Sun, Feb 10, 2008
The World Bank has weighed into the debate over the spiralling cost of food. With a call to action on agriculture which it argues is still the most effective weapon in the fight against poverty. The World Bank has released a major report into food security and Anne Kruger catches up with the co-author of the report Derek Byerlee.
Sat, Feb 16, 2008
The humble goat has an appetite that's almost as legendary as its toughness. So much so, that it's often blamed for turning marginal country into a desert. However after some tough seasons and a turnaround in export prices some canny land managers have let the goats loose on woody weeds.
Sat, Feb 23, 2008
This year marks a century of scouting in Australia. Lord Baden-Powell's organisation started out teaching young boys outdoor skills. Over the years it has developed into the world's largest youth movement with 28 million scouts in 155 countries. Prue Adams discovered they include a unique troop of "lone scouts" scattered across the remotest parts of Australia.
Sat, Mar 1, 2008
In central Australia traditional tracking skills and modern science are working together to save a rare species of rock wallaby. It's thought there are just a few dozen "black-flanked" rock wallabies left in the wild. While they are still considered something of an Indigenous delicacy, local Aboriginal women are now committed to not only taking them off the menu but off the endangered list as well.
Sat, Mar 8, 2008
Conservationists have long argued that instead of sheep and cattle the only species that should be run on our rangelands is kangaroos. For just as long, the idea of farming our most famous fauna has raised the hackles of pastoralists who argue it just won't work. However a bold new outback experiment has landholders reconsidering the role of the roo.
Sat, Mar 15, 2008
Last year wine grape growers contended with drought, bushfires and frosts. This year it's all about water. Some were virtually washed out by flooding rains while others had to spend a fortune on water to get the 2008 crop over the line. However, while yields and quality in many cases are well up the same can't be said for profits.
Sat, Mar 22, 2008
This week Landline heads to the Sydney's Royal Easter Show. It's always a massive logistical operation getting exhibits and livestock here from all over the country but especially tricky after the prolonged drought in New South Wales and the recent equine influenza upheaval. Anne Kruger discusses this year's show with Peter King the Chief Executive of the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales.
Sat, Apr 5, 2008
One of the more interesting developments in Australian agriculture over the past decade has been the growing influence of the permaculture movement. Whether you're talking sustainable water and land management, integrated pest control or organic fertiliser, the holistic approach of permaculture is gradually moving into mainstream farming.
Sat, Apr 12, 2008
Kerry Staight takes a look at an aquaculture industry that's virtually come the full circle. Around 20 years ago abalone was being grown in tank farms ashore to cash in on the demand, particularly in South East Asia. Now even farmed abalone is going back out to sea. As a new generation of entrepreneurs gear up to supply the growing market in North America.
Sat, Apr 19, 2008
The recent drought and subsequent water restrictions that followed have had a profound impact on the look of our cities and towns, not to mention the flow-on effect on the nation's nursery industry. Anne Kruger caught up with Colin Campbell at the latest Gardening Australia Expo to discuss the state of the nursery industry.
Sat, Apr 26, 2008
These days reality television has turned everyone from weight watchers to wannabe singers and dancers into overnight celebrities. The genres even helping farmers find wives. Now it's hoped the same sort of approach may convince more city doctors to consider a tree change and relieve Australia's chronic shortage of medicos in rural and remote areas.
Tue, May 13, 2008
There is a time and a place for everything and so it is that this week has been designated Compost Awareness Week. While its nutrient building attributes are well known, fewer than five per cent of Australian farmers are using it. Now it is not just become a more cost effective alternative to chemical fertilisers but a way of conveniently sequestering carbon down on the farm.
Sat, May 17, 2008
We do not often get the chance to do requests on this show. However since so many viewers have been interested in Landline�s new theme music we thought we'd tell you a little more about its backstory. The tune is actually based on a song called The Love of the Land written by a couple of Brisbane composers who as it turns out do not just make music but some of the instruments as well.
Sat, Jun 7, 2008
It is 150 years since Australian Rules football first took shape in a rough and tumble game between two posh Melbourne schools. Since then Aussie rules has evolved and spread to every corner of the country and overseas. But for indigenous communities in Central Australia it's much more than a game.
Sat, Jun 14, 2008
It is exactly 100 years since the Bureau of Meteorology first established its network of weather stations. Tim Lee travels to Giles to discover the most remote weather station on the Australian mainland and he catches up with the Australians who not only talk about the weather but actually do something about it.
Sat, Jun 28, 2008
When it comes to agriculture, Rockhampton and Mildura do not appear to have all that much in common. Mildura is the heartland of Australian horticulture while Rockhampton calls itself the beef capital. However, they are united by the CSIRO�s decision to cut costs and close two of its premier research laboratories, a move that both regional hubs are determined to fight.
Sat, Jul 26, 2008
Australia's wool industry has spent decades and hundreds of millions of dollars promoting wool as the premier natural fibre. However the controversial practice of mulesing to prevent flystrike in merino sheep has not only undermined that clean green image lately it has made woolgrowers pariahs in the eyes of animal rights groups. Tim Lee has been looking at the development of alternatives as the deadline looms for the phase out of this bloody procedure.
Sat, Aug 2, 2008
Landline reports from Western Australia on how the new export wheat market might work now the old AWB single desk has gone. Chris Clark talks to growers, exporters and grain handlers about how the new arrangements will operate in a state which usually produces about 40 per cent of all the country's wheat, most of it destined for overseas.
Sat, Aug 9, 2008
The Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke spoke to Anne Kruger about the Rural Champions Volunteer program that aims to bridge the city-country divide. Farmers from across Queensland have volunteered to champion the food and fibre industries to school children in the city and the country, promote the positive environmental, social and economic spin-offs from agribusiness as well as opportunities for employment in the bush.
Sat, Aug 23, 2008
The sudden expansion of the Northern Territory's high value hardwood timber industry has caught many people by surprise. In the last 18 months there has been something of a tree change in the Douglas Daly region, as African mahogany growers make their move. However what is seen by some as a way of saving native forests is perceived by others as a waste of good food cropping land at a time when it is so badly needed.
Sat, Aug 30, 2008
This time next week we will probably know if the National Party has managed to hold-on to former deputy prime minister Mark Vaile's seat of Lyne on the mid north-coast of New South Wales. If as predicted the Nationals lose the by-election, it will give them 9 seats in the lower house and four senators.
Sat, Sep 13, 2008
Aboriginal stockmen astride Australian stockhorses used to be the backbone of the outback pastoral industry. Unfortunately, following the walk-offs in the '60s, employment opportunities for both dried up. As Tim Lee found however, stockhorses are staging a comeback on some of the country's biggest spreads, and young Indigenous stockmen are climbing back into the saddle.
Sat, Sep 27, 2008
They have been crushing sugar cane in the Queensland Burdekin region for more than 125 years, and for now, it remains top dog, with around 70,000 hectares still under cane. But as water becomes harder to come by down south so does goodwill towards the local sugar miller. More and more farmers are turning away from tradition and moving in to cotton and other crops.
Thu, Oct 2, 2008
It is seven years since ABC rural radio producer Drew Radford broke out of the confines of his Adelaide studio and rode off on his first sabbatical. Since then he and his trusty motorbike have clocked up more than 70,000 kilometres, gathering stories from rural and remote communities across the country. On the latest leg of his adventures, the 'Bloke on the bike' is in Western Australia's wheat belt.
Thu, Oct 30, 2008
Australia's productivity commission has recently recommended beefing up the powers of the agri-chemical regulator. Under its plan the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority would assume control from the states over the certification and use of chemicals. However critics say even if the changes are adopted it may be too little too late.
Thu, Nov 6, 2008
Most of New South Wales remains firmly in the grip of drought but you would not know it at Yeovil in the central west, at least not on Nigel Kerin's property. Earlier this year Mr Kerin was named NSW Farmer of the Year and his revolutionary approach is attracting interest from across the country.