The Latest Breaking News from ABC Rural

Northern Rivers weather outlook bleak for farmers as rain continues

A Lismore vet fears the worst is yet to come for farmers struggling with water-logged paddocks as he launches an attack on decision makers he says do not understand their plight.

ABC News · May 16, 2022

Gladioli gardeners make the most of pandemic gardening boom

A favourite of Aussie icon Dame Edna Everage, rows of striking gladioli near Bordertown have been grown by a local family for more than 50 years.

ABC News · May 16, 2022

WA craft brewer Boston Brewery creates wet hop beers to help sustain farms

WA craft brewers are experimenting with wet hop beers that can only be made using freshly harvested, local hops. It is helping revive WA hop farms after 40 years of stagnation in the state.

ABC News · May 15, 2022

Is Tasmania still the Apple Isle? Growers crunch the numbers as domestic and export markets shrivel

For 100 years the state was marketed to the world as an idyllic English farming utopia. But last year it produced a small fraction of Australian apples. So what now for an industry started by William Bligh and buffeted by the winds of change?

ABC News · May 7, 2022

Building crisis hits rural communities as good seasons drive increased demand

Farmers wanting to spend big on infrastructure as Queensland's rural communities bounce back from drought, floods and the pandemic are struggling to get builders or materials.

ABC News · May 1, 2022

Cotton industry touts water efficiency credentials but environmentalists still sceptical

For years environmental groups have put the industry under the microscope, saying the "thirsty" crop should not be grown on the driest continent. After decades of work, the industry now claims to be one of the most water-efficient in the world.

ABC News · Apr 30, 2022

Tennant Creek high school students push each other to graduate, learn agricultural skills along the way

Tennant Creek high school student Jojo Johnson was looking to drop out in year 10 but his mates, and horse work, pushed him to graduate. He'll be the second in his family to do so.

ABC News · Apr 28, 2022

Victorian saffron harvest underway and looking absolutely fabulous

Only a handful of farms in Victoria grow the labour-intensive spice, which can have some curious effects on bees if it is allowed to flower before being harvested.

ABC News · Apr 27, 2022

Minimum pay requirements for farm workers take effect today and you might see that price in your basket

Shoppers are being warned that cost-of-living pressures may get worse from today as pay changes on farms across the country have the potential to make fruit and vegetables more expensive.

ABC News · Apr 27, 2022

Gamba grass becomes federal election issue as Labor and Coalition pledge funds to manage weed

National parks rangers welcome election pledges to combat gamba grass in what feels like an uphill battle.

ABC News · Apr 27, 2022