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Australian Farmers: Telling Our Story is hosted by television presenter and journalist, Angie Asimus and is powered by the National Farmers Federation. It’s dedicated to connecting our wonderful farmers with health conscious consumers and ethically minded shoppers. Together, we can all learn more about the food we eat and the fibre we wear. This is your exclusive look behind the farm gate. As a country girl herself, Angie knows you'll love what you hear. From the freshest produce, to carbon ...
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Mum, wife and bull catcher are roles you don’t often see on the same resume. But my guest today does all three in the Northern Territory. Liz Cook is an outback ringer, which means she wrangles feral cattle for a living. Bull catching can be a lucrative business with hundreds of thousands of wild bulls and buffalo wandering remote properties across…
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If you’re a dog lover, you’d be no stranger to the impressive intelligence, agility and loyalty of working dogs. But these special animals gained a whole new fan club with the hit TV series Muster Dogs. Today I speak with the owner of star pup Gossip. There is a lot to breeding these amazing canines that are so highly sought after on farms that som…
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The humble orange finds its way into most fruit bowls at some stage during the year. We know it’s a powerhouse for immune boosting Vitamin C. But there’s so much more to citrus than many of us know. What better way to find out than with a farmer who grows 14 different varieties. And for a fruit that is usually purchased for its flesh, not its skin,…
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** Trigger Warning** In this episode, we do talk about suicide, which can be distressing. If you need resources or support go to beyondblue.org or for 24 hour free counselling in Australia, the number for Lifeline is 13 11 14. Leila McDougall wears many hats – not just an Akubra. As well as being a farmer, she’s a mother, a teacher, a writer, produ…
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The humble cabbage may not often receive the kudos it deserves. But for one couple who swapped the hustle and bustle of Sydney for the pristine pastures of Tasmania, these cruciferous vegetables are a hero ingredient. Tom and Sue Glynn might be new to farming but the art of turning cabbage into kimchi is something that’s been passed down for genera…
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Not all farm animals are soft like woolly sheep or docile like grazing cows. Some in fact, would eat you, if given the chance. Crocodile farming is not for the faint-hearted and today we’re catching up with the family who established Queensland’s first commercial crocodile farm in 1981. Croc leather, meat and tours are growing in popularity. But th…
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Where do all those marked, undersized, scratched and cracked pieces of fruit and vegetables end up? Most shops and consumers won’t even look at them. But my guest today is turning second-grade produce into top-notch snacks, meals and garnishes. It’s amazing how with a dehydrator, aesthetics suddenly aren’t all that important. The magic of turning f…
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You could describe my guest today as a country girl trapped in the city. Growing up in Adelaide, there was always a country calling for Meridie Jackson. But it certainly hasn’t come easy. She’s had to take the long road to get there – from a corporate career, to the job of being a mum. Only in the last few years has her dream come true. She’s offic…
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We’re living in a market where so-called disruptive foods have flooded supermarket shelves in recent years. Think plant-based meats, insect protein bars, synthetic fat replacers and precision fermented milk proteins. A new report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank suggests the hype might be over. So, where to next with food innovation? It’…
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In sugar-cane and banana country, a Queensland farmer is striving to connect with customers through cutting edge technology that tracks every bunch of bananas from the farm to the fruit bowl. Carbon neutral bananas and protecting the Great Barrier Reef from run-off are also in his sights. A task that has now received a huge boost with a $445 000 gr…
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As the days become warmer, our taste buds often get cooler. Ice cream conjures memories of Aussie summers, days at the beach and childhood. South Australian kids have been growing up with one particular brand for 100 years. Golden North started as a true family business and has grown to keep up with demand. It’s won the Canstar Blue Award for Austr…
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My guest today calls a million-acre cattle station in remote South Australia home. While her day-to-day life is incredibly remote, she’s also one of the most connected people you could find in the industry. A true ‘agvocate’, Gillian Fennell is on a mission to promote agriculture. She takes on the tough issues and does so publicly, dispelling misco…
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Four daughters and one dream. On the farm, that means a very full house, lots of teamwork but also tough discussions when it comes to the future. We are so lucky to have Karen Penfold and her eldest daughter Bonnie with us today for a live episode recording at the National Farmers Federation 2023 National Conference in Canberra. This mum and daught…
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Seventeen years old, living on the family farm in western Victoria with her life ahead of her. It all sounds pretty idyllic for Holly Draffin, until she was struck down with Lyme Disease in April last year. Forced to take time off school, she filled in the time showing off her family’s historic property to the wider community through her Instagram …
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Living and working in a rural area is a rich and rewarding experience in so many ways. But it can also be isolating. When my guest today moved to Byaduk in Victoria’s Southern Grampians, finding her people was difficult. However, she went on to do more than simply make personal connections by founding the Australian brand of “Rural Women’s Day” whi…
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Life sounds pretty sweet in WA’s pristine Kimberley when you’re producing beautiful raw bush honey. Given the region has no industry or other pollutants, the bees thrive among the Saltwater Paperbarks, Grevilleas and Melaleuca. This Indigenous owned family business has just been awarded a grant as part of the Coles Nurture Fund. And they have some …
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Eating our greens is often hailed as the key to good health but my guest’s influence goes well beyond her own dinner plate, or any one farm. She’s doing her part to spread that message by making vegetables the star of their own tv show and a popular choice in schools by teaching the next generation about these superfoods. Under her vision, broccoli…
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‘Deep mulch’ and ‘compost teas’ may not be in our every day vernacular but at one commercial scale market garden in southern NSW, they are commonly used terms. Maple Tree Farm is all about healthy soil and nutrient rich vegetables. You won’t find a tractor in sight - everything is harvested by hand. The founder of the business is passionate about l…
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What happens when experts in engineering, agriculture, marine and terrestrial microbiology join forces? They develop a company that drops nutrient encapsulated seed pods from a drone, mapping out their placement using artificial intelligence and monitoring their growth using GPS. The method allows up to 40-thousand seed pods to be planted per drone…
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How many commercial insect farmers have you met? Today, was my first. A woman who always wanted to farm but couldn’t afford land or the costs associated with looking after big animals. These tiny creatures are packed with protein and serve as a valuable food source for farm animals and aquaculture. But looking at the bigger picture, these bugs, spe…
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When you’ve been farming in the same pocket of South Australia’s Barossa region for 7 generations, marrying into that kind of legacy is immense. The family specialty is wine with the oldest remaining vineyard dating back to 1875. But something else is cooking on this impressive estate - sourdough bread - and just like the wine it's baked with the p…
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An epic quest to learn about her own origins has lead my guest today to pursue an intriguing career that combines art and agriculture. As a young Chinese-Indonesian refugee, whose family started a new life in the Northern Territory, Tisha Tejaya initially wanted to ignore her past but as she’s come into adulthood, burning questions developed. Incre…
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What do careers in Australian Border Force and Australian Agriculture have in common? Well, for this couple, the answer is dogs. From training dogs to protect our borders to using them to hunt for truffles is a fairly unique pivot but that’s exactly what Mel and Gavin Booth have done, starting up Australian Truffle Traders in Manjimup Western Austr…
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Most of us rely on our local farmers for our food but others rely on them for their livelihoods. On an urban 11 acre farm just outside Port Kembla in NSW young people and refugees are being offered work and mentorship. The produce is sold to the local community through fruit and vegetable boxes, and to local cafes and restaurants. Under the guidanc…
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We so often hear farmers say dairy or wool has been in their blood for generations. However, in the case of hemp, producers are having to start from scratch. When Maxine Shea was diagnosed with a rare pituitary brain tumour, she desperately wanted hemp for treatment. Accessing it though was not easy, so she and her partner Mike starting growing it …
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Life is busy for most of us but spare a thought for this couple from Sunnyside Tasmania. They run a successful dairy whilst raising nine children. Given that work load, it would have been easier not to completely overhaul the business from a conventional dairy to a large-scale organic operation, that has also radically progressed to once a day milk…
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It’s not often you hear of a boy growing up in a peri-urban area with a dream of being a farmer. But if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen. Not only is he now farming for a living – he and his partner have turned conventional agriculture on its head. The Food Farm uses time-tested slow and regenerative farming practices on the …
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If we had to crown a vegetable king in Australia – today’s guest would be a contender. He grows cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and kale, all the while producing cows, sheep and chickens for pasture-raised eggs. It’s little wonder he’s been recognised in the 2022 Farmer of the Year Awards for Excellence in Diversification. The success of his operati…
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It’s a little cup of joy for so many of us. Coffee is often part of a daily ritual and an excuse to gather with friends and family. Did you know coffee farmers are growing beans right here in Australia? It’s thanks to some pioneers who set up the industry – including my guest today. The Zentvelds are second generation coffee farmers in Byron Bay an…
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Those living on the land are no strangers to working in the most spectacular of locations. However, few can say their office offers a birds-eye view of landscapes like the breathtaking Pilbara or the desolate plains of the Nullarbor. My guest today is a helicopter mustering pilot who has turned those remarkable vistas into a successful photography …
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Picture a farm overlooking the ocean. It sounds idyllic for the landowners and the animals seem pretty happy about it too. This 40-acre pocket of paradise is located in southern Tasmania’s Birchs Bay. But in their own words – their “soil sucks”. So how then do the farmers manage to produce the award-winning produce that is Grandvewe Cheese? See wha…
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How does a photojournalist end up making a living farming flowers? It started with a redundancy, a passion for gardening and a business that simply shines on social media and on the plate. We are talking about edible flowers. Not only are they gorgeous, but they have also hit the mainstream snapped up by cake decorators and chefs who want that some…
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My guest today has strong ties to Japan having lived and worked there for five years as a salaryman. His wife, Kumi, grew up in rural Japan. Together they are recreating a special childhood for their own kids with a 23-hectare egg farm in Victoria’s Gippsland region. More than drawing on their own cherished experiences – their former corporate jobs…
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Their motto is “When you take care of the little things, the big things take care of themselves,” and so, Little Big Dairy near Dubbo in Central West NSW was born. It is an incredible business, one of only a handful in the nation offering single source milk, meaning the milk comes solely from one farm, is processed on-site and sold directly to cons…
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When you picture a farmer in your mind’s eye, maybe a certain image comes up each time. My guest today has made it her mission to change perceptions around people with a disability in the industry. She developed an online platform to raise awareness of and provide opportunities for people living with disabilities. It’s a cause close to her heart af…
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Many of us have heard of mohair but for a fibre that’s been around for centuries, perhaps we don’t know a lot about it. It is a textile made from the hair of Angora goats. These animals are native to the mountainous regions of Turkey with the Sultan of Turkey first allowing the export of raw mohair to Europe in 1820. Now, they’re raised in many oth…
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Nestled on 120 acres in the picturesque Byron Bay Hinterland is a true paddock-to-plate eatery, delightfully named Frida’s Field. There you will find a blank canvas in the process of being transformed into a productive farm that grows an abundant variety of foods using regenerative techniques. The owners, Edward Rawlings and Jeanie Wylie wanted to …
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Turning 18% of his 3500-hectare farm into forest is a move that’s landed this producer a seat at a very influential table. Mark Wootton travelled from his property just north of Hamilton in Western Victoria, all the way to Egypt for the COP27 world climate conference. There, he was part of a pitch to promote the benefits of farm-grown sustainable t…
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** Trigger warning ** This episode contains conversations about suicide, so if you need resources or support go to beyondblue.org or for 24 hour free counselling in Australia, the number for Lifeline is 13 11 14. A childhood on her family farm at Streaky Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula combined with a career as a Clinical Psychologist has g…
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Today we are visiting Scone in the NSW Hunter region. So often we think of those in rural and regional communities as farmers alone but there are so many other crucial roles that make up the fabric of rural life – including those who document what’s going on in their part of the country and the world more broadly. My guest today is artist Janno McL…
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Growing up on the land offers and idyllic childhood for so many kids. But it’s certainly not without its challenges for the parents. Motivated by her own experience of raising youngsters on a farm in Tasmania, my guest today saw a few gaps that needed to be addressed. So, she created Australia’s first personalised online rural mothers’ group. Mothe…
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A good wedding anniversary present can be hard to find but when Julie Kos bought her husband Paul a smoker as a gift, they had no idea just how life-changing it would be. They started smoking everything and as egg farmers, well, they gave that a go too. It was a light-bulb moment. Now, the Victorian couple are the proud owners of The Smoked Egg Co …
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They say, ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’, and the Montague family have proven that to be true. It all started with the patriarch Bill in 1948. Fast forward to now, and his grandson Scott has been busy learning about the orchard, packing, distribution, sales and marketing. As much as we all love a Granny Smith or Red Delicious, the famil…
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Managing a family farm comes with big responsibility but my guest today has not only excelled in the running of Barunga Grains near Bute on the Northern Yorke Peninsula of South Australia – he’s made it his own. Technology has opened up a wealth of information many operators won’t even know exists. His work has just earned him a gong in the Farmer …
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The look, the smell and the taste all conjure images of the Australian summer. Mangoes are a family favourite in many households and a sign of warmer days and holidays ahead. Now, there’s not just one but three new mango varieties on offer to customers. They’re called ‘Yess!’ ‘Ahhh!’ and ‘Gee!’. Sounds like fun but it means we all benefit from more…
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For our final episode of 2022, we learn how a self-confessed city slicker ended up being named as the 2022 Rural Community Leader of the Year. It is quite the story. It all started with young love, a trip to the Brisbane Ekka and Sarah Parker now calls a dairy farm in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley home. Finding connection in a remote part of the world…
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We are about to meet a wheat, spelt and barley farmer, turned factory owner who has made the little town of Junee in NSW a tourist attraction. How else but with the transformation of an abandoned mill built in 1935 into the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. And the most recent addition to the family business is the Corowa Distillery Co, making …
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Today we are visiting a magical garden delightfully named Buttenshaw Backyard Farm. This patch of land in Montrose Victoria is only on a ¾ acre block but the space is bursting with fruit and nut trees, raised vegetable beds and an abundance of berries. Some of the produce includes vibrant glass gem corn, rainbow-coloured chillies, pineapple tomatoe…
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On the land, mustering takes many forms. It can be done on horseback, on motorbike, with a helicopter but my guest today plans for his AgTech start-up to become the first company in the world to commercialise livestock mustering with drones. SkyKelpie has been undergoing trials and there are some exciting results for cost savings, animal welfare an…
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We’ve all heard of taking a gap year – but usually you hear of kids from Sydney heading for Europe. Not Bradley Benge. This city boy ended up at a cattle property in Western Australia called Challa Station. It’s all part of a National Farmers Federation lead program AgCAREERSTART which supports young people out of school head to the bush for a year…
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