Steritech renews strategic partnership with AUSVEG

 
AUSVEG is proud to announce the continuation of its Strategic Partnership with Steritech, with this long-term partnership continuing to deliver valuable benefits for the Australian vegetable and potato industries.
Steritech is a leader in sterilisation and decontamination services. The Australian owned and operated company works to ensure produce meets biosecurity and phytosanitary requirements for domestic and export markets.
AUSVEG is very excited about collaborating with Steritech over the next year on a range of industry issues.
For more information on Steritech, please click here to visit their website.

 

AUSVEG VIC Awards for Excellence celebrate the Victorian vegetable and potato industries

Victoria’s leading vegetable and potato growers have been recognised at the inaugural AUSVEG VIC Awards for Excellence, with over 160 growers and industry members gathering to celebrate the significant contributions of members of the vegetable and potato industries.
The Awards for Excellence, which were held at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club on Friday 22 April, provided the opportunity to showcase the dedication to high quality produce, innovation and leadership within these vitally important industries in Victoria.
Winners of the 2016 AUSVEG VIC Awards for Excellence.
2016 AUSVEG VIC Awards for Excellence winners:

  • Andrew Bulmer – Grower of the Year (proudly sponsored by E.E. Muir and Sons)
  • Daniel Maher – Young Grower of the Year
  • Robert Lamattina – Rising Star of the Year
  • Jill Briggs – Industry Impact
  • Glenn Favero – Community Stewardship
  • Chris Millis – Environmental Award (proudly sponsored by Werribee South Farm Supplies)
  • E. E. Muir and Sons – Innovation Partner (proudly sponsored by Mode Logistics)
  • Schreurs and Sons – Innovative Marketing
  • Emma Germano – Women in Horticulture (proudly sponsored by Boomaroo)
  • Dolf de Boer – Researcher of the Year

All winners at the AUSVEG VIC Awards for Excellence are now in the running for the National Awards for Excellence, to be held during the 2016 National Horticulture Convention on the Gold Coast on 25 June. AUSVEG congratulates all award winners on their success and commends AUSVEG VIC on a hugely successful event.

 

Global Innovations in Horticulture seminar – speaker list now available!

 
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.

 

 

 

Put your feet up at the Women in Horticulture High Tea

 

AUSVEG is pleased to announce the 2016 Women in Horticulture High Tea, proudly sponsored by Steritech, to be held as part of the 2016 National Horticulture Convention. The High Tea will be held at the luxurious Palazzo Versace and will bring together women in horticulture to celebrate their invaluable contributions to our great industry.
To register for this event, please click here. For more information, please email info@ausveg.com.au or call AUSVEG on (03) 9882 0277.

 

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 and enable growers to develop practical skills to assist with exporting fresh produce.
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.

Vegetable levy-paying growers can apply to have associated travel and accommodation costs covered.

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.

 

 

2016 Reverse Trade Mission – Produce Display

All export ready vegetable growers are invited to register with the AUSVEG Export Development Team to display their produce to 40 international fresh produce buyers at the National Horticulture Convention on the Gold Coast from 23-25 June 2016.
AUSVEG will be bringing delegates from across Asia and the Middle East to Australia to participate in a range of farm visits to showcase the Australian vegetable industry and attend the National Horticulture Convention. A Produce Display event will be held on Friday 24 June from 10am to 1pm, giving growers from across the country the opportunity to display their produce to these leading buyers.
To download the registration form for this event, please click here (file will download in Word document format). Register to participate in this exciting event by returning the registration form to export@ausveg.com.au or call (03) 9882 0277 for further information.

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

Researchers identify issues with visual grading of seed potatoes

A team at the University of Tasmania, led by Dr Robert Tegg and Dr Calum Wilson, has conducted a study into the process of visually grading seed potato tubers to gauge its effectiveness at identifying diseased tubers.
The team sampled commercial potato tubers of the Innovator and Russet Burbank varieties which were visually graded and assessed for signs of Powdery scab. Before and after the visual grading process, tubers were also tested for the presence of DNA of the pathogen that causes Powdery scab, providing a benchmark to test the effectiveness of visual grading.
The study found that visual grading becomes less effective as the initial seedlot disease levels increase. For seedlots with greater than 10 per cent infection rates, tubers retain significant levels of pathogen after grading, which poses a significant risk to growers if planted under disease-conducive conditions.
The researchers recommend that buying certified seed ensures the supply of disease-free seed at an affordable price. They also recommend that if seed growers find a high level of disease incidence in their crop, they should avoid visual grading of tubers altogether and consider selling the crop for processing purposes.
For more information on this research, click here to read the latest edition of Potatoes Australia.

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

 

New Nielsen consumer research available

New reports from Nielsen consumer research into the fresh vegetable market are now available on InfoVeg. The results of four months of research have been made available, covering October 2015 to January 2016, including regular analyses, reports, and deep dives.
Nielsen’s Homescan service records the vegetable purchases of 10,000 Australian households, with the data on these purchases then collacted into monthly reports which can help the vegetable industry deliver products that best meet consumers’ needs.
A wide range of vegetable commodities are covered by these reports, including Asian vegetable varieties, beans, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, fresh salad, lettuce, pumpkin, sweet corn, sweetpotato and zucchini.
The reports are available for registered users of the InfoVeg database. Please click here to read all reports from 2015, and please click here to read all reports from 2016.

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

 

AUSVEG represented at Global Food Forum

AUSVEG representatives attended the Global Food Forum in Melbourne last week, meeting with several prominent Australian business leaders and food industry players to discuss the potential for expansion of Australian agriculture and food production to address future food security issues in Asia. AUSVEG participated in several productive discussions, and looks forward to future collaboration within the agriculture and food industries for the benefit of all Australian industry members.

 

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.

 

New Minor Use permits

 

Permit ID Description Date Issued Expiry Date Permit Holder States
PER143673 (V2) Actives: Metalaxyl-M, Mancozeb
Crop: Silverbeet, spinach and celery
Pest: Downy mildew, Septoria leaf spot or late blight		 22-Apr-2013 30-Sep-2021 Growcom All states except Victoria
PER82428 Actives: Methomyl
Crop: Fruiting veg (cucurbits), fruiting veg (other than cucurbits), legume veg, listed root and tuber veg, celery, listed herbs and spices, non-bearing ornamentals, and nursery seedlings
Pest: Helicoverpa spp., Cucumber moth, Cluster caterpillar, Loopers, Webworm, Rutherglen bug, Thrips including WFT		 22-Apr-2016 31-Mar-2019 Growcom All states except Victoria

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 continued to make headlines this week, with AUSVEG Manager – Communications Shaun Lindhe making further appearances in print media to discuss the results of research which has found that potato production is more environmentally sustainable than that of pasta and rice.

AUSVEG spokesperson Dimi Kyriakou appeared in print media this week discussing the joint initiative between AUSVEG and Foodbank Australia to encourage vegetable growers to contribute to hunger relief in Australia. The initiative calls for growers to consider donating their surplus crops to Foodbank Australia, which provides hunger relief organisations with food to distribute to Australians in need.

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.