Multigroup Logistics comes on board to support Australian growers

 
AUSVEG is proud to announce that Australian logistics leaders Multigroup Logistics have signed up to support Australian vegetable and potato growers through a Strategic Partnership with AUSVEG.
Multigroup Logistics help companies reduce and control their distribution costs while improving or maintaining their service levels. They manage in excess of $100 million of transport expenditure every year, building strong, ongoing relationships with carriers which continue to help them improve transport costs for their clients.
To find out more, click here to visit Multigroup Logistics’ website.

 

Final week for National Horticulture Convention early bird rates!

Industry members who have not yet registered for the 2016 National Horticulture Convention are encouraged to do so quickly to ensure they secure the early bird rate before it closes on Monday 25 April.
As well as catering for vegetable, potato, apple and pear growers, this year’s event has expanded to include persimmon growers, Queensland’s horticulture industry and a range of market and supply chain members, paving the way for the 2016 National Horticulture Convention to be the biggest horticulture event in the Southern Hemisphere.
To find out more, view the delegate registration brochure or sign up online at registration.hortconv.com.au.

 

Global Innovations in Horticulture seminar – speaker list now available!

 
Following on from the successful 2015 Seminar, Australian levy-paying vegetable growers will have the chance to listen to presentations from the world’s leading innovation experts at the 2016 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar on Thursday 23 June at RACV Royal Pines on the Gold Coast.
The Seminar will take place prior to the 2016 National Horticulture Convention at RACV Royal Pines from 23-25 June.
The Seminar will feature nine expert speakers from around the world on topics including precision agriculture, processing machinery, robotic technology, genetic modification, agriculture innovation research and plant breeding. The speaker list for this event is now available – please click here to download the speaker list.
Funded positions are available for attendance at this Seminar for levy-paying growers. Interested parties can contact AUSVEG Global Innovations Coordinator Dylan Komishon on (03) 9882 0277, fax on (03) 9882 6722 or by email at info@ausveg.com.au.

The Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

 

Calling all young growers to the NextGen Free Fall event

This year’s NextGen Free Fall indoor skydiving event is sure to make you pay attention to your next airline safety briefing.
Dow AgroSciences is proud to sponsor this year’s event, which is free for growers aged 35 years or younger who have registered as a full delegate for the 2016 National Horticulture Convention. Spaces are strictly limited and only growers who are registered directly with AUSVEG may attend.

When: Saturday 25 June from 2pm to 5pm
Where: iFLY Gold Coast

Transport will be provided to and from RACV Royal Pines and drinks will also be provided at the nearest pub to reclaim your wits after the event.
For more information or to register, please contact Mr Nicholas Schmidt at (03) 9882 0277 or info@ausveg.com.au.

If you have not yet registered to attend the 2016 National Horticulture Convention, AUSVEG encourages you to get in before the early bird rate closes on 25 April. To find out more, view the delegate registration brochure or sign up online at registration.hortconv.com.au.

 

 

AUSVEG attends FHA Singapore

AUSVEG has led a group of growers to Food&HotelAsia 2016 (FHA2016), held at Singapore Expo from 12-15 April 2016. FHA2016 is the premier trade show for the food and hospitality industry in Asia and beyond, with more than 72,000 attendees and more than 3,100 exhibitors coming together for this year’s event.
Trade show attendees and AUSVEG staff at the Australian vegetable
stand at FHA2016.
Trade show attendees showed a keen interest in the produce exhibited by vegetable growers at the Australian vegetables booth, with many delegates particularly impressed by the high-quality cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and celery produced by the Australian vegetable industry. All produce displayed at the trade show was donated to Food Bank Singapore following the event to help the organisation’s food relief work.

While in Singapore, the group also visited Singapore’s only wholesale market, Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. They also toured several major retailers and attended a briefing from Austrade, receiving valuable insights into the region’s retail market.

Participation on this mission was funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Potatoes more environmentally sustainable than pasta, rice

International researchers have shown that potatoes are good for the environment, with a recently published paper indicating that potato production is more environmentally sustainable than pasta and rice.
The study, conducted by researchers from Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, England and published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, considered both greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption when growing the three food types, with potatoes proving to have the least negative impact on the environment.
Potatoes were shown to have the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to both pasta and rice. Potatoes were also shown to have significantly lower levels of overall water usage than rice.
Although overall water consumption between potatoes and pasta was similar, the blue water scarcity footprint, which measures the relative environmental impact of water usage, was better for potatoes in terms of water use sustainability compared to pasta by a factor of three.

For more information on this story, interested parties can click here to read the latest edition of Potatoes Australia.

This communication was funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

 

New ICP fact sheets: Babyleaf spinach and lettuce

Delivering product to consumers in good condition starts with producing high quality vegetables on-farm and maintaining this throughout the supply chain.
The Integrated Crop Protection team has developed a series of fact sheets on managing pre-harvest effects in two key vegetable crops. These include:

  • Babyleaf spinach: this fact sheet explores the three most significant pre-harvest factors that affect spinach post-harvest quality and shelf-life: growth rate of crop, variety, and minimum night temperature during the growing period. Click here to view the fact sheet.
  • Lettuce: this fact sheet will assist you to address the key quality attributes for whole and fresh-cut lettuce through important pre-harvest crop management, such as developing a crop planting schedule, mineral nutrition, tip burn management, deficit irrigation, floating row covers and light. The fact sheet can be accessed here.

To find out more about the ICP project or protecting crops visit the website, or join the Community of Practice online at ICP’s Facebook page. You can also follow the project on Twitter @ProtectingCrops.

The ICP project is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Practicalities for Exporting Vegetables Symposium

On Sunday 26 June 2016, AUSVEG will host a symposium to discuss the practicalities for exporting fresh vegetables for Australian vegetable growers. This event will run immediately after the 2016 National Horticulture Convention.

 
The purpose of this event is to provide a practical overview of the export process, while also providing insights into the demand for Australian vegetables in export markets. This practical forum will follow on from two successful forums in 2015: the Malaysia and United Arab Emirates Symposium and the South East Asia Symposium.

The speaker program will include presentations from across the export supply chain, representatives from Austrade and the Australian Government, as well as vegetable growers sharing their experiences of the export process. This Symposium will enable growers to develop practical skills to assist with exporting fresh produce.

Vegetable levy-paying growers can apply to have associated travel and accommodation costs covered. Expressions of interest are now open.

Please click here to download the flyer. To express your interest, contact AUSVEG on (03) 9882 0277 or email info@ausveg.com.au.

 

The Practicalities for Exporting Vegetables Symposium is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

 

Register now for the 2016 AUSVEG SA and William Buck Vegetable Industry Dinner and Awards for Excellence

AUSVEG SA will host the 2016 AUSVEG SA and William Buck Vegetable Industry Dinner and Awards for Excellence on Thursday 28 April from 6pm at the Arkaba Hotel, Adelaide, South Australia.
Leading supply chain and grower participants from throughout the state will come together to celebrate the South Australian industry and recognise leading growers for their contributions.
RSVPs can be sent to AUSVEG SA State Manager Jordan Brooke-Barnett at ausvegsa@ausveg.com.au or 0404 772 308.

To view the flyer for the event, please click here.

 

 

Week of Tastes 2016 looking to work with regional growers

 
The Week of Tastes program, a food education program delivered to grade 3-4 students, aims to give children practical help on how to recognise and appreciate the tastes and textures of their food.
Through an interactive and multi-faceted program, Week of Tastes aims to help students understand how they use their five senses, improve their food literacy, learn about food cultures and food careers, and learn about the food producers in their local community.
This year, the Week of Tastes program is looking to collaborate with growers in rural areas who are able to work with participating regional schools. Please click here for more information on the program, or click here to visit the Week of Tastes website. Interested parties can contact Helen Campbell, Program Director, at hcampbel@ihug.com.au.

 

2016 Northern Australia Food Futures Conference repeats success of inaugural event

The 2016 Northern Australia Food Futures Conference, held from 11-13 April, has repeated the success of the inaugural Conference held in 2014.
With a range of expert speakers, including Minister for Northern Australia Senator the Hon Matt Canavan and Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Senator the Hon Anne Ruston, the Conference attracted over 300 delegates to the Darwin Convention Centre to discuss the future of food production in Northern Australia.
Discussions throughout the Conference focussed on topics and ideas around identifying opportunities for investment in agri-business, including how to develop pathways of investment, existing challenges to investment and how to overcome them, and understanding the perspective and role of the Australian Government in agri-business investment.
AUSVEG congratulates the NT Farmers Association on the incredible success of the Conference and looks forward to the future of the event.

 

Registrations now open for national climate change forum

The nation’s premier primary industries climate change conference is fast approaching, with tickets on sale now.
To held in Sydney on Wednesday 27 April and Thursday 28 April, the event features a strong line-up of guest speakers who will explore topics such as climate resilience, technology and innovation and market access and climate.
With climate change becoming an increasing issue for the primary industries, an event such as this has never been more valuable.
For more information on the 2016 Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries conference, please click here to read the flyer or click here to visit the event website.
 

Seed potato certification projects

A previous levy-funded project (PT13010), and a subsequent meeting of seed potato industry stakeholders in Melbourne in September 2015, highlighted that a more independent system of governance is required for regulators to have confidence in Australia’s seed potato certification system. Independent governance is also important for both producers and customers to have confidence that the system is robust and has an independent means of ensuring participants are compliant with the system.
For more information on PT13010 and its outcomes, please click here to read a report on the project published in the December/January 2016 edition of Potatoes Australia (page 16).
Hort Innovation has subsequently commissioned two complementary projects on seed certification designed to strengthen Australia’s seed certification system to benefit all participants.
Project PT15004 is looking at the technical criteria of the current standard. As part of this project, a website has been developed to receive submissions from stakeholders. To access this website, please click here.
Project PT15005, operating in parallel with PT15004, is looking at governance arrangements across the existing certification systems to ensure they meet the standard of independence and audit required by regulatory authorities and participants. This project, led by RMCG, welcomes input from interested stakeholders.
Interested parties can contact Donna Lucas of RMCG at donnal@rmcg.com.au, or Anthony Kachenko of Hort Innovation at anthony.kachenko@horticulture.com.au.

This communication was funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

 

Emergency Minor Use permit

 

Permit ID Description Date Issued Expiry Date Permit Holder States
PER82572 Active: Fluensulfone
Crop: Sweet potato
Pest: Root knot nematode		 15-Feb-2016 31-Jan-2020 Growcom NSW, QLD, WA and NT

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.

Please consult APVMA documentation before applying any product to your crop. For more information contact the APVMA on (02) 6210 4701 or Growcom on (07) 3620 3880.

This communication has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

New Minor Use permit

 

Permit ID Description Date Issued Expiry Date Permit Holder States
PER14765 (V2) Active: Hexythiazox
Crop: Cucurbits, fruiting vegetables other than curcurbits (field and protected), snow peas and sugar snap peas (field and protected), and potatoes.
Pest: Tomato russet mite, broad mite, two spotted mite and tomato red mite.		 21-Feb-2015 31-Mar-2018 Growcom All states

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.

Please consult APVMA documentation before applying any product to your crop. For more information contact the APVMA on (02) 6210 4701 or Growcom on (07) 3620 3880.

Minor use plays an integral role in the Australian vegetable industry. Please register your details on the Minor Use Database. For more information, please contact the AUSVEG Minor Use and Agronomy Coordinator Scott Kwasny on (03) 9882 0277 or email minoruse@ausveg.com.au.

 

This communication has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

AUSVEG in the media

The environmental friendliness of potatoes made headlines this week, with AUSVEG Manager – Communications Shaun Lindhe featuring in print media discussing the results of recent research which found that production of the humble spud is more sustainable than the production of both pasta and rice. Mr Lindhe noted that the greenhouse gases and water consumption involved in the production of potatoes have the least negative impact on the environment of the crops considered.
The recently announced speaker line-up for the Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar, including headline speaker Mr Jon Entine, also attracted attention in print media this week, with reports promoting the range of experts who will be speaking at the event.

Communication of levy funded R&D activities is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy, National Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.