In Australia, we grow some of the best fresh produce in the world, and we’re always looking for ways to do an even better job at feeding our local and export markets.

Hort Innovation’s strategic levy investments in study tours and other overseas missions are a big part of these efforts. By taking delegations of growers to visit our overseas counterparts, the levy supports our industry as it learns about the latest production practices and innovative technology being used internationally.

The 2018 tour to the International Spinach Conference in Spain was a great example of the benefits of levy-funded study missions. The delegation of growers not only attended the conference but also visited Spanish producers, looked at sustainable vegetable production techniques, attended spinach breeder trials and saw a range of other varietal developments and research opportunities.

Some of the tour highlights included:

• Visits to seed company stations at the conference, including Rijk Zwaan, Enza Zaden, Pop Vriend and Nunhems.
• Discussions about downy mildew, leaf spot and damping off disorders, nutrition management and seed inoculum loadings.
• Eye-opening visits to production sites showcasing automation and mechanisation, cover cropping and nutrition management.

As with all levy-funded projects, including tours and study missions, the project team has filed a final report encapsulating all the knowledge gained over the course of the tour. This report includes valuable notes from presentations at the conference so you can benefit from the expertise on display at the event.

You can now read the full tour report on the InfoVeg database.

If you want to learn more about the tour and the experiences enjoyed by participants, AUSVEG has also published a few other articles about this great levy-funded initiative:

• Spinach growers plug in to global industry at International Spinach Conference (recap article in the Weekly Update)
• Jono Craven: Turning over a new leaf (2018 edition of Vegetable Grower Success Stories showing how the tour translated into on-farm benefits)
• Growers gain an insight into the global spinach industry (July/August 2018 edition of Vegetables Australia – page 22 of the PDF or 42 of the magazine)

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 19 March 2019. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!