Country Breakfast: ABC Rural show

Country Breakfast: ABC Rural

Summary: ABC Radio's Country Breakfast is an entertaining look at rural and regional issues around Australia including Country Viewpoint, a unique social commentary from people who live outside the capital cities.

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  • Artist: ABC Rural
  • Copyright: Copyright 2013 Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Podcasts:

 Country Breakfast for March 2, 2013 - 01/03/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for February 23, 2013 - 22/02/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for February 16, 2013 - 15/02/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 05:00

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for February 9, 2013 - 08/02/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 00:55:00

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for February 2, 2013 - 01/02/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for January 26, 2013 - 25/01/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:50

We've got snakes and turtles, and even a game of horse soccer for you this week. We're also soaring high above the desert in central Australia, and chilling out with a horse massage. In the Northern Territory Indigenous rangers are mustering feral camels; and they're searching for rare orchids in western Victoria.<br><br><br><br><br><br><strong>1. NESTING TURTLES IN THE SAND - Fleur Bainger (CARNARVON WA)</strong><br>Three of the world's most endangered turtle species - the loggerhead, green and hawksbill turtles - nest within the remote Ningaloo Marine Park of Western Australia. Their migrations and nesting behaviours are carefully monitored by scientific volunteers working with the Gnaraloo Turtle Conservation program. Reporter Fleur Bainger heads out at dusk into the sand dunes with team leader Kimmie Riskus and Perth-based volunteer Fiona Morgan to track the turtles coming ashore. The volunteers spend months at a time camping out at Gnaraloo Bay, gathering valuable data on turtle numbers and hatching rates, important information when only one in 10,000 turtle babies survive.<br><br><br><br><br><br><strong>2. SNAKES IN THE SHED - Greg Muller (Melbourne VIC)</strong><br>Do you know what's inside your neighbour's shed? In an unassuming backyard in suburban Melbourne snake handler Sean McCarthy houses up to 200 snakes, including venomous inland taipans, tiger snakes and even an albino death adder. Sean believes snakes are largely misunderstood and people have an unnatural fear of the reptiles. He shows reporter Greg Muller around his collection and has some words of advice on dealing with snakes in and around the house.<br><br><br><br><br><br><strong>3. CHOPPERS CHASE THE CAMELS - Caddie Brain (Alice Springs NT)</strong><br>It's taken three years of planning and organisation but the Central Lands Council in the Northern Territory has finally conducted its first feral camel muster. Indigenous rangers in 4WDs and a helicopter musterer successfully caught about 60 camels in a day-long operation on the Haasts Bluff aboriginal land trust, about 400 west of Alice Springs. Reporter Caddie Brain is there to record all the action.<br><br><br><br><br><br><strong>4. ORCHID BLOOMS IN THE DESERT - Laura Poole (Horsham VIC)</strong><br>The volunteers are equipped with GPS devices and two-way radios, on the hunt for rare orchids in the Little Desert National Park in western Victoria. It's part of an annual survey by the Department of Sustainability and Environment to locate threatened species and this year they're hoping to find the Caladenia Arenaria, otherwise known as the sandhill spider orchid. Reporter Laura Poole joins the hunt with survey co-ordinator Dr Noushka Reiter and members of the Australasian Native Orchid Society.<br><br><br><br><br><br><strong>5. KICKING GOALS WITH HORSE SOCCER - Paul Sutherland (Mt Isa QLD)</strong><br>It started out as a way to develop and improve the horse riding skills of pony club members. Now it's become a popular sport for youngsters living in north-west Queensland. Reporter Paul Sutherland drops in on a training session for "horse soccer" at the Hughenden pony club, conducted under the watchful eye of chief instructor Melissa Driscoll. The game sees young riders coaxing their ponies around the field, trying to get them in position to "kick" an oversized soccer ball through a set of posts to score a goal.<br><br><br><br><br><br><strong>6. MASSAGE FOR HORSES - Miranda Saunders (Bega NSW)</strong><br>It's not just humans who ache for a massage at the end of a long day in the saddle - apparently horses do to! Anna Ford has worked as a qualified equine masseuse for more than a decade. Reporter Miranda Saunders watches as she gives six-year-old hack "DJ" a full body massage on a farm near Bega in southern New South Wales.<br><br><br><br> <br><br><strong>7. GLIDING ABOVE THE DESERT - Brendan Phelan, field reporter (Alice Springs NT)</strong><br>Have you ever wondered what the beautiful central Australian landscape looks like from a bird's point of view? ABC field reporter Brendan Phelan joins the appropriately named Tom Bird from the Alice Springs Gliding Club for a flight over the countryside. Tom has been a member of the club for more than 50 years and loves soaring high above the eagles.<br>

 Country Breakfast for January 19, 2013 - 18/01/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:50

Science and research features on this week's program. In the Northern Territory they're hoping to discover new and exotic species living in and around the Daly River region; while researchers are keeping a close eye on platypus numbers in western Victoria. The hunt's also on for the elusive regent parrot; and we venture out onto the mudflats in Darwin to learn about the mating habits and complex behavious of a tiny little crab. We also head out to sea with rock lobster fishermen in southern Australia; help harvest the world's most expensive crop; and meet some new arrivals at a north Australian crocodile farm.<p><br><strong>1. Fish River reveals its secrets - Steven Schubert (Katherine NT)</strong><br>Last year Fish River Station in the Northern Territory was bought by a consortium of environmental groups and the Indigenous Land Corporation for conservation purposes. The property's now been destocked and scientists from across the country have been camped out along the Daly River cataloguing the unique flora and fauna of the area. Reporter Steven Schubert heads out to see what they've found, including a new genus of tarantula spider, a rare butterfly and tiny native fish species.<br><br><br><br><strong>2. Counting platypus - Lucy Barbour (Horsham VIC)</strong><br>You've got to like splashing around in cold rivers and creeks if you're studying platypus numbers in western Victoria. The Wimmera Catchment Management Authority has enlisted the help of researchers to survey the population around the Grampians National Park after years of drought and then flood impacted on numbers. Reporter Lucy Barbour heads out with researcher Josh Griffiths to Mackenzie Creek in the Wartook Valley to see if they've caught any platypus in the nets overnight.<br><br><br><br><strong>3. The elusive regent parrot - Deb O'Callaghan (Mildura VIC)</strong><br>People living and camping along the Murray River in north-west Victoria are being asked to keep a lookout for signs of a vulnerable species of parrot. The regent parrot nests in hollows in the river red gums and feeds in the nearby mallee scrub. Its habitat is under threat and experts need the public's help to track colonies in the area. Reporter Deb O'Callaghan heads out with Victor Hurley, a biodiversity officer with the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment, to the Hattah Lakes south of Mildura to see what they can find.<br><br><br><br><strong>4. Darwin's the fiddler capital - Liz Trevaskis (Darwin NT)</strong><br>Darwin in the Northern Territory is known for many things -- its crocodiles, the mangoes and the laid back lifestyle. But did you know it's also Australia's fiddler crab capital? Associate professor Pat Backwell from the Australian National University spends four months each year on the mudflats and mangroves around East Point Reserve and Lake Alexander studying the complex behaviours and mating habits of these tiny crabs. Reporter Liz Trevaskis joins her on the mudflats to learn more about this fascinating crustacean.<br><br><br><br><strong>5. Hauling in the lobster pots - Cherie McDonald (Mt Gambier SA)</strong><br>Paul Regnier has been a rock lobster fisherman for nearly 25 years but that doesn't always guarantee a good catch every time he heads out from Robe in South Australia to haul in his cray pots. Reporter Cherie McDonald pulls on the wet weather gear to join him and deck hand Greg Sneath on their run out to sea to see what they've caught.<br><br> <br><br><strong>6. Snipping saffron - Julia Holman (Canberra ACT)</strong><br>Saffron is the most expensive crop in the world, mostly because it's so painstaking to harvest. The spice is the red stigma of the purple crocus flower, and each one needs to be hand picked and hand processed. Christine and Ian McMillan from Bungendore, outside Canberra, use nail scissors to harvest their crop. Reporter Julia Holman joins them to see how it's done and follows the delicate saffron threads through the drying procedure before they're stored in glass jars.<br><br><br><br><strong>7. Hatching handbags - Matt Brann (Kununurra WA)</strong><br>There's some new arrivals at the Wyndham crocodile farm in the far north of Western Australia. They might look pretty cute but these babies can pack quite a bite. Reporter Matt Brann joins staff member Taylor Cavanough in the hatching room as she checks the incubator for signs of new life. The crocodiles are destined to be turned into expensive leather handbags and shoes, and Taylor says it's important not to get attached to the baby reptiles.<br><br><br><br><strong>8. Caddie the snake catcher - Caddie Brain (Alice Springs NT)</strong><br>Armed with a garbage bin lid and a set of long barbeque tongs, Alice Springs rural reporter Caddie Brain joins a group of trainee Indigenous rangers undertaking a snake handling and catching course in central Australia. After being taught about first aid and snake bite treatment, Rex Neindorf from the Alice Springs Reptile Centre takes the group through the correct way to catch and release the poisonous western brown and mulga snakes he's brought along for the training session. Col Stanton from the NT Department of Natural Resources, Environment, the Arts and Sport (NRETAS) is on hand to help Caddie when it's her turn to catch a snake.

 Country Breakfast for January 12, 2013 - 11/01/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:50

This week we're trackside at the famous Brunette Downs races in the Northern Territory; there's lots of primping and preening going on at a cattle handler's course in Melbourne; and we're off to a farm where consumers are being introduced to their future dinner on a "meet the beef you eat" tour. We also join some quarantine border officials keeping unwanted fruit, vegetables and honey out of Western Australia; meet two inventive farmers who've made their own version of a medieval throwing machine; and head bush with some very excited bird watchers in the Northern Territory.<p><br><strong>1. Brunette downs hosts a four-day bash - Liz Trevaskis (Darwin NT)</strong><br>Thousands travel by road and light plane to make the annual pilgrimage to the Brunette Downs race meeting in the remote Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory. Now in its 102nd year, Brunette Downs is more than just a race meeting. Over four days the pastoral station hosts a gymkhana, a campdraft and even a rodeo to keep the crowds entertained. Reporter Liz Trevaskis drives 12 hours from Darwin to join the revellers, checking out the fashions on the field competition, the local ladies at a special sit-down luncheon, and finishing off the day at the opening of a special photographic and art display.<br><br><br><br><strong>2. Learning how to be best in show - Warwick Long (Shepparton VIC)</strong><br>Hair dryers, clippers and shampoo have been getting a good workout at the Melbourne showgrounds. A record 114 participants, aged between 8 and 66, have been taking part in the annual cattle handler's course learning how to best present their prized cattle to the judges. Now in its 25th year, the course is run by Stud Beef Victoria, with volunteers on hand to pass on their grooming and handling tips during the week long course.<br><br><br><br><strong>3. Meet the beef you eat - Laurissa Smith (Wagga Wagga NSW)</strong><br>It's not often that consumers have the chance to meet the beast before it's turned into beef steak. But Ian and Mandy McCorkindale, from Batlow in south-west New South Wales want their customers to see how their rare Scottish highland cattle are raised before being sold as meat at the Canberra farmers' market. When reporter Laurissa Smith visits Margaret McElhinney from Canberra is being shown around the property. She's a regular customer and believes the meat is the best she's ever tasted.<br><br><br><br><strong>4. The skill of drystone walling - Mel Sim, producer (Canberra ACT)</strong><br>It's a job that requires a strong back, a good eye and plenty of patience. The art of drystone walling is alive and well in the Monaro region in southern New South Wales where stonemason Ken Baxter and his offsider Tom Ryry are building a stone wall around a house on a property on the Eucumbene River in the Snowy Mountains. ABC producer Melanie Sim joins them to see how the wall comes together, rock by rock like a giant jigsaw puzzle.<br><br><br><br><strong>5. Border protection, Eucla style - Tara Delandgrafft (Esperance WA)</strong><br>It's a big shed on the Eyre Highway, just inside the West Australia border on the Nullarbor Plain. It's the Border Village quarantine station and the front line defence against unwanted pests, plants and diseases entering the state along its southern rim. Between 200-300 vehicles are checked and searched each day with fruit, vegetables and honey being the main items confiscated and destroyed. Reporter Tara Delandgrafft speaks with senior quarantine officer Danielle Weatherspoon about their work. The nearby town of Eucla is also the base for West Australia's starling eradication campaign. For the past 30 years trappers have been spreading out across the country using "lure" birds to catch starlings flying over from the east. Tara speaks with veteran trapper Steven "Coops" Cooper about the success of the eradication campaign which has seen the birds pushed back 700km.<br><br><br><br><strong>6. Firing off the melons - Lucy Barbour (Horsham VIC) </strong><br>In medieval times trebuchets were favoured weapons of war. Now two farmers from western Victoria have made their very own "throwing machine" to get rid of unwanted weed melons on their properties. The crazy scheme began two years ago when David Jochhinke and Bruce Crafter were looking to pass the time during a wet harvest. They came across an internet video of a trebuchet flinging a grand piano and thought it looked like fun! Reporter Lucy Barbour joins the pair for a melon flinging session on a farm near Murra Wurra.<br><br><br><br><strong>7. A desert princess emerges - Caddie Brain (Alice Springs NT)</strong><br>They've only been seen a handful of times over the past 100 years. But one of Australia's rarest birds, the princess parrot, has been sighted on the Newhaven Reserve, about 500km north-west of Alice Springs. Bird enthusiasts from across the country are jumping in their cars and heading north in the hope of seeing this arid zone bird. Reporter Caddie Brain joins a convoy heading out in the early morning light.<br>

 Country Breakfast for January 5, 2013 - 04/01/2013 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:50

Some nostalgia and history this week as we head out to a dig site in the Northern Territory that's literally overflowing with fossilised bones; and we get a sneakpeak into a treasured collection of bric-a-brac in Charters Towers. We also fire up some old kerosene lamps in the Kimberley; and take a trip back in time when a flotilla of historic paddle steamers takes over the Murray River. We also go tagging turtles in northern Australia; introduce you to a family of whip crackers; an all female shearing team takes to the boards outside Orange; and refugees bring in the fruit in Victoria's Goulburn Valley

 Country Breakfast for December 28, 2012 - 28/12/2012 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 53:50

This week it's all about food and wine ... an appropriate topic during the festive season. We get an insight into how a community food program works; we go to a recorking clinic with precious bottles of wine; and step up to the tasting table at an olive oil show. We also combine chocolate and beer to make a chocolate-flavoured stout; join some Tasmanian school students as their camembert cheese goes before the judges; and taste some rare native oysters.<br><br><br><br><strong>1. Providing produce to the people - Eliza Wood (Burnie TAS)</strong><br>From small beginnings back in 2009 Penelope Dodd and her group of volunteers from the "Produce to the People" organisation now deliver up to 2000kg of fresh vegetables a month to community organisations in north-west Tasmania. The fresh food is donated by vegetable processors in the region and home gardeners. The scheme started as a way to put excess produce to good use and encourage people to grow their own and cook with local vegetables. Reporter Eliza Wood joins Penelope on one of her regular delivery runs.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>2. Fruity oil flavours - Julia Holman (Canberra ACT)</strong><br>Tasting and judging olive oil can be a bit like eating your way through a bowl of fruit salad. Green banana flavours, tropical fruits, even a touch of nectarine can be detected in the oils. Reporter Julia Holman fronts up at the Royal Canberra Olive Oil Show where 60 extra virgin oils are set out for the judges to sip and slurp. Show chairman Richard Gawel takes her through the process, including her very own taste test.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>3. Recorking your precious wine - Laura Poole (Adelaide SA)</strong><br>Some people invest in bottles of fine wine for their financial future, other for their drinking pleasure. Either way these bottles of sometimes very, very expensive wine need to be maintained. The South Australian-based Penfolds company, makers of the famous Grange wine series, recently held a recorking clinic at a vineyard estate in the Adelaide Hills. Reporter Laura Poole joins chief winemaker Peter Gago as he tests bottles of wine up to 50-years-old.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>4. Native oysters make a comeback - Ginger Gorman, producer/presenter (Canberra ACT)</strong><br>They're known as the ostrea angasi, a rare native oyster that's making a comeback in southern New South Wales. David Maidment, from Australian Native Shellfish, is growing the oysters in the pristine waters of Wagonga Inlet, near Narooma. While not as big as the better known rock oyster, the native variety is proving popular with restauranteurs. ABC Canberra presenter Ginger Gorman heads out with David to experience oyster farming firsthand.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>5. Cheese in the classroom - Jane Ryan (Burnie TAS)</strong><br>Some have never even tasted camembert before but that hasn't stopped them trying their hand at cheese making. Eight schools across northern Tasmania have been involved in the "cheese in the classroom" project run by Dairy Australia and Dairy Tasmania where students make cheese from scratch as part of their school science program. Reporter Jane Ryan joins three students in Ulverstone as their wheels of camembert are about to be judged.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>6. Brewing a chocolate stout - Olivia Garnett (Bunbury WA)</strong><br>You'd think you'd have to be on a winner if you were combining chocolate and beer in a new drink! In the Eagle Bay micro brewery in the Margaret River region of Western Australia, a local chocolate maker and a beer brewer have joined forces to create a unique chocolate stout. They use the husks of roasted cocoa beans to add the flavour. Reporter Olivia Garnett pops in as head brewer Nick d'Espeissis and chocolate maker Josh Bahen mix up another batch.<br><br><br><br><br><strong>7. Chasing a chocolate dream - Sophie McInnerney (Pt Pirie SA)</strong><br>It was Johnnie Depp and the movie Chocolat which got Leanne Milhano and her husband Jose following their dream to open a gourmet chocolate shop in country South Australia. Three years on their Minlaton business on Yorke Peninsula, about 200km from Adelaide, is winning awards and attracting international attention. Chocolate lover reporter Sophie McInnerney couldn't resist stopping by and hearing how a dream became reality.<br><br>

 Country Breakfast for December 22, 2012 - 21/12/2012 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for December 15, 2012 - 14/12/2012 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for December 8, 2012 - 07/12/2012 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for December 1, 2012 - 30/11/2012 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

 Country Breakfast for November 24, 2012 - 16/11/2012 | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 54:20

Rural news and issues for the week, across Australia.

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