In this edition

  • Workshop: Negotiations and influencing course (Gatton, QLD) – New details
  • TPP update: Transition to management plan for TPP, AUSVEG hires TPP Coordinator
  • Nielsen data highlight: Asian vegetable varieties
  • Grower case study: Cummaudo Farms sees results from IPM
  • Webinar: Pesticides and insect pest control in vegetables
  • Information session: Horticulture Code of Conduct (Devonport East, TAS)
  • Workshops: Agrichemical pest management needs and priorities (VIC)
  • Workshop recap: Farm biosecurity planning
  • Event recaps: 2017 Fresh Produce Safety Centre Conference and 2017 Freshcare Forum presentations now online
  • Resource: VegNET Gippsland e-newsletter
  • Grant opportunity: Growing Queensland’s Food Exports
  • Job opportunity: Sales & Business Development Manager, Boomaroo
  • Webinar: Nematodes in vegetable soils
  • Event: Science Protecting Plant Health 2017 (Brisbane, QLD)
  • Event: National Agriculture Day – 21 November 2017
  • Award nominations: 2018 Australian Biosecurity Awards
  • Resource: Tax deduction information from ATO
  • Minor Use permits
  • Hort Innovation project opportunities
  • The week’s top stories

Vegetable feature article

Workshop: Negotiations and influencing course (Gatton, QLD) – New details

The VegPRO project, a strategic levy investment by Hort Innovation as part of the Vegetable Fund, is coordinating a course on managing negotiations and influencing people for vegetable industry members. Please note that this course (previously scheduled to be held in Bundaberg on 13 and 14 September) has changed date and location. 

This course is suitable for anyone that deals with staff, suppliers or logistics companies on a daily basis. Topics covered in the workshop will include identifying tactical manoeuvres, managing emotional atmospherics, controlling the sequence of the influencing process and breaking deadlocks creatively.

Time/date: 8:30am–5:00pm, Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 October
Location: University of Queensland (Gatton Campus), 5391 Warrego Highway, Gatton QLD

For more information on this workshop, please see the event flyer, or contact VegPRO via sophiel@rmcg.com.au or on 0426 200 996. To register to attend the course, please click here.

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Potato feature article

TPP update: Transition to management plan for TPP, AUSVEG hires TPP Coordinator

The National Management Group (NMG) for tomato potato psyllid (TPP) – comprising all Australian governments, affected industries and Plant Health Australia – has agreed to a transition to management phase to manage the ongoing impacts of TPP and risk of Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) in Australia.

The transition to management phase of the response plan, which will conclude on 11 May 2018, will improve the capacity of the horticulture sector to manage TPP and build confidence around the status of CLso in Australia. Activities will include supporting surveillance, market access activities, research and development enterprise management planning. This follows an earlier decision by the NMG that it is no longer technically feasible to eradicate TPP in Western Australia.

AUSVEG has appointed a dedicated TPP Coordinator to help the vegetable and potato industries coordinate this response. The coordinator is funded as a result of a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Fresh Potato, Processing Potato and Vegetable Funds.

AUSVEG will manage the project with Mr Alan Nankivell acting as National TPP Coordinator. Mr Nankivell has an extensive background in horticulture, including previous roles as CEO of Vinehealth Australia and as a Research Coordinator for the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre.

For more information on the transition to management plan, please see the full communique.

This project is funded by the the vegetable, fresh potato and processing potato research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Nielsen data highlight: Asian vegetable varieties

Hort Innovation has engaged Nielsen to carry out consumer research to allow the Australian vegetable industry to better understand the shopping habits of Australians. The results aim to assist growers to better understand consumer preferences and deliver products that best meet their needs.

Some highlights from the latest dataset about Asian vegetable varieties:

  • Buyer base expansion: South Australia, the Northern Territory and Victoria are key growth states due to an increase in buyers, and existing Queensland buyers are buying more by volume compared to last year.
  • Key demographics: Increases in purchases of Asian vegetable varieties are skewed towards Young Transitionals (adults under 35 with no children) and Bustling Families (families with an oldest child aged 12-17), while Established Couples (2 or more adults aged 35-59) have gone from 31 per cent of sales to 25 per cent.
  • Retailer performance: Sales of Asian vegetables from Woolworths and the Other Supermarkets category are gaining in both volume and value, while Coles sales have been gaining volume but maintaining flat value growth.

Nielsen Homescan electronically records 10,000 demographically and geographically representative Australian households’ purchases of all take-home grocery goods (fresh and packaged).

Full Nielsen reports containing data up to July 2017 are now available for Asian vegetables, beans, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, fresh salad, lettuce, pumpkin, sweet corn, sweetpotato, and zucchini. Growers interested in any or all of these reports can contact AUSVEG via e-mail at info@ausveg.com.au.

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Grower case study: Cummaudo Farms sees results from IPM

In 2013, Tony Cummaudo contacted entomologists Dr Paul Horne and Angelica Cameron from IPM Technologies to help improve Cummaudo Farms’ pest management – particularly reducing damage by potato tuber moth. As part of its transition to integrated pest management (IPM), Cummaudo Farms moved to an approach focusing on biological controls (such as natural predators and parasites of pests) and cultural controls (such as changed management practices), with insecticides applied as required.

Cummaudo Farms now successfully uses IPM in all of its potato crops, as well as its onion production. Since the move to IPM, Cummaudo Farms has reduced its insecticide inputs, helping to boost the profitability and sustainability of its growing operations, and has had no product rejections due to insect pest damage.

For a full profile of Cummaudo Farms’ experience with IPM, including details on its new practices and assistance from IPM Technologies, see the August/September 2017 edition of Potatoes Australia magazine. This edition and all previous editions of Potatoes Australia are available through the AUSVEG website.

To subscribe to receiving hard copies of Potatoes Australia, please contact AUSVEG at communications@ausveg.com.au.

MT16009 An IPM Extension Program for the Potato and Onion Industries is funded by Hort Innovation using the onion, fresh and processing potato research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Webinar: Pesticides and insect pest control in vegetables

Chemicals have different modes of action that can affect both insect pest and beneficial species differently. It’s important to understand the risk profile of these modes of action, and how this influences resistance management as well as informing the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

Join the ICP project team and guest presenter Dr Paul Umina from cesar for this interactive session.

Date: Wednesday 18 October 2017
Time: 12:30–1:30pm (AEDT)

Click here to register for the webinar, which is delivered as part of a strategic levy investment through the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund.

To find out more about the Soil Wealth and ICP projects visit the website, or join the Community of Practice online. You can also follow the projects on Twitter @SoilWealth and @ProtectingCrops.

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Information session: Horticulture Code of Conduct (Devonport East, TAS)

VegNET Tasmania is hosting an information session for vegetable growers about the new Horticulture Code of Conduct, including how it applies to growing operations, how to make sure businesses are compliant, and growers’ obligations under the Code.

Time/date: 8:00am–10:00am, Tuesday 10 October
Location: Edgewater Hotel, 4 Thomas Street, Devonport East TAS

This information session is free, being delivered through the strategic levy investment project VegNET as part of the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund. The session will be presented by Jill Briggs and Jacqueline Sutherland from Horticulture Code Consultants.

For more information, or to register for the event, please click here. Interested growers can also contact VegNET Industry Development Officer Emma Egan on 0448 214 745 or at emmae@rmcg.com.au.

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Workshops: Agrichemical pest management needs and priorities (VIC)

AUSVEG Agrichemical Pest Management Needs and Priorities Project Coordinator Patrick Arratia is working with growers and stakeholders in the Australian vegetable industry to establish a prioritisation process for agrichemical access, as part of a strategic levy investment project funded through the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund.

The event flyer is now available for the upcoming agrichemical pest management needs and priorities workshop in Werribee South, the first in a series of workshops to be held by Patrick to aid the prioritisation process.

Time/date: 2:00pm, Wednesday 20 September 2017
Location: Wyndham Cache, 243 K Road, Werribee South VIC

If you would like to attend to this workshop, or if you have pest and disease issues you would like to report, please contact Patrick on 03 9882 0277 or at patrick.arratia@ausveg.com.au.

Patrick will also be holding a second workshop for leek and celery growers from the Frankston, Clyde, Cranbourne and Mornington Peninsula regions, as well as the surrounding areas. This workshop will take place Thursday 28 September. Keep an eye open for more details, which will be released soon!

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Workshop recap: Farm biosecurity planning

As part of the VegNET program being delivered in the northern, western and south-eastern regions of Victoria, RMCG hosted a workshop on Farm Biosecurity Planning – The what, the why and the how on Thursday 7 September.

AUSVEG National Manager – Science and Extension Dr Jessica Lye discussed how to develop an on-farm biosecurity management plan and shared lessons learnt from her recent plant biosecurity study tour to the United States, including American growers’ approach to biosecurity and how it differs from the Australian approach.

AUSVEG Biosecurity Coordinator Callum Fletcher discussed the national plant pest surveillance scheme, and Dr Brendan Rodoni from Agriculture Victoria spoke about loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) testing, which is an in-field option for pathogen testing.

For photos from the day, please see the AUSVEG Facebook page.

For more information on Dr Lye’s study tour, please see her updates sent through AUSVEG’s biosecurity bulletin The Front Line:

  1. First update: Investigation of America’s brown marmorated stink bug management program.
  2. Second update: Details on the US ‘Master Gardener’ program, first-hand encounters with Japanese beetle and squash bug, and highlights from the Penn State Weed Garden.
  3. Third update: Insect trapping in West Virginia, first-hand encounters with Colorado potato beetle and the harlequin cabbage bug, and a details on a pest management decision aid system for potato growers.

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Event recaps: 2017 Fresh Produce Safety Centre Conference and 2017 Freshcare Forum presentations now online

A collection of presentations from the 2017 Fresh Produce Safety Centre Conference is now available online. These presentations, including a discussion of moving beyond compliance culture by keynote speaker Dr Lone Jespersen, is available on the Fresh Produce Safety Centre website.

In addition, an event wrap-up of the 2017 Freshcare Forum is now available on the Freshcare website. This wrap-up provides a summary of some of the highlights from the event, such as the open forum discussing the compliance burden on growers and the price consumers are willing to pay to support certification. To read the wrap-up, please click here.

Freshcare has also made speaker presentations from the Forum available online. To download these presentations, including discussion of Growcom’s Fair Farms Initiative and perspectives from the supply chain, please see the event website. A video of some of the speakers can also be found on the Good Fruit & Vegetables Facebook page.

Resource: VegNET Gippsland e-newsletter

AUSVEG encourages vegetable growers in the East Gippsland region to read the latest edition of the VegNET Gippsland monthly e-newsletter. This resource is made available through Gippsland’s vegetable capacity building project, which is a strategic levy investment as part of the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund.

To sign up to future newsletters, please email Shayne Hyman at shayne.hyman@eastgippslandfoodcluster.com.au.

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Grant opportunity: Growing Queensland’s Food Exports

The Growing Queensland’s Food Exports pilot program (GQFE) encourages sustainable economic development in regional communities by supporting food producers to build their export capability. With Queensland being Australia’s largest producer of vegetables and the second largest producer of fruit and nuts, this pilot program is focused primarily on horticulture.

Grants of up to $100,000 in matched funding are available through the GQFE program for businesses in the food supply chain who are export ready or can demonstrate export success. The first round of grant applications opened on 7 September 2017, and will close on 5 October 2017. For more information on this opportunity, please see the GQFE website.

Job opportunity: Sales & Business Development Manager, Boomaroo

Boomaroo Nurseries is a vegetable seedling producer supplying growers across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. Boomaroo is currently taking applications for a role as Sales & Business Development Manager, based out of Toowoomba.

This role will focus on the development of Boomaroo’s business through identifying opportunities through the entirety of the vegetable supply chain (paddock to plate). It will require the ability to identify opportunities and to strategise, plan and follow them through to rollout in the horticultural market, as well as a sound understanding of current agricultural production techniques and products.

For more information, please see the full position advertisement.

Webinar: Nematodes in vegetable soils

Join nematode specialist Dr Sarah Collins from the Western Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development for an engaging webinar on Nematodes in vegetable soils – managing the bad and good ones.

This webinar will initially focus on the pest nematode, outlining the life cycles of the root-knot and root-lesion nematodes and how this can be used to target control measures.

The webinar will also touch on the beneficial free-living nematodes, discussing how these can be managed and used as soil health indicators.

Date: Tuesday 19 September 2017
Time: 12:30pm–1:30pm (AEST)

Click here to register for the webinar, which is delivered by project VG15010 A multi-faceted approach to soil borne disease management, part of the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund.

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Event: Science Protecting Plant Health 2017 (Brisbane, QLD)

Science Protecting Plant Health, a joint conference being held by the Australasian Plant Pathology Society and the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, is being held at the Brisbane Convention Centre from 26–28 September 2017.

The conference will focus on the latest science, research and practice, with presenters from Australian and international experts in all the disciplines of plant biosecurity, plant pathology and entomology. There will also be field days and a series of workshops held as part of the conference.

For more information, please see the event website.

Event: National Agriculture Day – 21 November 2017

National Farmers’ Federation President Fiona Simson and CEO Tony Mahar, along with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce, have launched the National Agriculture and Related Industries Day (AgDay).

To be held on 21 November 2017, AgDay will encourage all Australians to celebrate the nation’s farm sector and the work of our growers. For more information on National Agriculture Day, and to learn how to get involved, please see its website.

Award nominations: 2018 Australian Biosecurity Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2018 Australian Biosecurity Awards, recognising individuals and businesses who have made outstanding contributions to the protection of Australia’s agricultural industries and the health of its animals, plants and people.

This year, an additional awards category has been included, inviting Australian primary producers to be recognised for their on-farm biosecurity practices. The awards also continue to recognise the contributions to Australia’s biosecurity made by individuals, teams and/or organisations in government and industry.

For more information on the awards, and to nominate someone for an award, please see the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources website.

Resource: Tax deduction information from ATO

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has released new information on eligible claims for work-related expenses to help taxpayers avoid making incorrect claims for tax deductions. It has also produced a quiz to let you test your own knowledge about eligible deductions.

To read the ATO’s media release on eligible tax deductions, including a list of the most common work-related expenses that are incorrectly claimed as deductions, please click here. For detailed information on tax deductions, please see the ATO website.

Minor use permits

Permit ID Description Dates in operation Permit holder States
PER85103 Active: Imidacloprid
Crop: Green beans
Pest: Silverleaf whitefly		 12-Sep-2017
to
30-Sep-2019		 Hort Innovation QLD only

All efforts have been made to provide the most current, complete and accurate information on permits. However, AUSVEG recommends that you confirm the details of any permits at the APVMA website.

Users are advised that while the pesticide can be applied legally under the APVMA minor use permit, there can be a significant delay until the maximum residue limit (MRL) gazetted by the APVMA is adopted in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Until this occurs the MRL may not be recognised and a zero tolerance may be imposed for residues of the pesticide resulting from its use according to the APVMA permit.

Please be aware that in the absence of a MRL in the Food Standards Code, the use of the pesticide according to the permit may result in the suspension of the produce in the marketplace. Please check the FSANZ website or the Australian Government ComLaw website to confirm if there are MRLs established by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

If an adverse experience occurs as a result of using the permit, please fill out a Non-Performance Reporting Form for Horticultural Pesticides and return to jodie.pedrana@horticulture.com.au. To download a Non-Performance Reporting Form for Horticultural Pesticides, please click here.

Hort Innovation project opportunities

Project code Project title Closing date
HN17001 Investigating the use of antimicrobial coatings in fresh produce quality and food safety chain 12am (Sydney time)
Monday 30 October 2017
HN17000 Development of new nutrient-dense, value-added fruit and vegetable products 5pm (Sydney time)
Monday 13 November 2017

Hort Innovation advertises opportunities to become a delivery partner on research, development and marketing projects for Australian horticulture on its website and on tenders.net.

Join Hort Innovation’s delivery partner mailing list to receive email notifications of new opportunities by registering through its delivery partner registration form.

The relevant documentation for each opportunity is available on tenders.net. To access this information, you will need to become a member by registering on the tenders.net registration page.

The week’s top stories