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of a crop is monitored as per
the National Standards,”
Mr Gay said.
“All growers are bound by
the QA Manual and its rules
and guidelines. The most
important part of the program
is acting diligently and
documenting all procedures
that are undertaken.
“Each grower is responsible
for their crop and their
documentation. All data is
delivered to our Resource
Centre, where our secretary
enters all documentation
into a purpose-designed
software package enabling
updated information to be
correlated and cross-
referenced for accuracy.”
In addition to the crops
being checked on a minimum
weekly basis, all crops are
leaf sampled and laboratory
tested for all potato viruses in
accordance with the National
Standards. Mandatory PCN
testing is also conducted
pre-sowing.
Traceability is included as a
necessary item in the manual.
All crop locations are GPS
registered, and all varieties
and generations are mapped
and measured with a GPS.
“This then enables
trace-back if there is any
problem with the crop,”
Mr Gay explained.
“Over time this also gives
the grower great paddock
history for future development.
The QA Manual is designed
around the National Standards,
which are the basis of Potato
Seed Certification and
very necessary.”
Mr Gay admits that it has been
a challenge for CPA to develop
the QA program and manual
to where it is today.
“We started a bit blind; we
didn’t really know what we
were getting ourselves into.
There was a huge amount
of dedication from all of the
members – the growers and
the members had a lot of
input,” Mr Gay said.
“Our manual was probably
two inches thick and over
that period of time, after
consultation with industry
people ranging from growers
to departmental staff to our
clients and commercial guys,
we streamlined that manual
down to half of what it was
when we originally started.
It was a real learning curve
over the first six years.
“We had to streamline it
so it was user-friendly, yet
still covered all the necessary
items to ensure that we were
growing a very good, clean,
certified seed crop of potatoes
that was going to transgress
to the end grower.”
CPA is always keeping the
future of the program in mind
and is still refining it to a certain
degree, according to Mr Gay.
“It’s so hard to get it right to
suit everybody’s farming scale.
We’ve got smaller growers who
do a lot of nursery orders; we’ve
got large growers who do a lot
of bulk tonnage into certain
areas. To have a streamlined
manual that can cater for small
lots as well as bigger lots, and
making it user-friendly to fill
out and be comprehensive –
we’re still tweaking that as we
go,” he said.
That’s just one aspect of
the program. CPA is still
looking at protocols for cold
storage and similar items to
add to the manual.
“It’s still evolving slowly – now
we’ve got most of the nuts and
bolts in place but we’re still
tightening some of the nuts,”
Mr Gay said.
“I would like to add, as
president, how proud I am of our
association while the QA manual
was being developed, and of the
input our grower members had.
Nobody stood back; everyone
had input and everyone had
positive drive towards it. There
was no negativity.
“It was tough at times but
we all stuck in there and
worked to the end project,
getting it to where it is: a
nationally-endorsed QA manual
and we’re very proud of it.”
For more information, please visit
seedpotatoes.com.au.
This communication has been funded by Horticulture Innovation
Australia Limited using the Fresh Potato Levy and funds from the
Australian Government.
Project Number: PT15007
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Seed certification