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12 | March/April - 2017 | 13
R&D | REGIONAL INNOVATION |
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ABN 87 000 226 022
Level 1, 8 Redfern Road
Hawthorn East
VIC 3123, Australia
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The regional vegetable hub of Lindenow, located
20 kilometres west of Bairnsdale in Victoria’s Gippsland
region, is gearing up to host the East Gippsland
Vegetable Innovation Days (EGVID 2017) at Bulmer
Farms from 3-4 May. Vegetables Australia spoke to
co-organiser Shayne Hyman about what participants
can expect from the two-day innovation showcase.
VICTORIA’S REGIONAL VEG
INDUSTRY TO TAKE CENTRE
STAGE AT TWO-DAY EVENT
Lindenow, a tiny town nestled in the fertile Mitchell River valley, is
set to attract more than 600 delegates from around Australia and
overseas when it hosts the East Gippsland Vegetable Innovation
Days (EGVID 2017).
The event will be held from 3-4 May at Bulmer Farms and
will be jointly hosted by agronomist Stuart Grigg and Bulmer
Farms’ Managing Director Andrew Bulmer. It will also be a major
event for the East Gippsland Food Cluster as part of the National
Vegetable Extension Network, a program funded by Horticulture
Innovation Australia (Hort Innovation) using the research and
development National Vegetable Levy and funds from the
Australian Government.
A key contributor to the Gippsland region, the East Gippsland
Food Cluster is a not-for-profit collaborative network of Eastern
Gippsland agrifood businesses that implements a range of
projects to support the sustainable development of the region’s
vital agrifood sector.
The Innovation Days are proudly promoted by major sponsor
Boomaroo Nurseries and follow the inaugural Leafy Veg
Demonstration Day, which was held in May 2014 and focused
exclusively on leafy vegetables. In contrast, this year’s Innovation
Days have expanded to include a wide array of vegetable crops.
WHAT TO EXPECT
EGVID 2017 will kick off on Wednesday 3 May at 12 noon, and
will run until 4pm that day. The demonstration sites, hosted by
the top 10 seed companies in Australia, will be available to view
throughout the afternoon.
An Industry Networking Dinner will be held at Lindenow Hall in
the evening. There are 300 tickets available for the dinner from
and all tickets must be purchased prior
to the night. Former AFL footballer Sam Kekovich will be the
keynote speaker and will reflect on his experience of growing up
on a vegetable farm.
The following day, delegates will be able to hear a range of
brief presentations within the Fresh Select Event Hub from each
of the event’s silver sponsors: E. E. Muir & Sons, DuPont, Elders
Bairnsdale, South Pacific Seeds, Rijk Zwaan, Nufarm Australia and
Grolink Nursery.
“They’ll be talking about the R&D and innovative developments
within their respective businesses to directly benefit vegetable
producers’ sustainability and bottom lines,” Vegetable Industry
Development Officer for Gippsland Shayne Hyman said.
“The Hort Innovation vegetable levy-funded project RIPPA
(Robot for Intelligent Perception and Precision Application)
from the University of New South Wales will be on-site, with the
development team showing delegates the progress to date.”
Delegates will also have the opportunity to sample freshly
prepared local produce. Boomaroo Nurseries will prepare
hundreds of canapes from produce grown on the demonstration
site while One Harvest, Australia’s largest producer of fresh cut
bagged salads, will provide a fresh and healthy lunch.
Day two will wrap up at 3pm, with a team of food service and
restaurateurs coming in to inspect the site, talk about emerging
trends, quality and production techniques and network.
“There will be a discussion on what their needs are and their
expectations of vegetables, and what the vegetable growers and the
industry are capable of delivering and innovating,” Ms Hyman said.
POSITIVE RECEPTION
Ms Hyman said the Lindenow community and the Gippsland
vegetable supply chain are looking forward to the two-day event.
All of the presenters will be focusing on the new, the favourite,
and the innovative from across the whole industry supply
chain against the backdrop of one of Australia’s significant and
emerging vegetable production regions – East Gippsland.
Follow the event on Twitter (@2017EGVID) or Facebook by
searching ‘EGVID2017’.
For more information on the East Gippsland Vegetable Innovation Days or to
purchase a ticket to the EGVID 2017 Industry Networking Dinner, please contact
Vegetable Industry Development Officer for Gippsland Shayne Hyman on 0417
330 081 or .
Regional capacity building to grow vegetable businesses – East Gippsland (East
Gippsland Food Cluster) has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia
Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and funds
from the Australian Government.
Project Number: VG15047
INFO
R&D
Daniel Hammond at the EGVID 2017 site.