AUSVEG Weekly Update - 13 June 2017

Vegetable Feature Article

Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus workshop

VegNET will run a workshop in Virginia, South Australia on cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) and how it can affect growers.

The workshop will look at a range of topics including the biology and impacts of CGMMV, a management plan and farm biosecurity risk management, with presentations from PIRSA’s Christina Cook and AUSVEG’s Dr Jessica Lye.

Date/time: Friday 23 June 2017, 3:00pm – 4:30pm
Location: Virginia Hort Centre, Old Port Wakefield Road, Virginia SA

For more information, please click here. RSVP to Hannah McArdle on 0408 475 995 or at hannah.mcardle@ausveg.com.au by Wednesday 21 June.

VegNET is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the vegetable research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government.

Potato Feature Article

Latest edition of Hortlink now available

The latest edition of Horticulture Innovation Australia’s quarterly publication Hortlink is now available online.

The publication contains an update on all levy-funded activity in the vegetable and potato industries, and includes easy-to-read project updates, results and resources you can use in your business, case studies from across horticulture, industry contacts and more.

Hortlink publications are available for the fresh potato and processing potato industries. Vegetable industry members can also access Hortlink here.

This communication has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the potato research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government.

Expressions of interest open for vegetable industry leadership and development missions

Two new Industry Leadership and Development Missions for the vegetable industry have been announced and are now open for expressions of interest!

2017 Women’s Industry Leadership and Development Mission
4 – 18 September 2017
Travelling to Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, visit some of the world’s most innovative vegetable growing regions in Asia, as well as Asia Fruit Logistica, the region’s leading trade show for the fresh produce industry!

Email: info@ausveg.com.au
Phone: 03 9882 0277
Only $2,500 for growers (incl GST). Cost includes air and land travel, single room accommodation and most meals.
Itinerary and dates subject to change. Participation on this mission is only open to vegetable levy-paying growers.

To view the flyer for this tour, please click here.

2017 Young Grower Industry Leadership and Development Mission
1 – 13 October 2017
Visit some of the leading vegetable growing operations and agribusinesses in Europe, including in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium!

To view the flyer for this tour, please click here.

The 2017 Young Grower and 2017 Women’s Industry Leadership and Development Missions are funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the vegetable research and development levy, voluntary contributions from Australian vegetable growing businesses and funds from the Australian Government.

New R&D report available on InfoVeg

InfoVeg is a comprehensive database that has been designed to bridge the gap between researchers and growers. It acts as a resource for growers to easily access technical information and research funded by the research and development national vegetable and potato levies.

The following report was published recently on the InfoVeg database:

VG15005 – Implementation Plan for Increasing Children’s Vegetable Intake

Please click here to access the InfoVeg database.

The InfoVeg database is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the vegetable and potato research and development levies and funds from the Australian Government.

Tomato-potato psyllid trapping guide

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Western Australia (DAFWA) has released a trapping guide to assist growers in trapping tomato-potato psyllid (TPP) on their properties.

The information sheet gives growers instruction on how to effectively trap TPP and how to return the traps to DAFWA for identification once they contain insects.

The guide can be downloaded here. For more information on TPP, please see the DAFWA website.

Soil borne disease events – NSW

VegNET will run two soil borne disease events in Bathurst and Richmond, New South Wales, focusing on management and control options and growing your business through VegNET.

Taking place on 22 and 23 June, the events will consist of a farm walk (Bathurst) and a workshop (Richmond).

Bathurst farm walk
Date/time: Thursday 22 June 2017, 1:30 – 3:30pm
Location: 182 White Rock Road, Kelso (via Bathurst), NSW

Richmond workshop
Date/time: Friday 23 June 2017, 12 – 3:30pm (lunch 12-12:30pm)
Location: Sydney Demonstration Farm, Gate 6 Southee Rd, Richmond, NSW

Speakers include Dr Len Tesoriero (NSW DPI) and Callum Fletcher (AUSVEG).

For more information on the Bathurst farm walk, please click here. For more information on the Richmond workshop, please click here.

VegNET is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the vegetable research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government.

Freshcare food safety & quality (FSQ4) training

Growcom will run Freshcare Food Safety (FSQ4) training sessions in Gatton and Mareeba during the month of June.

Edition four of Freshcare brings the code in line with the Global Food Safety Initiative, the certification which is required to supply directly to Costco and Aldi, and is seen as a likely requirement for the other major customer groups.

Gatton
Date/time: Wednesday 14 June, 10:30am – 2:30pm
Location: The Lockyer Valley Cultural Centre, Gatton, QLD

Mareeba
Date/time: Tuesday 20 June, 11:30am – 3:30pm
Location: 340 Byrnes Street, Mareeba, QLD

For more information or to register for the training, please click here.

2018 Nuffield Scholarships – Applications close Friday!

Applications for the 2018 Nuffield Scholarships for Australian Primary Producers will close this Friday 16 June.

A range of scholarships are available across multiple industries, including a vegetable grower scholarship supported by Horticulture Innovation Australia. The scholarship includes a $30,000 bursary for an Australian vegetable grower for 16 weeks of overseas travel.

For more information on these scholarships and information on how to apply, please click here.

The 2018 Nuffield Scholarship for the vegetable industry is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the vegetable research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government.

55th Australian Export Awards – Applications now open

Is it time your business is recognised for its export success?
The Australian Export Awards (AEA) is a national program that honours Australian businesses for their export achievements and contribution to Australia’s economic prosperity.

Enter for a chance to:

Boost your profile and reputation among local and international customers.
Distinguish yourself from your competitors as a state or national winner.
Improve staff morale with public recognition of their contributions to the business’s success.
Network with other exporters and learn from companies that are more advanced in their export journey.
Increase your profile with the Australian Government and the relevant state/territory government.
Attend a masterclass hosted by business experts and top exporters.
Critically review your business during the application process and uncover ways to improve export strategies and operations.
Gain media exposure for your achievements.

Co-presented by Austrade and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the AEA honours the hard work, commitment and innovation of Australian businesses that deliver world-class business capabilities, products and services.

Enter the AEA through your state or territory’s export awards program. Entry is free and the application process is straightforward.

You can apply in 12 national award categories. State and territory winners will automatically progress as national finalists in their category. The Australian Exporter of the Year will be selected from the national category winners.

Visit exportawards.gov.au for more information and to apply.

Organisational systems benchmarking tool

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has released an organisational systems benchmarking tool to allow employers to gauge the safety of their workplace.

The tool helps with assessing whether you have an effective, systematic approach to managing the areas of:

work health and safety;
worker health and wellbeing; and
workers’ compensation and return to work.

The tool also enables employers to compare their performance anonymously with other businesses and similar industry sectors, and provide guidance to help you improve management of health and safety within the workplace.

For more information on this tool, please click here.

Current project opportunities with Hort Innovation

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.

Please find below a table of current project opportunities directly relevant to the Australian vegetable and potato industries. For more details on any of the projects, or for information on other project opportunities across horticulture, please visit tenders.net.

Type	Title	Closing date
Request for proposal	Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection – Phase 2	4pm (Sydney time) Friday 16 June 2017
Request for proposal	Asian market intelligence & data insights	5pm (Sydney time) Tuesday 30 July 2019

Communication of levy-funded R&D is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the vegetable and potato research and development levies and funds from the Australian Government.

AUSVEG in the media

AUSVEG SA State Manager Jordan Brooke-Barnett appeared in print media this week discussing the proposed changes to the City of Playford’s rates for primary producers. Mr Brooke-Barnett noted that the proposed changes could have huge financial implications for investment and jobs in the horticulture industry.

AUSVEG Weekly Update – 13 June 2017