Cattle being fed a mix of gains and seaweed on a north Queensland research station could be the key to cutting emissions as well as paving the way for a new industry, seaweed farming; The head of the APVMA has resigned, as the agency prepares to relocate from Canberra to Armidale in regional NSW; Glen Jenks ended up on the wrong end of a cow while working in central Queensland and discovered his local doctors are FIFO from new Zealand; A far north Queensland wildlife park operator has enlisted the help of local farmers to feed its koalas, which eat a $1 million worth of eucalyptus leaves; Jane Streeter's interest in eggs began after her two-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare cancer, and what began as an interest in nutrition soon grew into the chook farming operation that delivered much more than income to her family; Gulf graziers say plans need to be put in place to control rising numbers of saltwater crocodiles.

The Australian Horticultural Exporters' Association says it’s made no in-roads in lobbying against a decision to recall Australia’s offshore pre-clearance inspectors in New Zealand and the United States; Exports from Queensland citrus growers grew 30 per cent last year with the Queensland citrus regional advisory committee saying it's a clear sign the work done in overseas markets is paying off; As imperial mandarins hit the shops, Queensland growers are being encouraged not to pick their fruit early in a bid to beat a seasonal price slump; Bob O'Sullivan, who has donated thousands of beasts to Clermont campdrafts for nearly two decades, drove 2,000 head of cattle to national title finals this week; Movement restrictions imposed since the discovery of white spot disease in Moreton Bay are biting hard on commercial crabbers who, unlike prawn producers, rely on access to valuable Sydney and Melbourne seafood markets; What prompts a retired cattleman to turn wildlife warrior? For Graham Woods, it was a case of following his heart; An old mare who's never raised a foal has become an unlikely foster mum, after she adopted an orphaned calf.

The Federal Government's move to scrap the 457 visa for skilled foreign workers has raised concerns across food and fibre-based industries; A Queensland company is proposing to build Australia's largest solar farm near Gympie, with a $2 billion price tag; A far north fisherman and his wife have entered the Asian-dominated canned tuna market.

A Mackay livestock agent is hopeful Cyclone Debbie stock losses will not be as high as anticipated; A dead cow called Elrose Naomi set to lead production improvements of Brahman breed, with researchers set to sequence her genome; The red meat industry remains divided on how new dual, x-ray technology, known as DEXA, should be adopted as a more objective means of measuring carcases; It looks like the war against red witchweed infestations in the Mackay region could be turning, with a preliminary report showing some promising results; A solar farm in the Gulf of Carpentaria is looking at vegetable cropping in-between its panels; Cattle will return to the annual Blackall Show for the first time in at least three years.

Broadband hang-ups: Listeners have let us know the broadband speeds at their place and how it meets (or not) their expectations, but half the problem is consumers not understanding the services for which they are signing up; A battle over bandwidth will come to a head later this month, with the ACCC expected to hand down its recommendation on sharing the airwaves; A scientific report looking at bubbling methane emissions in a Queensland river has found the release of such gases could rise significantly with continued CSG operations; Farmers, business owners and residents can now apply for cyclone and flood recovery grants under Category C arrangements; South east Qld cane farmers escaped Debbie's wrath relatively unscathed; In a bid to prevent Bovine Johnes Disease, graziers wanting to sell cattle to Territory buyers or export from the port of Darwin will need a new biosecurity plan; A Toowoomba lass has won the prestigious Mexican donkey race at the remote Aileron Easter weekend rodeo.

Qld Ag Minister Bill Byrne denies his Department sacrificed attention to detail for speed when applying to the Federal Governmet for Category C disaster funding; The ACCC has authorised members of the Canegrowers Organisation to collectively bargain cane supply and related contracts with mill owners and sugar marketers for ten years; Barramundi fishermen in the Gulf of Carpentaria are cashing in on their best start to a season in three years; Gold Coast cane farmers are a step closer to signing what could be Australia's most expensive sale of agriculture land to a foreign investor; While Cyclone Debbie may have interfered with fish and prawn stocks in the lead-up to Easter trading, a Mackay fisherman says the extended wet weather could bring benefits to the industry.

The push for a regular dredging program in the port of Karumba is on, amid claims the port has been neglected by Ports North; Coal prices have risen substantially on the back of cyclone-induced shortages; A new broadband performance monitoring program has been welcomed by the regional, rural and remote communications coalition, even though none of the 4,000 homes that will be tested by the ACCC rely on Skymuster satellite; A dairy expert from the US thinks food bloggers are more influential than doctors and that's concerning for the dairy industry; Nominations for this Year's Farmer of the Year are now open; The Collinsville Horse and Pony Club been running for more than 55 years and despite riding the booms and the busts of the mining town, it has remained a constant.

2,500 Queensland grouper fingerlings are en route from far north Queensland to the Gold Coast, where they'll be farmed in a Logan River prawn pond affected by white spot disease; A family talks of the pain of watching a multi-million dollar cotton crop washed down the swollen McKenzie River only weeks before harvest; The Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR) has launched a fund to support rural and regional communities affected by Cyclone Debbie or subsequent flooding with their medium to long-term recovery; Many of Queensland's coal companies still cannot rail their coal to port, two weeks after Cyclone Debbie; We meet two farmers who are battling rising energy prices and learn how tariffs are helping (or not helping) them; and policy experts are warning the Federal Government it will fall short of reducing its emissions, despite paying billions to landholders for carbon farming projec

Prawn farmers say they support in-principle the cost-sharing deed of arrangement proposed by the Deputy Prime Minister to reimburse farms devastated by Australia's first white spot outbreak, but the Australian Prawn Farmers' Association says it will be a struggle to raise the money; Representatives of the aquaculture and wild-caught seafood industry have addressed a Senate committee hearing on the biosecurity risks associated with the importation of seafood and seafood products; A station in Queensland's gulf country has started using its farm and feedlot as a means of drought proofing its herd; Sick of eating beef, the crew at Lorraine Station has begun breeding and killing their own pigs; The harvest may have been affected by the post-Debbie deluge, but macadamia farmers are looking to the future with confidence off the back of strong growth and new varieties to improve productivity and efficiency; A far north Queensland mango and avocado grower says Australia can learn a lot about family farm succession from the Brazilians.

Today on the Country Hour: Canegrowers Burdekin says a number of growers have signed cane supply agreements with Wilmar; Clarke Creek grazing family, the Hill's say they were lucky to survive the onslaught from Cyclone Debbie; the Australian Mango Association will push ahead with it's annual conference despite cyclone damage in Bowen; landline will feature a special report on macadamias; Rockhampton livestock agent Lincoln McKinlay has won National Young Auctioneer of the Year at the Sydney Royal Easter Show; we Dominic Penna who grows Australia's northern most wheat crop and the growing trend to start the day with a drink of lemon juice is providing a boost to the industry.