Pay a levy? Then you won’t want to miss everything your levy dollars got up to during the most recent financial year, with the release of Hort Innovation’s 2019/20 Fund Annual Reports.

Hort Innovation has developed an online portal that hosts each of its 37 Fund Annual Reports for 2019/20, which detail the research, development, extension and marketing investments that Hort Innovation administers to increase growers’ productivity, competitiveness and profitability.

Each industry-specific report includes key investment and project information from the year, and is available to download here.

From this link you can also access a copy of the Hort Innovation 2019/20 Company Annual Report, which details activities and highlights across the entire portfolio of Hort Innovation’s work.

If you prefer to read a hard copy of your Fund Annual report, you can request one for free by emailing communications@horticulture.com.au with the report you’d like to receive, and your mailing address (available while stocks last).

2019/20 snapshot of Vegetable Fund investment:

• $17.17 million invested in research and development.
• 88 active research investments.
• $9.83 million in levies collected by the government and passed on to Hort Innovation for investment.
• A new industry communications program plus a new iteration of the nationwide VegNET program to support growers in accessing information and adopting best practice on-farm.

Keeping track of Vegetable Fund investments

During 2019/20, Hort Innovation continued to track investment expenditure against the Vegetable Strategic Investment Plan, while looking towards new developments in 2021. Access an at-a-glance copy of the current investment plan here.

All investments under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund are detailed on the ‘Your investments’ page at horticulture.com.au/vegetable-fund. Hort Innovation also provides regular updates on news and alerts on its investments to its members. Anyone would like to receive these updates can sign up for free by clicking here.

AUSVEG will also provide regular updates on the wide range of industry projects and investments through its communications program, including the quarterly Vegetables Australia magazine.

Do you have an idea for investment?

Great investments start with great ideas, so Hort Innovation encourages all growers, industry participants and the research community to share their thoughts and recommendations through the upcoming Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) consultation process that sets out the vegetable industry’s investment priorities for the next five years.

During the year, issues may emerge that haven’t been captured in the extensive SIP development process, so there will still be opportunities to submit ideas for investments.

If you’re a grower, you can submit your idea any time through Hort Innovation’s investment idea form.

Other industry participants can contact a Hort Innovation employee directly (contact details can be found here).

A snapshot of Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund investments

• A new industry communications program plus a new iteration of the nationwide VegNET program to support growers in accessing information and adopting best practice on-farm.
• Vegetable Harvest to Home dashboards, providing regular household purchase data and insight reporting on 25+ commodities.
• Exciting new developments in BioClay research, which is being taken to the next level through a collaborative hub for sustainable crop protection.
• Improved soilborne disease diagnostic capacity for the Australian vegetable industry, with more information available here.
• Practical tips on how vegetable farms can benefit from increased earthworm activity, with details available here.
• A new vegetable education program for primary school children, with the Taste & Learn program resources available here.

Initiatives that were delivered outside of the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund

• Information and data to assist through COVID-19, including the new Hort Innovation Insights podcast and regular consumer attitude and behaviour information.
• The Good Mood Food across-horticulture marketing campaign to support industries through the effects of recent times.
• Preparation support for fall armyworm, including emergency minor use permits and an educational podcast series.
• Investments in the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative to address longer-term and often complex issues and opportunities critical to the future of Australian horticulture – click here for details.
• Projects supported by grants secured by Hort Innovation, ranging from cross-sector Rural R&D for Profit initiatives to horticulture-specific work to aid in access to crop protection products – see the Hort Innovation Annual Report 2019/20 for more.

The Good Mood Food campaign

In 2019/20, Hort Innovation created The Good Mood Food campaign to deliver an immediate and enduring behaviour-change message to motivate more Australians to eat more fruit, vegetables and nuts.

With the central message that these Aussie horticulture products are natural mood boosters, the campaign was developed to support the sector through the impacts of recent challenges including bushfires, drought, floods and of course COVID-19 – the effects of which continue to be felt in consumer spending and purchasing behaviour.

Initially running between May and November 2020, The Good Mood Food has been seen across the country on TV; in newspapers; on radio and music streaming services; online (including on YouTube and TV catch-up services); on social media; and via retail partnerships and advertising screens near supermarkets.

In July, 56 per cent of surveyed consumers said The Good Mood Food had positively influenced their shopping habits, and by the end of campaign’s run, 98 per cent of all Australians were expected to be reached.

Learn more by clicking here.

Find out more

To read the 2019/20 Vegetable Fund Annual Report, please click here.

This article first appeared in Vegetables Australia – Summer 2020/21. To read the full publication, please click here.