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.
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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
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| UpdatedA 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
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| UpdatedFarmers 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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| UpdatedChris 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
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| UpdatedThe 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
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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
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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
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The breeders say their wool-shedding Australian White tastes like Wagyu beef.
Topics: sheep-production, genetics, agribusiness, food-and-beverage, orange-2800, oberon-2787
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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
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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
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| UpdatedPeople 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
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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
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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