The week’s top stories (week ending 11/12/18)
Every week, AUSVEG rounds up the top stories on issues affecting the Australian vegetable industry. Here are this week’s most important news items:
Australian industry:
- New migrant visa deal for food, farm jobs a pathway to permanent residency (Meagan Rooth, ABC South West Victoria)
- Amnesty calls grow amid rampant use of black market farm labour (Ben Schneider, The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Coalition’s backpacker tax could be killed by the courts after challenge by international accounting firm (Marty McCarthy, ABC Rural)
- Coalition to introduce regulation to stop casual worker “double dipping” (Tom McIlroy, Australian Financial Review)
- Woolies, Coles demand spur Simplot’s processing plant volumes (John Ellicott, The Land)
- Adelaide puts food, not developments at the top of the city-fringe menu (Dominique Schwartz, ABC News)
- Fruit fly outbreak declared in South Australia’s Riverland (Nadia Isa and Sowaibah Hanifie, ABC Riverland)
- Victoria’s DEDJTR to be split into two parts (Peter Hunt, The Weekly Times)
- Australia starts war on rise of hidden trade barriers, plans diplomatic pressure (Brad Thompson, Australian Financial Review)
- Biosecurity tax just revenue-raising, says MCA (Joe Kelly, The Australian)
- Food safety culture needs thorough understanding (Jessica Purbrick-Herbst, Good Fruit & Vegetables)
- Strawberry growers thank Australian consumers (Good Fruit & Vegetables)
- New push by Onions Australia to capture global market (Erin Jones, The Advertiser)
- Aussie farm produce remains above average (Marnie Banger, Stock & Land)
- New drought coordinator Jock Laurie says NSW farmers will get the support they need during the big dry (Lara Webster and Haley Craig, NSW Country Hour)
- Drought proof potatoes target of international research (Good Fruit & Vegetables)
- Farmers and police build trust to deter rural crime, with many offences going under-reported (Lara Webster, NSW Country Hour)
- Farmers open their properties to tourists to ease the financial strain caused by drought (Kerrin Thomas, ABC Mid North Coast)
- Fruit tree trial enhances hopes for outback Pilbara to be Australia’s next food bowl (Sonia Feng, ABC North West WA)
- Coffee grounds provide a hit for oyster mushrooms on the NSW mid north coast (Michael Cavanagh, NSW Country Hour)
- Garlic crop theft ‘impossible’ to solve without public assistance, police say (Isabella Pittaway, ABC Rural)
- Guyra’s Costa tomato farm starts $67m expansion (The Guyra Argus)
- ‘Hand ag colleges back to industry’ (Beef Central)
- Bayer job cuts no concern for Aussie grain growers (Gregor Heard, The Land)
International news:
- New Zealand: New HortNZ president excited about the future (Angie Skerrett, Newshub)
- New Zealand: New Zealand eyes India opportunity (Camellia Aebischer, Asiafruit)
- Britain: Morrisons to sell “wonky” sprouts stalks (Ed Leahy, Fresh Produce Journal)
- Germany: German university conducts research on urban farming in growtainer (HortiDaily)
- The Netherlands: Measuring the taste of a tomato with an iPhone (Wageningen University & Research)
- Canada: 18,000 seasonal workers to head home soon as successful Ontario harvest draws to a close (Farms.com)
- Canada: Canadian Horticultural Council films video celebrating international workers (HortiDaily)
- USA: Lettuce grower decreases crop cycle by 30% (HortiDaily)
- USA: USDA announces US$3.7m in financial assistance to fruit and vegetable growers in 16 US states (Luisa Cheshire, Americafruit)
This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 11 December 2018. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!