Queensland Country Hour

A US investment firm is selling its 24,000-hectare Australian cropping portfolio it flipped from cattle country.

Like artists plant breeders rely on royalty payments but what happens if growers don’t pay? 

How a native Australian plant could be a new solution to livestock nutrition. 

Across the country, feral pigs are running rampant and despite efforts to control them their numbers continue to grow. 

A new Australian meat processor has been granted approval to supply China for the first time since the 2020 trade war.

Australian health experts want beverage companies to reduce how much sugar is in their drinks, saying it contributes to the diabetes epidemic that's devastating Australian families, especially those with low incomes. But the farmers behind the sweet crop say a sugar tax is not the way to do it, and it could have unexpected side effects.  

Electrification is creating a buzz in agriculture as the technology for equipment gets cheaper and more grunt. But as the push to get off gas and diesel gains momentum, how feasible is it to farm with electricity alone, and can the beasts of harvest ever really be fossil-fuel free?

The reaction to laws that end the export of live sheep by sea in 2028 was fierce and furious, but the issue that brought us here has been a slow burn. The federal government says it has delivered on an election promise, animal welfare groups say it's a relief, but Queensland's farmers are worried about what is not being said, what about cattle?

At the end of a mine's life, the future for the community around it can be uncertain, but it's not supposed to be. In Queensland, we do not know as much about the end of a mine as we should. And sometimes, an asteroid-busting metal with potential can bring old mining communities back from the dead. 

For the Lyons family, Wambiana Station in north Queensland has been home to four generations of cattle graziers. But for others, it's a database of tried and tested farming methods that has changed what we know about pasture management. On a different station to the west, spending time as an outback ringer has also changed how a vegetarian views the beef industry.