Keeping chemistry on farm: looking at the longer term

26 August 2025

At AUSVEG, we know growers are focused on the immediate challenges in front of them. Like in a ball game, you can only play what’s right in front of you. Growers are busy planting crops, responding to weather events, managing staff, dealing with labour hire companies, maintaining machinery, repairing irrigation, staying on top of compliance – and so much more. There’s little time left to stay on top of what governments and regulators here and overseas are doing.

That’s where AUSVEG plays a role. Part of our job is to keep an eye on the bigger picture, and anticipate what may be coming down the chute in the next few years. The last thing we want is for growers to say, “we’ve lost another active and nobody told us.” While regulatory changes are never certain, it is often possible to read the tea leaves.

Through our National Agrichemical Management Program, we closely monitor global developments in chemical regulation. What are regulators doing? What are consumer groups, environmental advocates, and retailers pushing for? By following these signals from markets such as Europe, the USA, New Zealand and Canada, we can identify which chemistries may be at risk.

Hort Innovation has recently helped to solve another piece in this puzzle, releasing a set of Regulatory Risk Assessments under project MT24008 (Regulatory support and response co-ordination – pesticides). These reports provide early intelligence on which active constituents may face tighter restrictions or phase-outs overseas and in Australia.

The purpose of this aspect of our work is to give growers an early warning of threats that, in some cases, may still be years away. That early visibility allows us to prepare – defending key chemistries where possible, while also getting ahead of the game in finding alternative solutions.

But AUSVEG cannot do this alone. We rely on growers to share their experiences and provide insight into how regulatory changes will impact their businesses. That feedback is critical to building credible cases to defend important chemistries and to ensuring industry is prepared with practical options for the future.

By looking beyond the “here and now”, AUSVEG is working to ensure growers retain access to the crop protection tools they rely on today, while also preparing for the challenges of tomorrow. The Regulatory Risk Assessments are a key part of safeguarding chemistry on farm for the long term.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to review the assessments below that are relevant to your business. Your feedback is vital—by sharing your insights, we can not only identify potential risks but also work together to find practical solutions for the years ahead.

The National Agrichemical Management Program (MT24023) is funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable, potato, potato processing and onion research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government.

David Daniels

National Agrichemical Manager

M 0402 270 554

E david.daniels@ausveg.com.au