Vegetables Australia January-February_2017_LR

22-23 / 56

22 | January/February - 2017 | 23
Former AUSVEG Chairman Mike Badcock and Victorian growing operation Bulmer Farms have been rewarded
for their hard work, passion and dedication to the Australian vegetable industry through two awards that
recognise their innovation, sustainability and community contribution.
TWO VEGETABLE INDUSTRY LEADERS RECOGNISED
AUSTRALIAN FRESH PRODUCE INDUSTRY COMMENDED
FOR CHARITABLE CONTR IBUTIONS
A NEW FASTENING SOLUTION FOR IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
Tasmanian Mike Badcock has been an influential figure in the
vegetable industry for decades, through his roles at AUSVEG and
the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, as well as
developing the Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee.
Mike was one of five farmers recognised at the 2016 Australian
Farmer of the Year Awards, co-hosted by ABC Rural and the
Kondinin Group. These awards celebrate rural champions, both
on- and off-farm, and acknowledge those who have made an
enormous contribution to their respective industries.
SHOWING COMMUNITY SPIRIT
Mike received the inaugural Rural Community Leader of the Year
award not only in recognition of his leadership in the vegetable
industry, but also his devotion to organisations at local, state and
national levels.
The Forth farmer told Vegetables Australia he was proud to receive
the award, and it gave him confidence that the horticulture industry
was heading in the right direction.
“It backs up my judgement about the industry going forward. It
gives me confidence in moving forward into the future to develop
and make it better,” Mike said.
TRANSITIONING STAGES
Mike’s community involvement stems from his parents, who were
both in agriculture and community groups.
“I enjoy being with people, and it’s all about pulling people
together and working together to achieve things. That’s one of the
biggest joys in life,” he said.
“I found that by being involved in the industry, it gave you a much
better handle on what the industry is about. It allows you to make
better judgements in your own operation as well.”
Mike’s involvement at a community level slowly transitioned into
generating change on a bigger stage.
“It was an evolving process. I started off very much grassroots,
where you basically went along and attended the meetings. It grew
The Australian fresh produce industry was recognised for its
distinguished service in fighting hunger at the annual Foodbank
awards, which were presented at the Australian Food and Grocery
Council Industry Leaders Forum at Parliament House on Tuesday
8 November 2016.
The Foodbank Purple Beret Award acknowledges the fruit
and vegetable industry’s support in helping to raise awareness
of food insecurity and providing fresh produce to help fight
hunger in the community.
The award was presented by Assistant Minister for Social Services
and Multicultural Affairs Senator Zed Seselja and was received by
AUSVEG Director Geoff Knuckey, PMA Australia-New Zealand CEO
Darren Keating and Costa Farms and Logistics General Manager
Shanon Williams.
HONOURABLE ACCOLADE
AUSVEG was proud to accept the award on behalf of the Australian
fresh produce industry, which has doubled its fruit and vegetable
donations to Foodbank in the last five years.
“Australia’s vegetable growers have played a key role in donating
excess produce to Foodbank this year, in a bid to help families in
need benefit from over-supply in the industry,” former AUSVEG
Interim CEO Simon Bolles said.
“One of the biggest challenges facing the Australian vegetable
industry is over-supply in the domestic market. To help overcome
this issue, Australian vegetable growers have been donating to
Foodbank to ensure that their fresh produce goes directly to those
who need it most.”
Foodbank is Australia’s largest hunger relief organisation. Through
collaboration with the Australian food and grocery industry,
Foodbank is able to deliver 166,000 meals per day to 2,400 charities
and 1,500 schools for distribution to people in need of food relief.
Despite Australia experiencing one of its wettest years on record,
irrigation is still at the forefront of the minds of those in the
agriculture industry.
To facilitate this, Toro Australia has released its new Hippo
Clamps. These are stainless steel irrigation clamps that provide a
quick and secure fastening solution for low-density poly pipe and
drip tube systems.
Before hitting the market last year, industry professionals had the
chance to test out the clamps. Despite the wet weather hindering
some installation attempts, the feedback has already
been encouraging.
“It was a challenging season for many farmers last year. I haven’t
seen such a wet winter in years, but customers are still stocking up
on Hippo Clamps in anticipation for the drier months,” Leon Larson
from Darling Irrigation said.
A DISTINCT PRODUCT
Mr Larson has a wealth of expertise in irrigation, and supplies a range
of customers across the domestic, commercial and agricultural field.
He predicts Hippo Clamps will be advantageous to experts across
the agricultural space.
“What really stands out for me is their distinct colouring,” Mr
Larson said.
“The colour-coded systemmakes it really easy to identify clamp
sizes. I can tell by the quality of the workmanship that the colours
wouldn’t fade over time either.”
One of Mr Larson’s longstanding customers, Agri Australis (a
subsidiary of the Ferrero Group) are also on schedule to trial the
Hippo Clamps on its hazelnut plantation in New South Wales.
Project Manager David Busnello is particularly eager to see the
unique positive lock system in action.
“The latching mechanism is very intuitive, which is something
other clamps lack. The positive lock means we can hear when the
clamp is locked into place, and once it’s locked in, it’s locked tight,”
Mr Busnello said.
from local level to state level, and then national level and quite often,
into international. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world
several times because of my involvement in organisations,” he said.
Mike also received the inaugural Kondinin Group Award for
Excellence in diversifications for farming strategies, which recognises
his innovation on-farm.
“I’d like to think I was a pretty successful farmer and I’m pretty
proud of that. I think I’ve been innovative in my farm practices and
hopefully I’ve set the pace and allowed people to look at new ways
of doing things.”
BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT
Meanwhile, Bulmer Farms Managing Director Andrew Bulmer and his
team of approximately 100 staff were recognised for the first time at
the East Gippsland Business Awards in October 2016.
Bulmer Farms, based in Lindenow, Victoria, picked up three
accolades at the event: Agribusiness Award, Innovation Award and
the Outstanding Achievement Award.
“It’s good recognition for our staff,” Andrew said. “Obviously,
it’s a massive team effort to run a large-scale horticultural
enterprise. It’s something for our staff to be proud of that they all
get recognised for the part that they play in the business, and what
we contribute locally.”
INNOVATION SPACE
Innovation and upskilling staff drive Bulmer Farms to make it the
successful business it is today.
“You’ve always got to be looking at new ideas, improvements and
different concepts. We have spent a fair bit of money getting around
the world and looking at world’s best practice,” Andrew said.
“We’ve got an apprenticeship program in place where we bring on
a new apprentice into the business at least once a year. We’re trying
to do things to create our own talent pool going forward, and help
promote the industry overall as a place to come and work.”
Bulmer Farms Managing Director Andrew Bulmer and his team were
recognised for the first time at the East Gippsland Business Awards.
Mike Badcock was recognised at the Australian Farmer of the Year
Awards, co-hosted by ABC Rural and the Kondinin Group.
For more information or to request a free trial of the Hippo Clamps, please
visit or see your local Toro dealer.
For more information, please visit .
INFO
INFO