Peta Doherty
Peta Doherty is the Rural Reporter for ABC Central West, based at Orange, NSW. She has previously worked with the ABC in Darwin as well as for Fairfax Media in Sydney and Newcastle.
Chinese investors back NSW cherry growers' export hopes
Posted
The dream of getting mainland cherries on planes to China is getting closer to reality as Chinese investors come on board to help get export restrictions lifted.
Topics: trade, fruits, agribusiness, pest-management, orange-2800
Piano maker preserves rare golden era instruments
Posted | Updated
A museum in a small town in the NSW central west has captured the history of pianos in Australia.
Topics: music-education, arts-and-entertainment, neville-2799
Forbes farmers assess impact of widespread flooding
Posted | Updated
Farmers near Forbes are taking stock of the devastation as floods wipe out crops and prevent milk from being collected.
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, floods, agricultural-crops, rural, community-development, forbes-2871
Town reflects on Dob in a Dealer ice campaign one year on
Posted
A country community in New South Wales unites to fight the myths and stigma surrounding the drug ice, one year after it began a national campaign to dob in dealers.
Topics: drug-use, drug-education, drug-offences, orange-2800, wellington-2820
Blade shearing renaissance Feature
Posted
Blade shearing nearly disappeared in Australia but now hundreds of young shearers are flocking to take up the tradition.
Topics: sheep-production, wool, rural-youth, canowindra-2804
Backpacker tax review to put cherry harvest at risk say growers
Posted
NSW Cherry growers fear they will not be able to get fruit off trees this season because of government indecision over the backpacker tax.
Topics: rural, fruit, tax, farm-labour, orange-2800
Promising opening sale at Yass saleyards sparks optimism
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The company behind a $15 million saleyard complex in southern NSW says it plans to sell more than 1 million sheep in the first year.
Topics: beef-cattle, sheep-production, livestock, yass-2582, orange-2800, goulburn-2580, young-2594, wagga-wagga-2650
A Big Country: Limbering up for tractor yoga Audio
Audio
Posted
Greenthorpe farmer turned yoga enthusiast Chris Wills is encouraging farmers to limber up and keep fit by doing yoga exercises while sitting in their tractor cabs. Read more
Topics: exercise-and-fitness, farm-labour, mens-health, trundle-2875
Cattle breeder turned yogi helping farmers relax Feature
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Chris Wills is well-known for his cattle breeding program and now he is also developing a reputation for his tractor yoga.
Topics: rural, health, human-interest, offbeat, work, mental-health, mens-health, crop-harvesting, exercise-and-fitness, orange-2800
Top working dogs compete for Australian title
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The dogs came from all over the country to see which could get the job of rounding up and moving a pack of testy merino sheep done most efficiently.
Topics: rural, livestock, west-wyalong-2671
A Big Country: Divine intervention for truffle harvest Audio
Audio
Posted
Retired Defence Force bishop and now local grazier Tom Frame conducts a service for a pretty motley collection of truffle hunting dogs at the start of the truffle season in the southern highlands of New South Wales. Read more
Topics: crop-harvesting, human-interest, animals, food-and-cooking, orange-2800
Gelato Messina set to plant orchard to match hazelnut ice-cream blend
Posted
A well-known gelato maker is the latest food manufacturer to switch from Italian to Australian-grown hazelnuts.
Topics: food-processing, agricultural-crops, orange-2800
Specialty sheep tipped by breeders to become gourmet hit
Posted
The breeders say their wool-shedding Australian White tastes like Wagyu beef.
Topics: sheep-production, genetics, agribusiness, food-and-beverage, orange-2800, oberon-2787
Rural Reporter: Picking and plucking saffron flowers Audio
Audio
Posted
Ellen and Ross Higgins are harvesting commercial quantities of saffron from their one hectare property at Millthorpe, in the central west of New South Wales. Read more
Topics: food-and-cooking, crop-harvesting, sustainable-and-alternative-farming, millthorpe-2798
WET rebate concern on rise as survey find growing pessimism among vignerons
Posted
A national survey of small and medium wine makers has found more than a third would be worse off under proposed changes, while 40 per cent will not be eligible for the rebate.
Topics: rural, tax, work, federal-election, regional-development, orange-2800
Divine truffles helped along with divine intervention as dogs with good noses blessed
Posted | Updated
People have blessed fishing fleets, they have blessed herds of cattle and sheep, so why not bless truffle dogs?
Topics: rural, crop-harvesting, human-interest, animals, lifestyle-and-leisure, food-and-cooking, religion-and-beliefs, sustainable-and-alternative-farming, orange-2800, tarago-2580
Insect infestation attacks eucalyptus trees in the NSW Central West
Posted
A small insect is killing large tracts of gum trees in the Central West of New South Wales
Topics: environmental-management, environment-education, land-management, rural, orange-2800, mudgee-2850
Bush poetry lures farmer off the land after 50-year agricultural career Feature
Posted
As he harvested the best crop of his life, Bill Gordon decided it was time to switch from farming to poetry.
Topics: rural, poetry, lifestyle, orange-2800, boyup-brook-6244
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