Irrigation answers needed
Why was the Greater South East Irrigation Scheme not included in the Federal Budget ⌘ Read more

Fruit growers urge shoppers to buy local after major processor SPC cuts canned fruit production
One of Australia’s largest food processors says it has reacted to shoppers buying cheaper imported food amid the cost-of-living crisis. ⌘ Read more

We’re going to pay more for OJ in the near future, and we might need grape growers to juice things up
Citrus Australia estimates international orange concentrate imports halved this year as the result of a huge global shortage, and it might see mandarin and even disgruntled grape growers step up. ⌘ Read more

Orange juice may soon be missing from supermarket shelves. Here’s why
The world’s orange juice supply is facing a severe squeeze, with Brazil at the epicentre. ⌘ Read more

Rising Star of fruit
The installation of a drip irrigation system on a Tasmanian orchard has helped a young fruit grower win the Apple and Pear Australia Rising Star Award, presented last night in Melbourne at the APAL Conference. ⌘ Read more

Tiktok sommeliers and Keira Knightley articles: how the online wine culture is shifting
Amid stories of doom and gloom in the local wine industry, an “exciting” cultural shift is taking place on and offline in how wine is being consumed and talked about. ⌘ Read more

From red flesh to star-like spots, apples are getting a makeover to tempt fruit buyers
A rosy-skinned, red-fleshed apple named Kissabel is one of several new styles set to tempt fruit lovers back to eating an apple a day to revive the fruit’s market share. ⌘ Read more

Dial slowly moving for female participation in wine
The gender pay gap and female participation in the wine industry are still wide despite a report showing progress for women. ⌘ Read more

Fake cigarettes, firebombs, and a flourishing black market: Australia’s war on smoking hits dangerous tipping point
The black market for cigarettes has exploded in plain sight, costing Australia billions in revenue. Some experts say the high price of cigarettes is to blame. ⌘ Read more

Mango grower’s biggest planting of new varieties Yess! AhHa! and Now! in the NT
One of Australia’s biggest mango growers, Manbulloo Limited, has planted its largest ever patch of new varieties in the Northern Territory. ⌘ Read more

Australia’s largest wine grape growing region rejects ‘mean’ buy-out offer
Wine grape growers in the region supplying more than 10 per cent of Australia’s crush have rejected an offer to sell their red wine contracts for $4,000 per hectare to multinational company Accolade Wines. ⌘ Read more

Mystery disease killing thousands of Darwin mango trees and looms as NT election issue
An agronomist says the dieback is the single biggest problem threatening the sustainability of the Darwin mango industry, especially those growing Kensington Pride mangoes. ⌘ Read more

What’s causing thousands of mango trees near Darwin to die?
Mango twig tip dieback is effecting thousands of Kensington Pride trees around Darwin and the industry has no way to combat the disease. ⌘ Read more

Supply down, costs soar for fruit and veggies as growers battle fruit fly measures
Shoppers wondering why capsicums, especially red ones, are so expensive can blame the weather at one end of the country and a single tiny fly at the other. ⌘ Read more

Wine grower warns regional communities at risk of collapse without aid for sector
Wine industry representatives say they will fight for financial assistance after this week’s federal budget left them disappointed. ⌘ Read more

Paper bags make a comeback for fruit as retailers swap out plastic net bags to reduce waste
Small and big retailers alike are looking to adopt new recyclable packaging for mandarins, saying it would avoid the use of 11,700 kilograms of plastic in one year. ⌘ Read more

Flower farmer’s final harvest reveals the challenges of a shrinking industry
Up to 90 per cent of flowers sold this Mother’s Day will be imported as domestic production lags far behind demand. ⌘ Read more

Younger people aren’t drinking wine, and there’s too much for sale
Too much wine might not seem like a problem, but take a drive through Australian wine country and you’ll quickly see how a global glut has created a crisis. ⌘ Read more

Picking veggies can be dangerous, and a new program is out to help protect multicultural workers
Training with visual aids, less text, and targeted translation is helping vegetable growers keep their overseas workers safe. ⌘ Read more

Months after the smoke cleared it’s still a long road to recovery for Perth fruit growers
Five months on from a devastating bushfire, fruit growers north of Perth are walking a long road to recovery. Heat-damaged trees will not bear fruit this season, but farmers are also counting their blessings. ⌘ Read more

Crickets and cabernet, anyone? Winery launches edible insect wine tasting
A South Australian winery is turning the tables on wine tastings by pairing gourmet crunchy critters with cabernet to celebrate its focus on sustainability. ⌘ Read more

How an outback olive oil landed on the tables of Sydney’s top restaurants
A group of Broken Hill olive oil enthusiasts planted a grove in the heart of town that went on to supply Bill Granger’s restaurants and win international awards. ⌘ Read more

Seedless mangoes could be around the corner, but are shoppers willing to pay for them?
Demand for seedless fruit is growing and the technology needed to create new varieties is improving rapidly, but some in the industry say “the price point just hasn’t been there” to convince farmers to grow them. ⌘ Read more

Outback blogger’s creative outlet away from farm life strikes chord with foodies
What started as blog posts centred around her thoughts, recipes and life on a remote sheep station more than a decade ago has become a popular creative outlet for Jane Smith. ⌘ Read more

Farmers seek protection from ‘mafia tactics’ of big supermarkets
Fruit and vegetable growers are expected to give evidence behind closed doors, out of fear of retribution, about supermarket price gouging and low farmgate prices. ⌘ Read more

After nearly 20 years in refugee camps, this Bhutanese community is giving back with vegetables
After nearly two decades confined in camps, these Bhutanese families find a unique way to help build a new life in Australia, from the ground up. ⌘ Read more

Trailblazing ‘pick your own’ strawberry farmers call time after decades of sweet success
Now a well-worn stop for tourists at the top end of the Sunshine State, Ballantyne’s Strawberry Farm is known for its early adoption of agritourism. ⌘ Read more

Man turns mammoth 400kg prize-winning pumpkin into a canoe, paddles it down river
A fan of shenanigans and the unnecessary, the former commodore of the Tumut Canoe Club donned a captain’s hat and pipe to paddle the biggest pumpkin grown in Australia this year down a river, Popeye style. ⌘ Read more

Bhavik’s Top End tropical fruit wonderland
Who wouldn’t want 200 varieties of tropical fruit at their place? ⌘ Read more

Australians are consuming less fruit, vegetables and milk — here’s what that looks like
Australians are eating less of all major food groups, with fresh produce leading the decline, says a new report. ⌘ Read more

‘Geez, that’s a bit heavy!’ Jumbo jackfruit stuns farmer in Far North Queensland
Jackfruit usually weigh between 5 and 15 kilograms, but a grower south of Cairns has just harvested this “impressive” 45-kilogram monster fruit. ⌘ Read more

How do you know if extra-virgin olive oil is really extra-virgin?
Australia relaunches an olive oil monitoring program amid concerns consumers are purchasing inferior or fraudulent products. ⌘ Read more

Frangipani trees in Darwin ‘hammered’ by exotic pest. Can ladybirds stop it from spreading south?
Since its discovery last year, the papaya mealybug has spread across Darwin, impacting a range of host plants such as papaya, hibiscus and frangipanis. ⌘ Read more

It’s now loved all over the world, but who really invented the flat white?
This is the little-known story of how Italian sugar growers in the Sunshine State are said to have inspired the “invention” of the flat white — a drink that would go on to become a global sensation. ⌘ Read more

Is ditching the city for a country vineyard as romantic as it sounds?
Leaving the city and buying a vineyard in the country sounds romantic – the fresh air, drinking wine from the grapes you’ve cultivated, working your own hours, and raising a family in wide open spaces. But does the reality live up to the narrative? ⌘ Read more

Think $5.50 is too much for a flat white? Actually it’s too cheap, and our world-famous cafes are paying the price
Our recent survey of Australian capital cities found the average price of a small takeaway flat white at speciality venues is $4.78. But in some international capitals, it’s almost double this, even after adjusting for local purchasing power parity. ⌘ Read more

Wine grape growers rip out vineyards after historic low prices blamed on oversupply
Prices have been below the cost of production with estimates of losses of up to $2,000 per hectare on some grape varieties. ⌘ Read more

‘Great Friday’ for winemakers ready to ‘instantly’ resume shipments of China-bound drops
While wine authorities say getting Australian exports to China back to pre-tariff levels could be “a matter of years”, many in the industry are not only rejoicing, but getting set to resume shipments. ⌘ Read more

The town that chocolate built: How a global cocoa crisis poured money into these remote PNG villages
Over the last few years, a peculiar change has taken place in Papua New Guinea’s north-west, with remote, traditional villages modernising at a rapid pace. Here’s how the price of cocoa is fuelling development. ⌘ Read more

Listen back to the Queensland Country Hour
Listen back to the Queensland Country Hour for March 28. ⌘ Read more

Victorian Premier says tobacco shop licensing will roll out by end of year
Victoria will finally set up a tobacco licensing scheme, more than two years after it was recommended, as part of a crackdown on the illegal tobacco trade that has sparked a spate of fire bombings. ⌘ Read more

Adelaide Hills’ garlic farm’s honour-system shut down after thieves steal cash
Haaesford Farms Garlic in the Adelaide Hills is temporarily closing it’s ‘honour system’ garlic shed after thieves stole hundreds of dollars in cash. ⌘ Read more

Tens of thousands of vapes seized in Queensland
Queensland Health has issued hundreds of fines in its attempt to rid the state of illegal vapes and tobacco products, as the government calls for even tougher laws. ⌘ Read more

Grape grower by day, DJ by night: The ‘blockie’ who’s played the same festivals as The Prodigy
With the wine industry in crisis, Andrew Sarakinis is glad his career in music allows him to provide for his family financially and still honour his” blockie” roots. ⌘ Read more

Developer looking to merging homes, farming into ‘agrihoods’ to ease food, housing pressures
Ever wanted to quit the city and run away to start a farm? Welcome to the agrihood, where you can have town living in a rural setting. ⌘ Read more

Fruit growers facing difficult future as key WA dam dries up
Water in Glen Mervyn Dam, 200km south of Perth, has dropped by 80 per cent in a year, prompting calls for growers to future-proof their orchards. ⌘ Read more

Wong set to press China’s foreign minister over Yang Hengjun death sentence during high-profile meeting
The first official meeting between Penny Wong and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi since 2022 comes at a sensitive time in relations between the two countries. ⌘ Read more

The history of winemaking in Australia
Over three lavishly illustrated volumes Andrew Caillard, renowned in Australian and international wine circles for his work as a wine auctioneer, expert, and writer, tells the stories of the people and events that have shaped the wine industry in Australia. ⌘ Read more

Growing watermelons in outback NSW is ‘all about water’ access, young family says
Growing watermelons in NSW’s Far West to the scale the Gebert family planned had never been done before, but where there is a will, there is a way. ⌘ Read more

Tank farms show stark reality of Australia’s wine industry crisis even if China drops tariffs
Chinese authorities have announced an interim decision that tariffs of 220 per cent on Australian wine are not longer necessary, but the industry doesn’t see a return to the market fixing its crisis. ⌘ Read more