The week’s top stories (week ending 20/11/18)
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:
- The app helping farmers negotiate a fair price (Daniel Hoffman and Thang Le [“Aussie Kev”], Studio10)
- Fire ant plague getting worse and eradication scheme not working, Queensland farmer warns (Rachel Riga, ABC News)
- Shoppers happy to pay more for fruit and vegies if workers paid fairly (Anna Patty, The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Pacific Labour Scheme expansion welcomed by farmers (Mike Foley, Queensland Country Life)
- Government pledges dams funding as election approaches (Mike Foley, Queensland Country Life)
- Expansion of telehealth services for drought-affected farmers marks a good step forward, doctor says (Donal Sheil, ABC Central West)
- Scott Morrison hails free trade at APEC against backdrop of US-China trade war (Stephen Dziedzic and Natalie Whiting, ABC News)
- Indonesia free trade deal in limbo as pressure mounts on Scott Morrison to rule out moving Israel embassy (ABC News)
- Biosecurity levy panned as import tax (Joe Kelly, The Australian)
- Australia launches WTO action against India over sugar subsidies (Andrew Tillett, Australian Financial Review)
- Mysterious mass bee deaths in South Australia’s mid-north remains unexplained, researchers say (Shannon Corvo, ABC North and West)
- Australian-led farming project changes lives in tsunami-ravaged Indonesia (Rosie King, Landline)
- Flavorite expansion leads to higher capsicum production (HortiDaily)
- Australia won’t tax meat, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says (Nicola Bell, The Weekly Times)
- QBE sued by Victorian produce grower over salmonella outbreak recall costs (James Fernyhough, Australian Financial Review)
- Marley Spoon founder Fabian Siegel warns supermarkets off meal kit market (Sue Mitchell, Australian Financial Review)
- Queensland’s struggling strawberry farmers get creative to combat massive waste (Jennifer Nichols, ABC Landline)
- Bananas need more branding, says Nuffield Scholar (Queensland Country Life)
International news:
- Global: Container industry unites (Carl Collen, Eurofruit)
- UK: Worker facial recognition feature launched for fruit and vegetable producers (HortiDaily)
- Italy: Scuba company grows produce in world’s first underweater farm (Tiffany Jeung, Inverse)
- Netherlands: Research grants awarded for stronger lettuce and smarter agrofood robots (HortiDaily)
- Europe: North-western European Potato Growers: harvest down 20 percent at least (PotatoPro)
- South Africa: Hortgro campaign kicks off again in UK (Carl Collen, Eurofruit)
- Chile: Chilean storm losses “to hit US$200m” (Maura Maxwell, Eurofruit)
- Mexico: Labor shortage makes Mexican growers shift to automation (HortiDaily)
- USA: Arizona leafy green industry has gone to ‘unprecedented lengths’ following E. coli outbreak (Produce Processing)
- USA: Field training: Making the shift from combat to crops (Kate Campbell, California Bountiful)
- USA: Zucchini everywhere: School-grown produce teaches students to eat their veggies (Dan Gunderson, MPR News)
- USA: Farm production relies less on hired labor than other food-related industries (HortiDaily)
This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 20 November 2018. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!