Queensland Country Hour

They're the staple in any good recipe, but buying spice in Australia usually means you're buying imported product. But that could soon change, with the home-grown spice industry on the cusp of commercial production.  

Farmers will no longer have to guarantee Pacific workers a minimum of 30 hours per week, after the federal government announced it would scrap the requirement. 

Just like a famous fashion house, the companies that design and produce seeds are protective of their intellectual property rights. Catching those behind a fake tomato seed isn't as straight forward as spotting a knock-off designer bag, but the industry is fighting back. 

As the stockmarket watches Australian mining giant BHP go back and forth with London-listed Anglo American over a deal to, among other assets, buy five coal mines in Queensland, the communities around them face an uncertain future. 

The plan to store carbon dioxide from a power plant in Australia's largest underground water reservoir has united farmers and environmentalists, divided conservatives, and made its way to the federal court. But Glencore's big pitch to use carbon capture storage to reduce emissions has failed to convince the Queensland Government.  

Australia has had avian influenza before, and successfully contained it before, but the recent reports of three seperate strains on our shoresall in one day was significant. Experts aren't panicked yet, but the poultry and egg industies are in a nervous wait to see how consumers, and authorities, respond. 

Mango production is worth more than $185 million in Australia, but an inexplicable disease is attacking our most commonly grown variety in one of our most significant growing regions, and no one can say why.

As the industry meets in Cairns, farmers says it's time Japan and China accept how they manage pest and diseases, and let Australian mangoes into those lucrative Asian markets. 

The UK government says it received 11,395 responses to its consultation on laws, with 87% of them agreeing that livestock should not be exported for slaughter and fattening. As the law banning the trade came into effect, farmers are still digesting what it means for them, and Australia's role in the discussion.  

Rural news and events from Queensland and across Australia.

In the midst of a drought, there's not a whole lot farmers can do. You can't make it rain, you can't plant or harvest, and you certainly can't invest. Historically, drought support has focused on holding on through the dry, but as Queensland reaps the benefits of successive good seasons, the push is on to do the hard work before the next drought hits.

Meanwhile, those recovering from the wet are exploring their own solutions to managing a changed climate.