In this edition

  • Vegetable Strategic Investment Plan available for comment
  • Project update: Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection for potato crops
  • Nielsen data highlight: Beans
  • Industry update: Boomaroo continues support for vegetable industry
  • Workshop: Horticulture Code of Conduct (Somerville, VIC)
  • Scholarship opportunity: Women in horticulture leadership development
  • AUSVEG update: Office closure on Friday 29 September 2017
  • Resource: New edition of Vegetables Australia available online
  • Scholarship opportunity: Masterclass in Horticultural Business
  • Workshop: Negotiations and influencing course (Gatton, QLD)
  • Webinar: Nematodes in vegetable soils – NEW DATE
  • Industry update: 2018 Nuffield Scholars announced
  • Webinar: Pesticides and insect pest control in vegetables
  • Workshop: TPP update and biosecurity planning (Forthside, TAS)
  • Project update: SITPlus accelerates production of sterile flies
  • Workshops: Women in Farm Business (QLD)
  • Webinar: Risk assessment for pre-harvest water use
  • Grant opportunity: Developing Northern Australia
  • Resource: AUSVEG calendar update
  • Grant opportunity: Cyclone Debbie Category C grant deadline extended
  • Resource: ABARES report on value of rural RD&E
  • Hort Innovation project opportunities
  • The week’s top stories
  • AUSVEG in the media

Vegetable feature article

Vegetable Strategic Investment Plan available for comment

The Strategic Investment Plan (SIP) for the vegetable industry is almost done! The final draft of the document has been published online by Hort Innovation, and you have until COB Monday 16 October 2017 to provide final feedback.

To read the final draft SIP and use the simple online form to provide your feedback, visit Hort Innovation’s Vegetable Fund page.

You can also provide direct feedback to Hort Innovation’s Relationship Managers for the vegetable industry:

What is the SIP?
The final industry SIP will be used to help guide Hort Innovation’s strategic investment of the vegetable levy, ensuring that levy investment decisions align with industry priorities. It outlines these industry priorities and the core industry outcomes required by investments.

The SIP is designed to represent the balanced interests of the vegetable industry, and the draft has been created in close consultation with growers and other industry stakeholders.

The SIP will be used like a ‘roadmap’ by the vegetable industry’s Strategic Investment Advisory Panels (SIAPs) in providing advice to Hort Innovation on potential levy investments. For more information on the SIAPs, visit Hort Innovation’s Vegetable Fund page.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Potato feature article

Project update: Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection for potato crops

The projects Soil condition management – extension and capacity building (VG13076, Soil Wealth) and Extension of Integrated Crop Protection information (VG13078, ICP) are strategic levy investments under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund. However, many of the activities and learnings from these projects facilitated by RMCG and Applied Horticultural Research can apply to potato crops as well.

The main project outputs are relevant to both potato and vegetable growing operations, with key areas like cover cropping, reduced tillage management, crop nutrition and management of soil-borne diseases applying to both crop groups.

The latest edition of Potatoes Australia magazine features in-depth interviews with RMCG soil and crop management scientist Dr Doris Blaesing and agricultural consultant Donna Lucas about how the Soil Wealth and ICP projects can benefit potato growers, as well as the wider horticulture industry. To read this edition, and all editions of Potatoes Australia, click here.

To subscribe to receive hard copies of the magazine, please email communications@ausveg.com.au

Communication of levy-funded R&D is funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable and fresh 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: Beans

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.

Reports including data up to August 2017 are now available for levy-paying vegetable growers! These reports offer detailed, in-depth sales information about a range of vegetables, including Asian vegetables, beans, broccoli, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, fresh salad, lettuce, pumpkin, sweet corn, sweetpotato, and zucchini. 

A key highlight from the latest dataset about beans:

  • Lower average prices in the four weeks to 12 August 2017 drove high demand for beans, with significantly more shoppers participating in this category compared to the same period last year – in particular, senior couples and smaller households.

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

Growers interested in any or all of these reports can contact AUSVEG via e-mail at info@ausveg.com.au.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Industry update: Boomaroo continues support for vegetable industry

AUSVEG is pleased to announce that Boomaroo Nurseries has renewed its strategic partnership with AUSVEG for another year, in a move which will benefit Australian growers all around the country.

Boomaroo Nurseries is a specialist vegetable seedling producer supplying around 300 million seedlings to vegetable growers in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. It has supported the growth and success of the Australian vegetable industry for many years, both through its business and its partnership with AUSVEG, including its support for key events at conventions hosted and co-hosted by AUSVEG.

AUSVEG is looking forward to working closely with Boomaroo over the year ahead to help our industry succeed. For more information about Boomaroo Nurseries, please click here.


Workshop: Horticulture Code of Conduct (Somerville, VIC)

As part of the VegNET program being delivered in the northern, western and south-eastern regions of Victoria, RMCG is hosting an introductory workshop on the Horticulture Code of Conduct prior to the AUSVEG VIC AGM.

The workshop will cover an overview of the code, outline areas of the code relevant to growers, explain the obligations of growers and traders under the code, and explain the fines, record-keeping requirements and Horticulture Produce Agreements that form part of the new code.

Time/date: 3:30pm–5:30pm, Friday 6 October 2017
Location: Gazzola Farms, 63 Bungower Road, Somerville VIC

For more information, please see the event flyer. Growers who are interested in attending this workshop, which is a strategic levy investment under Hort Innovation’s Vegetable Fund, can RSVP to Carl Larsen on 0419 622 393 or at carll@rmcg.com.au.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Scholarship opportunity: Women in horticulture leadership development

Women that are current and emerging leaders in the horticulture industry can now apply for a leadership development scholarship opportunity valued at up to $5,470.

Funded by Hort Innovation and Women & Leadership Australia (WLA), the grants cover up to 60 per cent of the cost of WLA’s 18-week Accelerated Leadership Performance Program and 7-month Executive Ready program. The funding is specifically designated for women working in all horticulture sectors who are emerging leaders or have mid-level management and leadership experience.

For more information on how to apply for a scholarship, please see the WLA website. For more information on Hort Innovation’s support of the scholarships, please see its media release. These scholarships are funded through the strategic partnership initiative Women and Leadership Australia scholarships (LP16000) and are available under the Hort Frontiers Leadership Fund.

Women and Leadership Australia scholarships is funded by the Hort Frontiers Leadership Fund, part of the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from Women & Leadership Australia and contributions from the Australian Government.


AUSVEG update: Office closure on Friday 29 September 2017

The AUSVEG office in Melbourne will be closed on Friday 29 September 2017 due to the public holiday in Victoria. It will re-open on Monday 2 October 2017.


Resource: New edition of Vegetables Australia available online

The September/October 2017 edition of Vegetables Australia magazine is now available!

In this issue, we profile Schreurs & Sons Technical Director and 2017 Women in Horticulture award nominee Dr Maree-Astrid Ottenhof, Hugh Reardon of Dicky Bill Farming and young grower Mitchell East.

The edition also features a pest spotlight on the Giant African snail, the cabbage edition of Veggie Stats and a look at the project Improving processing vegetable yields through improved production practices (VG16011), among a huge range of other R&D content and industry news.

To read the issue online, please click here. To read previous editions of Vegetables Australia, please click here. To subscribe to receive hard copies of the magazine, please email communications@ausveg.com.au

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Scholarship opportunity: Masterclass in Horticultural Business

Hort Innovation’s Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative (initially referred to as Pool 2) uses a combination of government and partner funding to address major issues facing the future of Australian horticulture. The Hort Frontiers Leadership Fund endeavours to tackle the urgent need to nurture upcoming horticulture talent and empower them to successfully lead the sector into the future.

Under this fund the University of Tasmania, New Zealand’s Lincoln University and Wageningen Research Academy have joined forces with Hort Innovation to offer the Masterclass in Horticultural Business. The Masterclass runs for 10 months, with course content focussing on high-level leadership and management skills.

Applications are now open for the 2018 intake of students, including 15 for levy-paying vegetable growers, and will close on Sunday 12 November 2017. The Masterclass will start on 12 February 2018. For more information, see the website.

The Masterclass in Horticultural Business is funded by the Hort Frontiers Leadership Fund, part of the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from the University of Tasmania and contributions from the Australian Government.


Workshop: Negotiations and influencing course (Gatton, QLD)

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. Registrations for this course close on Thursday 5 October, so secure your place now!  

This course is suitable for anyone that deals with staff, suppliers or logistics companies on a daily basis.

Time/date: 8:30am–5:00pm, Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 October 2017
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.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Webinar: Nematodes in vegetable soils – NEW DATE

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, which will now be held on Tuesday 10 October.

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. It will also touch on the beneficial free-living nematodes.

Date: Tuesday 10 October 2017
Time: 12:30pm–1:30pm (AEDT)

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.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Industry update: 2018 Nuffield Scholars announced

The Nuffield Australia National Conference has been held in Darwin, bringing together Nuffield Scholarship graduates, agriculture industry members and other stakeholders to discuss agriculture and production in Northern Australia and global research in agriculture.

The conference also saw the announcement of the 2018 Nuffield Scholars, including Steve Grist, who will research how growers can adapt from large broadacre farms to more dynamic systems such as Small Plot Intensive (SPIN), bio-intensive, syntropic and permaculture farming systems. Steve’s scholarship is supported by Hort Innovation through a strategic levy investment under its Vegetable Fund.

For a full list of 2018 Nuffield Scholarship winners, including profiles on their scholarship topics, please see the Nuffield website, or read Nuffield’s e-mail announcing the winners.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


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 @SoilWealthand @ProtectingCrops.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Workshop: TPP update and biosecurity planning (Forthside, TAS)

As part of the VegNET program being delivered in Tasmania, a workshop is being held in Forthside to provide an update on tomato potato psyllid (TPP) and share information about on-farm biosecurity management and planning.

This event, which is part of a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Vegetable Fund, will include presentations from Andrew Bishop (Biosecurity Tasmania), Dr Jessica Lye (AUSVEG), Tania Jensen (DPIPWE) and Raylea Rowbottom (Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture).

Time/date: 2:00pm–4:30pm, Tuesday 3 October 2017
Location: Forthside Research Station, 124 Forthside Road, Forthside TAS

An event flyer is available here. 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.

fbaf1415-2a7c-4937-a2d0-0059e0cb92e0.jpg


Project update: SITPlus accelerates production of sterile flies

In a research breakthrough for the strategic partnership initiative project Larval diets for high-productivity mass-rearing (HG13045), part of the Hort Frontiers Fruit Fly Fund, Macquarie University researchers have discovered how to significantly increase production and reduce costs to rear up to 100 million sterile Queensland fruit flies (Qflies) each week at a dedicated facility in Port Augusta, South Australia.

Scientists around the country are working collaboratively across a host of Qfly-focussed projects as part of SITplus, which is a strategic investment through the Fruit Fly Fund. Areas of focus include developing sterile male Qflies to attract females and disrupt Qfly breeding, and preparing communities for the future release of the flies.

For more information on this research breakthrough, please see Hort Innovation’s media release. For more information on the SITplus partnership, please click here.

Larval diets for high-productivity mass-rearing is funded by the Hort Frontiers Fruit Fly Fund, part of the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from Macquarie University and funds from the Australian Government.


Workshops: Women in Farm Business (QLD)

In October, the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) is hosting workshops to connect with women in farm businesses. The workshops will look at the range of leadership spaces where women could have an impact, and open discussions about the barriers that constrain women from stepping into wider leadership roles and the support or resources that would be useful to help them move ahead in business and beyond.

Jess Fealy, Mareeba mango and avocado grower and Queensland finalist in the 2017 Rural Women’s Awards, will talk about the strategies she has used to build her networks and influence, along with other speakers.

For more information, see the QFF website.


Webinar: Risk assessment for pre-harvest water use

Risk assessment of pre-harvest water has been identified as a key issue for industry according to feedback from previous professional development events coordinated by the Fresh Produce Safety Centre A-NZ (FPSC).

To help industry members gain a better understanding of risk assessment (particularly as it applies to pre-harvest water use), the FPSC is conducting a webinar as part of the Centre’s education and outreach program, with a focus on best practice as determined by QA leaders, system owners and auditors.

Time: 12:00noon–1:00pm
Date: Wednesday 11 October 2017

For more information, see the webinar flyer. To register, please click here.


Grant opportunity: Developing Northern Australia

The Cooperative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia (CRCNA) has announced a new round of grants for projects aiming to make a long-term improvement to the competitiveness, productivity and sustainability of Australian industries and communities in the North.

The grants are available for agricultural and food businesses, private health providers, universities, research bodies, financial services companies, and regional development organisations. Funding is intended to develop new technologies, products and services which address industry issues in Northern Australia within the areas of agriculture and food, tropical health service delivery, and Traditional Owner-led business development.

For more information, please see the CRCNA website.


Resource: AUSVEG calendar update

Users trying to view the AUSVEG events calendar last week may have been unable to access the ‘month’ view due to a temporary error in the plugin caused by a WordPress update. This error has been resolved and all views of the calendar are now accessible.


Grant opportunity: Cyclone Debbie Category C grant deadline extended

Primary producers and small businesses impacted by Cyclone Debbie now have until 12 January 2018 to apply for Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) Category C Recovery Grants of up to $25,000.

Under the standard arrangements, the original closing date for applications for this assistance was 13 October 2017. However, the Australian Government has agreed to the Queensland Government’s request to extend the deadline for the grants, which provide up to $25,000 for the clean-up and restoration of affected operations. For more information on accessing this assistance, please see the QRIDA website or call 1800 623 946.

The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) will also be delivering an Agricultural Recovery and Resilience project as part of the $96.2 million provided in Category D funding in partnership with other industry members, including AUSVEG State Member Growcom. For more information, see the QFF media release.


Resource: ABARES report on value of rural RD&E

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has released a new report on the value of Australian rural research, development and extension (RD&E).

The Rural research, development and extension investment in Australia report shows the value of Australia’s rural RD&E jumped from $2.6 billion in 2005–06 to $3.3 billion in 2014–15, largely due to strong growth in private sector investment over that period.

For more information, see the ABARES website.


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


AUSVEG in the media

AUSVEG Director Michael Nixon appeared on radio this week discussing labour availability in Western Australia, saying that Carnarvon growers are struggling to find backpackers to work during harvest season.

AUSVEG spokespeople Shaun Lindhe and Jarrod Strauch appeared in print and on radio this week discussing the issues faced by carrot growers as a result of the current oversupply in Queensland. They noted that it was important for Australian consumers to continue to buy locally grown produce to support growers through tough periods.