's extraordinary growth and its current status.
Sat, Apr 15, 2006
South Australia's Eyre Peninsula is battling to re-establish itself, more than a year after the black Tuesday bushfire killed nine people there. Many farmers are starting over, while others are using the experience to re-draw their fence lines and save the remnant natural vegetation. Meanwhile, scientists have found some surprising but encouraging results from soil tests.
Sat, May 20, 2006
One of the most outspoken critics of the Snowy Hydro sale is the Prime Minister's right hand man, Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan. Senator Heffernan wants a referendum on the issue, and is not convinced selling the Snowy would be in the best interests of regional Australia. He's urging the states and the Commonwealth to back down.
Sat, May 27, 2006
The western king prawn is a favourite on menus throughout the world. But 20 years ago things weren't looking so rosy for the species native to South Australian waters. Now, thanks to a program considered one of the best of it's kind in the world, the future of the environment and the state's prawn industry is looking much brighter. It's an innovative system, testing the patience of local fishers.
Sat, Jul 1, 2006
After eight years at the helm of Meat and Livestock Australia, David Crombie has taken on an even bigger challenge as the new president of the National Farmers' Federation. Mr Crombie takes over from outgoing leader Peter Corish. He brings to the position decades of experience as an international agricultural consultant, manager, farmer and self-confessed rugby fanatic. I spoke to Mr Crombie about his priorities, before he left for trade talks in Brussels.
Sat, Jul 15, 2006
It might seem remarkable given current conditions, but 50 years ago, much of Eastern Australia experienced very heavy rainfall. The result was a wall of water sweeping down the Murray-Darling system. At one stage the floodplains measured seven kilometres in width and thousands of people from Wentworth to the Murray mouth were involved in desperate struggles to save their towns. It was described as the greatest natural catastrophe to strike South Australia. Fifty years on, let's look back at the great flood of 1956.
Sat, Aug 19, 2006
Two of the biggest buzzwords around at the moment are ethanol and bio-diesel. They have come to prominence because of the skyrocketing price of oil and the consequent urgent need for alternative sources of energy. Visiting Australia at the moment is biofuel expert Professor Vernon Eidman of the University of Minnesota. Professor Eidman told Kerry Lonergan that ethanol and biodiesel are now part of the mainstream energy market.
Sat, Sep 2, 2006
This week is National Landcare Week and the Landcare organisation recently commissioned a survey on what city people know about farming and the results will no doubt disturb but perhaps not surprise many primary producers. Sally Sara talks about the results of the survey with Landcare boss Brian Scarsbrick.
Sat, Sep 9, 2006
Mossman in Far North Queensland is where former fisherman, Rod Miller has turned his hand to making biodiesel. The raw material is second hand cooking oil and the end product is thousands of litres of biodiesel every week. But there's a cloud on the biodiesel horizon, federal assistance for the biofuels industry is to be phased out and small-scale producers are questioning if there's any future for those making biodiesel in regional Australia.
Sat, Sep 16, 2006
The prawns of northern Australia are rated by many as the world's best and fetch a premium price in seafood loving countries such as Japan. But there is a dark cloud over the future of prawn fishing in the north, because cheap imports are threatening to cause the industry to collapse.
Sat, Sep 23, 2006
With more and more young people leaving the bush for the city, regional Australia is getting old. The average age of Australian farmers is already in the 50s and an increasing number of retirees are also heading for small coastal towns. Port Broughton in South Australia has long been a farming, fishing and tourism town, but now aged care is the largest single employer in town.
Sat, Sep 30, 2006
Australia's dried fruit industry is doing it tough. For years cheap imports from countries like Turkey, Greece and Iran have threatened the livelihoods of many Australian primary producers. In addition, high production costs have added to the burden. Now many dried fruit growers are turning their backs on the industry.
Sat, Nov 4, 2006
The buffalo industry has been renowned for producing quality meat, but now buffalo milk is making its mark in the dairy industry. A dairy farmer in far north Queensland has teamed up with a family of Italian cheesemakers to produce award winning buffalo cheese. While the industry has been thriving overseas, it's still in its early stages in Australia.
Sat, Nov 11, 2006
Harnessing the awesome flow of one of the north-west's wildest rivers, the Ord Irrigation Scheme created fertile farming land out of vast grazing country. Now, there are plans to double the size of the scheme, but key questions of who will pay for it, and what crops will drive the expansion remain unanswered. Some fear that the reluctance of the Western Australian Government to stump up the cash for vital infrastructure may doom not only stage two, but the entire project.
Sat, Nov 18, 2006
The Federal Government is about to make a decision on whether the Tax Act is providing too much benefit to managed investment schemes (MIS). One sector that's eagerly awaiting the decision is the local olive industry, where MIS are growing in popularity. While MIS advocates say they bring money to the bush and boost exports, opponents say they're a tax rort for rich city investors that distort the agricultural climate.
Sat, Nov 25, 2006
Kerry Lonergan illustrates the current drought and the drought of 1914-1915 through pictures from Koondrook on the Murray River. There's been a lot of talk about the scope of the current drought. Some have claimed it's the worst drought in a millenium. Well today some revealing pictures about the drought of 1914-1915.