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Truffles are a highly prized food delicacy, but they’re very hard to farm - sapling trees need to be inoculated with the fungus when they’re young; this sets up what’s known as a mycorrhizal relationship between the two.

The fungus brings nutrients to the tree, and the tree roots feed the fungus sugars in return. The fungus fruits by producing buried golf-ball sized structures full of spores, otherwise known as truffles.

Chris Smith went along to see how Al Blakers does it at Manjimup Truffles in southwest corner of Western Australia.

Asked how he finds the truffles, Al Blakers replied:

"You just use a dog...pigs want to eat the truffle, dogs haven't the slightest interest in the truffles, they just want a treat off you, that's why my dogs are fat."

The clip is from Five Live Science from Saturday 19 December, 05.00am