Crisis management in the vegetable industry

Using vegetable levy funding, AUSVEG has established a highly trained crisis management team to implement the vegetable industry crisis management plan, minimise harm to industry and ensure that, in the event of a crisis, the industry and its growers recover as quickly as possible.

Developed in 2013 by Control Risks, a global risk and strategic consulting firm, the crisis management plan enhances the industry’s ability to effectively respond to any situation which could cause harm to growing operations, people, consumers, or the industry’s reputation.

In the event of a crisis, or potential crisis, the AUSVEG crisis management team is most effective when it has the ability to be prepared.

If you become aware of any situation that has the potential to become a crisis as defined above, please call the vegetable industry’s Crisis Hotline on 1300 855 170, or the AUSVEG offices on 03 9882 0277.

The crisis management plan is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Early bird registration now open for Hort Connections 2017!

Registration is now open for Hort Connections 2017, the premier event bringing together the entire horticulture supply chain co-hosted by AUSVEG, PMA Australia-New Zealand, Australian Organic, Onions Australia and Irrigation Australia!

Hort Connections 2017 will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 15-17 May 2017, and Early Bird rates are available for any industry member who registers before midnight on 28 February 2017, with further discounts available to members of any of the host organisations.

Hort Connections combines the National Horticulture Convention and PMA Fresh Connections, and this event offers a not-to-be-missed opportunity for delegates to network with their peers from across horticulture, benefit from expert speaker sessions, and visit over 250 exhibitors at the extensive Trade Show.

To find out more and register for Hort Connections, view the delegate registration brochure or visit the Hort Connections website.

 

Expressions of interest now open for 2017 USA Industry Leadership and Development Mission

Expressions of interest are now open for the USA Industry Leadership and Development Mission, to be held from 2-14 February 2017.

The Mission will take a group of growers to attend the WorldAg Expo in California, the largest annual agriculture exhibition in the world. Growers will also get the opportunity to visit some of the best farms and produce markets in the country, and meet top producers from the industry. For more information on the Mission, click here to view the flyer.

To express your interest in this wonderful opportunity, please e-mail info@ausveg.com.au.

Participation in the 2017 Industry Leadership and Development Mission to the United States of America will be funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy, voluntary contributions from Australian vegetable growing businesses and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Workshop: From Precision Agriculture to Decision Agriculture

Are you interested in “Big Data” and how this will impact the vegetable industry? Do you have an interest in precision agriculture? If so, you are invited to attend a Precision to Decision producer workshop in Gatton, Queensland. There is no cost to attend the workshop.

This workshop aims to understand how data, including data analytics and various data systems, is currently used and its potential to be used in future business decisions impacting on agricultural productivity and profitability. The workshop also aims to identify future needs and opportunities for industry, including any opportunity for cross-industry collaboration in supporting big data systems for Australian agriculture. The workshop will provide strategic direction for investment in big data systems and analytics.

Date/time: 9:00am – 2:00pm, Monday 5 December 2016
Location: Lockyer Valley Cultural Centre, 4 Lake Apex Drive, Gatton QLD

For more information, including details on the workshop’s agenda and objectives, please click here. The organisers welcome vegetable industry members to attend this workshop.

The workshop organisers request that participants register interest in attending by 28 November 2016. To register, please click here. Completed registration forms can be returned to admin@cropprotectionaustralia.com or faxed to 02 6282 1219.

For further information, please contact Dr Anthony Kachenko at Hort Innovation on 0429 221 443 or at anthony.kachenko@horticulture.com.au.

This workshop is funded under the project Accelerating Precision Agriculture to Decision Agriculture through the Rural R&D for Profit program, the National Vegetable Levy and matched funding from the Federal Government.

 

2017 European Industry Leadership and Development Mission now open for expressions of interest!
Expressions of interest for the 2017 European Industry Leadership and Development Mission, to be held from 4-11 February 2017, are now open!

The Mission will take a delegation of growers to the 2017 Berlin Fruit Logistica Trade Fair, which hosts over 2,000 exhibitors and is the leading international meeting place for the fresh produce industry. Growers will also have the chance to visit the global headquarters of a world-leading agribusiness. For more information on the Mission, click here to view the flyer.

To express your interest in taking part in this great opportunity, please e-mail info@ausveg.com.au.

Participation on the 2017 European Industry Leadership and Development Mission will be funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the National Vegetable Levy, voluntary contributions from Australian vegetable growing operations and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Webinar: Biofumigation cover crops in vegetable production

Cover crops are being rediscovered by vegetable growers as practical ways of improving soil productivity and health. While cover cropping is a simple concept, it can be complex to implement in todays intensive production systems.

Join Julie Finnigan, Technical Agronomist with Serve-Ag in Tasmania, for an update on using biofumigant cover crops in vegetable production. This follows an earlier webinar that outlined ways to identify a clear objective for cover crops, what cover crop to use, and how to integrate cover crops into vegetable production.

Date: Thursday 1 December 2016
Time: 12:30 – 1:30pm AEDT

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

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.

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

 

Hort Connections 2017 Trade Show now open for business!

Businesses looking to be a part of Hort Connections 2017, the premier event covering the entire Australian horticulture supply chain co-hosted by AUSVEG, PMA Australia-New Zealand, Australian Organic, Onions Australia and Irrigation Australia, should act quickly to lock in a booth at the Hort Connections Trade Show.

The Trade Show, which will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 15-17 May 2017, will offer businesses the opportunity to display their products and services to more than 2,000 delegates across three days. Over 50 per cent of booths at the trade show have already been secured, so act now!

To ensure your business is visible at this huge event, download the Exhibitor Registration Brochure and submit your form to AUSVEG via convention@ausveg.com.au or via fax to (03) 9882 6722.

All industry members are also invited to visit the official website for the Hort Connections 2017 event. Updates will be made to the website as the event takes shape, so be sure to check in regularly to keep up-to-date with the latest developments.

 

Middle East importers get a taste of Australia Fresh

Producers from key growing regions across Australia have attended Dubai World of Perishables under the ‘Australia Fresh’ banner, with the Australian vegetable, apple and pear industries joining forces to represent the best of Australian horticulture at the event, held from 13-15 November 2016.
Vegetable industry representatives speak with a buyer while a chef demonstrates cooking with Australian vegetables.
The ‘Australia Fresh’ exhibition at the expo drew a wide range of international industry members and buyers interested in purchasing premium Australian produce, including Australian vegetables.

Demand for Australian vegetables in the Middle East continues to increase, driven by a rapid rise in the number of middle- and high-income households in the region in recent years. The World of Perishables is the premium annual fresh produce trade event in the Middle East, and is attended by more than 7,000 people.

Previous vegetable industry visits to the expo have delivered dividends for Australian growers.

Export and market development activities for the vegetable industry are funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

2017 Growing Leaders applications now open!

Applications are now open for the 2017 Growing Leaders program. Funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia, Growing Leaders is the only national leadership and development program tailored for the vegetable industry. The program aims to develop skills that can be applied at three main levels: personal, business and national industry.

As part of the 2016 Growing Leaders program, participants developed a collection of initiatives focused on the future sustainability of the Australian vegetable industry, including community engagement and minimising food wastage, to help the industry continue to grow into the future. Participants also took part in three residentials: visiting Melbourne, attending the 2016 National Horticulture Convention the Gold Coast, and completing a series of leadership activities in Canberra.

For more information, or to apply for the 2017 Growing Leaders program, please visit the Rural Training Initiatives website.

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

Supporting Tasmania’s potato industry
The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) has various avenues to allow it to support Tasmania’s potato growers as effectively as possible, working closely with growers, organisations and potato processing companies.

An article in the latest edition of Potatoes Australia featured TIA’s Seed Certification Officer Leonie White discussing the Tasmanian potato seed certification scheme. This scheme allows for the protection of Tasmania’s quality potato seed production, as well as ensuring growers’ reputation for producing these high-quality seeds is upheld. Highly trained officers work with growers to ensure the reduction and/or elimination of disease or viruses within crops, through TIA’s virus testing program.

Working closely with potato processing companies, such as Simplot and McCain Foods, allows TIA to further develop this scheme. These companies contribute to innovation in the area, and their system, which uses nursery growers to grow early generation seed, has led to a significant reduction in virus spread.

To read this edition, please click here. To read all editions of Potatoes Australia, please click here.

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

 

VegPRO wants to hear from you!

Are you in the vegetable industry and can’t get the training you need, or can’t find the right training for your staff? As part of VegPRO, the vegetable industry’s own training initiative, RM Consulting Group (RMCG) has prepared a short survey for industry members to fill in and let RMCG know their training requirements. To take this survey, please click here.

RMCG is also looking for training providers as part of the VegPRO project. If you can design and deliver training, are familiar with adult learning techniques, and want to be added to RMCG’s training providers list, then please click here to fill out a form to be contacted by RMCG.

VG15028 Vegetable Industry Education and Training Initiative is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Putting vegetable weeds on notice

Horticulture Innovation Australia and the University of New England (UNE) have announced a $1 million investment program to fight vegetable crop-impacting weeds. The four-year project intends to safeguard the vegetable industry by reducing the need for herbicides and tillage, methods which become ineffective with repeated use.

Herbicide-resistant weeds are becoming increasingly common, with damage to soil health increasingly linked with to excessive tillage in an attempt to combat them. The project aims to deliver tools and techniques to farmers to reduce the susceptibility of weeds within their vegetable fields, minimising the increased need for weed intervention.

Research will be conducted across multiple states, consulting with growers across the nation (including those using organic production methods). The findings of this project will develop the comprehensive Vegetable Industry Weed Manual, which will be available in multiple languages.

For more information, please refer to the media release produced by Horticulture Innovation Australia and the University of New England.

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

 

2017 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar Prospective Topic Survey!

AUSVEG is now working on a prospective list of topics and speakers for the 2017 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar (GIHS), which will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Tuesday 16 May, running in conjunction with Hort Connections 2017, running from 15-17 May. Industry members can now have their say say on who should speak at the 2017 GIHS by taking part in a brief survey. To view the survey, please click here.

The 2017 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

New Nielsen consumer research and presentation dates

New reports from Nielsen consumer research into the fresh vegetable market are now available on InfoVeg as part of Hort Innovation’s research project VG15019 Baseline Demographic Research for the Vegetable Industry.

Nielsen’s Homescan service records the vegetable purchases of 10,000 Australian households, with the data on these purchases then collated into reports on the sales performance of these commodities. The latest ad hoc reports from Nielsen are now available on the AUSVEG website, as well as reports analysing data from the year ending October 2016. Access to these reports is restricted to vegetable industry members who have registered to use the InfoVeg database. To access these reports, please click here.

As part of this project, a series of presentations has been organised with the assistance of the National Vegetable Extension Network. These presentations will briefly explain the project, its data and the resulting analysis to those unfamiliar with the data, with case studies of how the analysis could be applied to a growing operation, focusing on the commodities grown in the regions in which the presentations are being held. There will also be a brief opportunity for any interested growers to speak with the Nielsen data team one-on-one.

Location Time/date RSVPs
Molongle Creek Caravan Park
573 Molongle Beach Road, Gumlu QLD 4805		 12:30pm
Wednesday 23 November		 idm@bowengumlugrowers.com.au
Grower Development Program Leadership Summit
Botanical Room 1 & 2, Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100		 3:00pm
Friday 25 November		 finance@vegetableswa.com.au
Vanderfield Workshed
23 Enterprise Street, Bundaberg QLD 4670		 3:00pm
Tuesday 29 November		 kylie.jackson@bfvg.com.au
Sweetpotato Growers’ Association AGM
Burnett Riverside Motel, 7 Quay St, Bundaberg QLD 4670		 3:00pm
Wednesday 30 November		 aspg.sec@gmail.com

 

Nielsen Homescan data for the vegetable industry is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Masterclass to give insights into value-adding for fresh produce and food safety

A masterclass will be hosted in Hobart on Wednesday 30 November 2016 by two food safety research centres – the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Food Safety Centre, and the Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand.

This masterclass will give food safety professionals, product technologists and food product entrepreneurs insights into tools which can be used to add value to fresh products and take their products into new categories.

Date/time: 9:00am – 1:00pm, Wednesday 30 November 2016
Location: Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture – Hobart campus

For more information on the event, please click here.

 

2017 Nuffield Scholarship awarded

The 2017 Nuffield Scholarship supported by Horticulture Innovation Australia has been awarded to Bao Duy Nguyen, of Walkaway, Western Australia. The scholarship will support Bao in his investigation in the field of protective cropping in horticulture in low tech greenhouses, with an emphasis on the monitoring of technology and water sustainability practices.

Bao will investigate whether older, low-tech greenhouses can be transitioned to allow for hydroponic growing, or if it is better to invest in high-tech greenhouses. Bao also hopes to find instruments to allow growers to produce further crops in these low-tech greenhouses. He believes that this scholarship will help assist in practices resulting in crop diversification, implementing data logging techniques, and using greenhouse data to create better irrigation programmes. More information on Bao can be found here.

Nathan Free, of Lake Boga, Victoria, received the Nuffield Scholarship supported by Horticulture Innovation Australia for 2015. Nathan studied selection and soil amendments in both conventional and organic farming practices. His presentation on his findings can be found here.

The Nuffield Scholarship for vegetable industry members is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

AUSVEG in the media

AUSVEG National Manager – Public Affairs Jordan Brooke-Barnett appeared on radio this week discussing the consequences which delaying the tax status of backpackers is having for Australian vegetable growers. Mr Brooke-Barnett noted that the ungoing uncertainty is damaging growers, with many already reporting a decrease in the amount of backpackers coming to work in their communities.

Mr Brooke-Barnett also appeared on South Australian radio commenting on the need for further irrigation to allow farmers to expand their business in the Virginia region.

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.