Country Hour Northern Territory

Almost two million trays of Top End mangoes are set to make their way to market this year, according to figures released by the Australian Mango Industry Association. Ag Force Queensland regional manager Paul Burke has been announced as the new incoming CEO of the Northern Territory Cattleman's Association.

The total number of cattle exported through the Darwin Port for July is down more than 16,000 head when compared to the same time last year. Water restrictions have been placed on Katherine because of concerns about contamination of the town's water supply by toxic firefighting chemicals.

Both major Northern Territory political parties have joined forces to lobby against proposed changes to the 457 skilled workers visas; Senators investigating collusion and anti-competitive behaviour in livestock saleyards say they have seen no sign the red meat industry is willing to regulate itself; Small business owners near the Beetaloo Basin are weighing up the potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on their livelihoods and the environment; Mungbeans are being commercially harvested...

Thousands of punters have made their way to the Fannie Bay race course for the hottest racing date on the Northern Territory calendar; Maintaining good fencing and culling inside paddocks is the best way to reduce losses caused by agile wallabies, according to a research project; One of the only ABC board members from the bush, Georgie Somerset, says she wants to 'future proof' the organisation in regional areas.

The Northern Territory Country Hour team today broadcast from the 70th annual Harts Range races weekend in Central Australia.

Around 180 parents of regional kids are meeting today for the federal Isolated Children’s Parents Association conference in Alice Springs; An Australia Institute report that claimed money spent on the Ord Irrigation Scheme had brought little return leaves Kununurra residents feeling undervalued and frustrated.

Around 30 parents of regional kids are touring Central Australia today as part of the federal Isolated Children’s Parents Association conference in Alice Springs; A decent catch is expected for the northern tiger prawn season with 52 boats hitting the water overnight, from north Queensland to the Kimberley; A Queensland academic warns lifting the ban on imported green prawns into Australia is fraught with danger, likening to playing with fire.

The revival of the Northern Territory's Bootu Creek manganese mine has led to a resurgence of bulk ore shipments out of Darwin Port; NT Cattlemen’s Association president Tom Stockwell says the entire pastoral estate should be removed from the local government jurisdiction, voiding the need to pay rates; A sheep owner in the middle of Top End cattle country is struggling to find new rams to increase the genetic diversity of her small flock.

A regionally-based construction firm says the Northern Territory economy needs the onshore gas industry to boost growth, while a tourism operator says the development of the onshore gas sector would likely detract from the uniqueness of the NT; Family run Central Australian pastoral property Coniston Station is under contract to sell for $13 million, pending settlement; The Katherine Research Station is conducting an electromagnetic survey of its paddocks, in order to better understand its...

Australia's largest barramundi farm is harvesting plate-size fish, ready for market, out of its new ponds; The Northern Territory's crocodile farming industry has been valued at $106 million by a report into the sector released today; A family run cattle station in the Red Centre went under the hammer yesterday - but didn't manage to sell; China has slapped a suspension on Australian meatworks, that puts at stake up to hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of beef exports.

The closing arguments in the live export suspension class action case have been presented to the Federal Court this week; Eight months since Origin Energy's exploratory gas well near Daly Waters was fracked and flared, the site now sits bare and the well head capped; Canada is looking to Northern Australia to determine how it manages its carbon farming, hoping to set up an Indigenous Carbon Fund; CRC for Developing Northern Australia board member John Wharton says Senator Matt Canavan was...

A Northern Territory mango farmer says his trees have produced so much fruit he's had to prop up the branches to stop them breaking off; Australia's marine environment may contribute $70 billion to the economy, but its future depends on a consistent and sustainable management plan, according to one scientist; An agribusiness advisor says it would be hard to tell whether Chinese investors would go ahead in buying the Territory’s second largest landholder, Consolidated Pastoral Company; A...

The future of the Northern Territory's network of marine parks has taken a major step forward with the release of the final draft plans for consultation; The NT Seafood Council has welcomed the new proposed marine reserve management plan, with a number of changes announced for the Top End zones; Prizes for the Katherine campdraft were this year created by workers in remote Indigenous communities, including a horse adorned clock and painted buffalo skulls; A cotton trial which was planted...

Today the Northern Territory Country Hour team broadcasts from the annual Katherine show; Cattle duffing has become a major issue for some NT pastoralists and now there are renewed calls for a stock squad to curb offences; The owner of outback Australia's renowned Daly Waters pub says he's looking forward to retirement and travelling after selling the iconic watering hole; Students from five NT schools are at the Katherine Show, presenting cattle, all with the hope of being selected to...

The independent inquiry's interim report on fracking has been described as balanced by gas company Origin Energy; Minister for Northern Australia, Matt Canavan, says the Federal Government has funds available for the live export class action if the claimants are successful; Red grapefruit from the Kimberley's Ord Irrigation Scheme are enjoying strong demand in southern markets, despite being on sale in the middle of winter, which is about two months later than normal; Great weather...

Northern cattle producers begin a class action in the Federal Court, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from the Commonwealth for the live export ban; A saltwater crocodile has attacked a worker which was trying to help the reptile on a cane farm in far north Queensland; Growers from all over Central Australia gathered in Alice Springs yesterday to meet as the new local branch of NT Farmers.

Central Australian growers are pushing to have more of a voice, with a newly formed branch of their own within NT farmers; There's been international and national interest in the old Katherine meatworks site, which is currently up for sale; They say Tennant Creek wouldn't exist if it wasn't for gold - we look at the areas rich history; Popular cattle industry identity, and former Australian campdrafting champion, 64-year-old Neil Bryce, has been farewelled.

A class action will argue this week that the decision to temporarily ban live exports back in 2011 was an abuse of power by the then Agriculture minister Joe Ludwig; The interim report for the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing has outlined a number of issues which must be managed if the Territory's moratorium is lifted; Two women have completed a 1,000 kilometre horse ride through the Northern Territory to raise awareness for bush education.

The NT Department of Primary Industries has declared the Ti Tree and Rocky Hill areas free of Queensland Fruit Fly; This year's Tennant Creek show was at risk of not going ahead when the entire committee retired - but thankfully the community rallied and the show is on today; A Kimberley cattle worker severed his thumb in the yards and in an extraordinary medical feat, his big toe was removed, and sown onto his hand to replace his thumb.

The Territory's first major gold mine in ten years will enter production at its Tennant Creek site today; Pastoralists and Traditional Owners say negotiations for any expansion of the Northern Gas Pipeline will need to start from scratch; Mid-year live cattle export figures out of the Darwin and Townsville ports show demand is continuing to slide.