Gourmets pay top dollar for truffle mushrooms, and an increasing number of farms want to cash in. But all the hard work would go to waste without a good sniffer dog.

Umbria

Truffles, often referred to as "white-gold" in Italy, have become a highly sought-after delicacy among gourmets worldwide. These mushrooms command top-dollar prices due to their unique flavor and rarity. The skyrocketing demand for truffles has led to a growing interest from farms looking to enter the lucrative truffle market.

However, the cultivation and harvest of truffles are not without challenges. One crucial aspect of successful truffle farming is the reliance on skilled sniffer dogs. These dogs are indispensable in locating the truffles, which grow underground. Without their keen sense of smell, the effort and investment in truffle farming could easily be rendered fruitless.



Truffles are "white-gold" in Italy

Since he was a child, Michele has forged for truffles around his Umbrian hometown of Monteleone d'Orvieto. His dog Argo has been at his side for five years. A good truffle hunting dog makes for better business, but it also comes with unexpected dangers. All truffles are expensive regardless of the type. There are some cruel people in the business who see truffle hunting as a war. They'll stop at nothing. They'll hide poisoned meatballs where your car is parked, laced with strychnine or snail poison. They'll poison your dog over money. So he stays undercover, which also stops snoops from discovering his secret spots. He keeps them all jotted down in a notebook and on his cell phone. It's a treasure map that the 38 year old wouldn't share with anyone. Michele sells some of the treasures he finds, but the professional chef prepares most of them at Café 7. He runs the little gourmet truffle restaurant along with his brother, Andrea. Did you find anything? Of course. Look at this bianchetto. Where'd you find it? Forget it. You might be my brother, but I'm not telling you. 100 kilometers away, they're unlocking truffles' big secrets at the headquarters of Orbani Tartuffi's Truffle Empire. The company has cornered over 60% of the global truffle market. For years, scientists there have been trying to crack the genetic code of the precious fungi. They too guard their company secrets like a treasure. We're not allowed to film inside their labs. The results of their research are being put into practice at their startup, Truffle Land. When repotting the plants, we bring the roots into contact with truffle spores, in this case with the highly prized black truffle. We expose the plants to the spores, and a year after repotting, we have them checked. An independent office confirms whether the roots and the truffle spores have developed a symbiosis. If they have, we receive a certificate, and we can sell that batch. Truffle Land currently plants over 100,000 trees a year. Areas selected for cultivation are equipped with sensors, providing data on soil moisture and regulating water supply. Once they've grown, the black truffles just need a dog to come and sniff them out. That's what Candida and Sally do for a living. We collect from 11 in the morning until around 4 p.m., unless there's frost. Then we're not allowed to hunt for truffles, as it damages the soil. These cultivated truffles smell just as strong as the other ones. We call them our black diamonds. It takes around six years for an area planted like this to bear fruit, or rather truffles. With this method, the world's largest truffle company can guarantee its supply. Demand is high, and climate change has led to increased scarcity.

At least four people are dead, including an infant, after a series of tornadoes swept across Oklahoma. The weather system is threatening the region with more twisters, heavy rain and large hail in a band stretching from Missouri to Texas.

Sulphur

At least four dead in Oklahoma tornadoes

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she would stand in upcoming European Parliament elections, a move apparently calculated to boost her far-right party, although she would be forced to resign immediately under EU rules.

Pescara

Italian far-right PM Meloni says will stand in EU elections

At least four people died, including a four-month-old baby, in Oklahoma this weekend, after dozens of twisters swept the U.S. Southern Plains. The White House said, President Joe Biden has pledged federal support for Oklahoma as well as other states hit by severe storms.

Oklahoma

Deadly tornadoes rip through Oklahoma

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Wakeley

Sydney bishop returns to pulpit after stabbing

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Canberra

Protest leaders hit out at Prime Minister over power 'abuse'

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "reiterated his clear position" on a possible invasion of the Gaza border city of Rafah, the White House said.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

Israel-Gaza War

Biden tells Netanyahu U.S. doesn't support Rafah assault

Ukraine's top general says his troops have been forced to retreat as fighting on the country's eastern front intensified. Kyiv's forces have fallen back to new positions in at least three places along the front, west of the Donetsk region.

Donetsk

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine troops retreating on eastern front

Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing on an unannounced visit, to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of Full Self-Driving software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Shanghai

Elon Musk makes surprise visit to China

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Rafah

Hamas releases video of two Israeli hostages

Defence Minister Richard Marles has revealed a fresh aid package to support Ukraine in its war with Russia, including $30 million in funding for drones. It marks more than one billion dollars in funding from Australia since the war began.

Lviv

Australia announces $100m in Ukraine aid

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Prime Minister joins rally calling for end to gendered violence

Israeli protesters have shut down streets in Tel Aviv demanding the release of hostages and the political end of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Anger has been growing inside Israel as the Gaza war drags on for more than 200 days.

Thousands block Tel Aviv streets in protest

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Israel 'gearing up' for Rafah ground offensive

Ohio police released video of a Black man who died at a local hospital after repeatedly telling officers "I can't breathe" as they pinned him to the floor of a bar and handcuffed him, evoking memories of the killing of George Floyd in 2020.

Canton

'I can't breathe' man tells Ohio cops before death

Witnesses in Gaza reported fresh Israeli strikes overnight around Rafah. It comes as Hamas says it is considering an Israeli ceasefire proposal, after a delegation from Egypt arrived in Israel to resume stalled negotiations.

Sderot

Gaza hit by fresh strikes amid ceasefire talks

The US military has started building a large floating pier off Gaza's coast to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, the defence department has said. Ships will deliver aid from Cyprus to the pier where it will be loaded onto trucks to transfer across Gaza.

Jerusalem

US begins building floating base to boost aid

King Charles will return to his public duties next week for the first time since his February cancer diagnosis, visiting a cancer treatment centre. There fears his Australian trip will be delayed, while he continues treatment for his own cancer battle.

Windsor

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Demonstrations have taken place across the country after a spate of domestic violence deaths, including Molly Ticehurst. Protestors held signs saying ‘no more’ calling for immediate action against male-inflicted violence.

Council of the City of Sydney

Thousands rally across Australia against domestic violence

The Russian and Turkish flags were lowered to mark the closure of a center set up to monitor a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, as Russian peacekeepers ended a multi-year deployment in the strategic South Caucasus region.

Baku

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Britain's King Charles will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said.

London

King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis

Students blocked access to Paris' prestigious Sciences Po university over the war in Gaza on Friday (April 26), demanding the institution condemn Israel's actions, in a protest that echoed similar demonstrations on U.S. campuses.

Paris

Pro-Palestinian protesters still occupying Sciences Po campus

The number of people killed in floods in Kenya due to heavier than usual rainfall since the start of the monsoon in March has risen to 70, a government spokesperson said Friday. Kenya and other countries in East Africa, a region highly vulnerable to climate change, have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall in recent weeks, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.

Nairobi

Climate Crisis

Kenya flood death toll since March climbs to 70

An Australian journalist has been named as a key figure in Donald Trump's criminal trial. Dylan Howard, the former editor of the National Enquirer in the U.S. accused of buying and burying negative stories as part of a deal to help him become President.

New York

U.S. Presidential Election

The Australian journalist caught up in Trump trial

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Reserve Bank set to raise interest rates, expert predicts

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Marsden Park

Mourners farewell Bondi security guard Faraz Tahir

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Washington

U.S. Supreme Court weighs arguments on Trump immunity case

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Palestinians have begun evacuating Rafah as Israel steps up airstrikes. Israel plans to go forward with a ground operation in the southern Gaza city despite warnings from allies that it could cause mass casualties.

Israel steps up airstrikes on Rafah ahead of ground operation

After weeks of delays, Haiti is due to swear in a presidential transition council. Gang violence has devastated the economy and social services are on the brink of collapse. Gang leaders say talks over Haiti's political future must include them.