Industry update – Tomato potato psyllid

On 13 March 2017 the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) released the following industry update regarding the detection of Tomato potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli). There have been 54 detections of the psyllid at residential, commercial and retail properties in the Perth metropolitan area and the regional areas of Gingin, Busselton and Yarloop. The majority of detections are in the Perth metropolitan area.

Extension of Quarantine Area
The Quarantine Area in place for the Perth metropolitan area will be extended to include the shires of Murray, Chittering and Gingin. The extended area came into effect Friday, 10 March. The Quarantine Area Notice imposes certain restrictions on the movement of commercially-grown vegetables and nursery stock, and other materials produced in the Quarantine Area that could spread tomato potato psyllid. To view the current Quarantine Area Notice visit agric.wa.gov.au/tpp.

Seedlings delivered to Carnarvon under new protocols
Vegetable seedlings are being delivered to Carnarvon this week, under strict protocols introduced in response to the discovery of the pest tomato potato psyllid in the Perth metropolitan area. DAFWA has implemented protocols for the movement of seedlings to Carnarvon from properties which are inside the Perth metropolitan Quarantine Area and have movement restrictions in place. The department has been liaising with WA industry bodies regarding the protocols for movement of seedlings to allow for important seasonal plantings to occur.

For more information, please click here to visit the DAFWA website.

 

Omnia renews Strategic Partnership with AUSVEG

AUSVEG is pleased to announce the continuation of its strategic partnership with Omnia.

Omnia Specialities Australia is a leading manufacturer of specialty fertilisers, including humates made from top quality leonardite, fulvates and seaweed products based in Victoria, Australia.

AUSVEG looks forward to working with Omnia over the coming year. To find out more about Omnia, please click here.

East Gippsland Vegetable Innovation Days 2017

Two East Gippsland Vegetable Innovation Days will be held on Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 May in Lindenow, Victoria.

The event will showcase the latest produce from the East Gippsland area including lettuce, leafy vegetables, spinach, leafy brassicas, herbs and heading brassicas. It will be supported by Horticulture Innovation Australia and the National Vegetable Extension Network.

The event will also include the East Gippsland Vegetable Innovation Days 2017 Industry Networking Dinner, with guest speaker Sam Kekovich. Tickets for the dinner can be bought here.

For more information on the Innovation Days, please see the East Gippsland Innovation Days Twitter or Facebook pages.

The National Vegetable Extension Network/VegNET is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

International potato specialist visits Australia

Dr Steve Johnson, a crops specialist and extension professor from the University of Maine, came to Australia in November to meet with potato growers from Victoria and South Australia, as part of the Potato Industry Extension Program.

During his visit, Dr Johnson spoke to potato growers and industry representatives at evening meetings in Thorpdale, Ballarat and Mount Gambier. He also spent time with growers in each of the regions, looking at crops and discussing individual issues. Dr Johnson was a keynote speaker at the Australasian Soilborne Disease Symposium in New Zealand, and his week in Australia coincided with this conference.

Dr Johnson discussed a range of topics during his presentations, including the management of Late blight and Pink rot, as well as highlighting the general importance of seed quality. These presentations received excellent feedback from growers in attendance.

For a more detailed look at Dr Johnson’s visit, please see page 16 of the latest Potatoes Australia.

Potatoes Australia magazine and the Potato Industry Extension Program are funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Fresh Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Vegetable and Potato Industry Communications Survey – Last chance to win a John Deere tool set

As part of levy-funded projects VG15027 and PT15007, AUSVEG delivers communications for the vegetable and potato industries about levy-funded R&D.

These communications include Vegetables Australia and Potatoes Australia magazines, the Weekly Update e-newsletter, the Vegenotes series, InfoVeg services and other communications.

AUSVEG is conducting a brief, 10-minute survey about these communications to ensure they are tailored to the industry’s needs. Levy-paying growers and industry members who take part in the survey can go in the running to win a pack of four John Deere wrench and socket sets with a combined value of over $1,000!

To take the survey and help ensure these communications deliver value for the industry, please click here.

VG15027 and PT15007 are funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy, research and development National Fresh Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Australian vegetable industry represented at FOODEX Japan

Last week, AUSVEG led a delegation of growers to FOODEX Japan, Asia’s leading international food and beverage fair for food industry members, highlighting the high-quality fresh vegetables produced by Australian growers and the ongoing R&D advancements taking place in the industry.

The Australia Fresh stand at FOODEX, Japan.
The delegation represented Australian vegetable growers alongside Australian Almonds as part of the Australia Fresh group, coordinated by Horticulture Innovation Australia.

With over 80,000 attendees over four days, including buyers from some of Japan’s largest food retail and wholesale companies, FOODEX Japan is a premier destination for local and international food producers and a gateway to Japan and other Asian export markets. Buyers from other North Asian markets also attended FOODEX, highlighting the importance of Australian vegetable industry representation at this trade event.

AAustralian growers exhibited a wide range of fresh vegetable products at the event, with Japanese buyers impressed by the variety and quality of the Australian produce on display, leading to many valuable business contacts being established in this lucrative export market.

While in Japan, the delegation also made site visits to key Japanese retailers and the Ota Wholesale Market, meeting with leading industry figures and gaining insights into the Japanese retail and food service market.

Participation in the 2017 FOODEX Mission was funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Economic Update: National Accounts for December 2016

Australia’s gross domestic product grew by 1.1 per cent in the December quarter of 2016, with the factors that led to the negative September quarter appearing to have been transitory.

Growth was broad based across most industries, with the mining, agriculture and professional service sectors all contributing strongly. The Australian economy is now 2.4 per cent bigger than it was 12 months ago.

Household consumption (0.5 percentage points) and net exports (0.2 percentage points) contributed more than half of the growth in the quarter.

Gross operating surplus, a broad measure of company profitability, was 8.4 per cent higher over the quarter. The share of the economy going to wages fell, with compensation of employees down by 0.5 per cent. This reflects the non-existent growth in wages measures over the past 12 months or so.

All states recorded solid growth in the December quarter, with state final demand (a broad measure of the demand for goods and services in the economy) ranging from 1.7 per cent in NSW to 0.4 per cent in WA.

Economic activities in the Australian vegetable industry are funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Port of Melbourne export facility tour

The Port of Melbourne is an international gateway to export markets, with more than 21 direct shipping services every week connecting Australian products to key export markets in Asia, North America and Europe. Around 100,000 tonnes of fresh and frozen vegetables are exported each year from the Port to major destinations including Belgium, Japan and Korea.

As part of the National Vegetable Extension Network, RMCG is conducting a tour of the Melbourne Port facility for growers with an interest in accessing exports. This behind-the-scenes tour will give participants an opportunity to learn more about the facility by having a first-hand look at the Port of Melbourne’s role in the export supply chain.

Date: Wednesday 5 April 2017
Time: 2:00 – 4:00pm
Location: Dock 5, Victoria Harbour Promenade, Docklands, Melbourne VIC

This tour is free for levy payers. Interested parties are asked to RSVP by Friday 31 March 2017. To find out more about the tour or to RSVP, please click here to view the full flyer for the event.

The National Vegetable Extension Network (VegNET) Project is delivered locally in the Northern, Western and South-Eastern regions of Victoria by RMCG through VG15048, and is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

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2017 AUSVEG SA and William Buck Vegetable Industry Awards for Excellence 2017

The AUSVEG SA and William Buck Vegetable Industry Awards for Excellence will be held on Wednesday 12 April 2017.

The event will celebrate the South Australian industry with a three course dinner, drinks and entertainment, and will be attended by leading supply chain and grower participants from throughout the state.

Tickets are $100 for members and $120 for non-members, with corporate packages available on request.

For more information, please click here, or email jordan.brooke-barnett@ausveg.com.au.

 

See the RIPPATM on-farm

The RIPPATM (Robot for Intelligent Perception and Precision Application) will be the subject of a series of upcoming field events and on-farm demonstrations coordinated by Horticulture Innovation Australia, the Australian Centre for Field Robotics, RM Consulting Group and TechMAC.

Developed for the Australian vegetable industry, this innovative robot is being designed to operate autonomously, automatically remove weeds, detect and remove foreign objects, determine crop health and soil status, conduct precision spraying on individual plants, and monitor crop growth to help estimate yield through data analytics.

Growers and industry members who want to see RIPPATM in action can attend one of the events below:

Queensland

Date: Wednesday 15 March 2017
Time: 2:30 – 4:00pm
Location: Kalfresh, 6206 Cunningham Hwy, Kalbar QLD 4309
This event is being held in conjunction with a Vegetable Strategic Investment Plan meeting (following in Ipswich).

Tasmania

Date: Thursday 20 April 2017
Time: 9:00 – 11:00am and 1:00 – 5:00pm
Location: Rotary Pavilion, 2-8 Alveston Dr, Deloraine TAS 7304
This event is being held in conjunction with the TAPG Precision Agriculture Expo.

Victoria

Date: Wednesday 3 and Thursday 4 May 2017
Time: any time during the day
Location: Bulmer Farms, 30 Bulmers Rd, Lindenow VIC 3865
This event is being held in conjunction with the East Gippsland Vegetable Innovation Days.

South Australia

Date: Monday 15 to Wednesday 17 May 2017
Time: any time during the Trade Show
Location: Adelaide Convention Centre, North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
This event is being held in conjunction with Hort Connections 2017 (to be confirmed).

To find out more or to register for any of these events, please click here to view the full flyer.

This project has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

2017 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar: Registrations for funded positions now open!

Following the success of the 2016 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar, Australian levy-paying vegetable growers will once again have the chance to listen to presentations from the world’s leading innovation experts at the 2017 Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar.

The Seminar will take place during Hort Connections 2017, and will be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Tuesday 16 May.

The seminar will feature nine expert speakers from around the world on topics ranging from precision agriculture to processing machinery. Previous seminars have been very well received by growers, so don’t miss out on the opportunity to benefit from the expertise of the leading thinkers in global horticulture.

Funded positions are available for levy-paying growers to attend this event. Growers interested in attending or looking for further details can contact AUSVEG on 03 9882 0277, by fax at 03 9882 6722 or via the contact form here.

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

 

Implementing IPM on farm – experiences from leading growers: Jerome Thompson, Werribee South Farm Supplies, Werribee South VIC

Jerome Thompson, Werribee South Farm Supplies CRT Store branch manager, supplies agricultural products to about 110 vegetable growers in the Werribee South region.

Over the past 20 years, Jerome has observed a progressive change in grower adoption of integrated pest management (IPM). Jerome notes opportunities for greater adoption of IPM through growers improving their skills in monitoring pests, timing sprays and identification of beneficial species.

Read this practical case study here to learn more from leading growers.

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.

Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection are funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

Current project opportunities with Hort Innovation

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.

Please find below a table of current project opportunities directly related to the Australian vegetable and potato industries. For more details on any of the projects, or for information on other project opportunities across horticulture, please visit tenders.net.

Type Title Closing date
Request for proposal Boosting vegetable consumption through diet 5pm (Sydney time)
Friday 17 March 2017
Request for proposal Field and landscape management to support beneficial arthropods for IPM on vegetable farms 5pm (Sydney time)
Monday 27 March 2017

 

Communication of levy-funded R&D is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy, research and development National Fresh Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.

 

AUSVEG in the media

AUSVEG CEO James Whiteside appeared in print media this week discussing the Government’s proposed changes to the Horticulture Code of Conduct. Mr Whiteside said it was great to see the government committing to increasing transparency and accountability under the Code.

AUSVEG National Manager – Public Affairs Jordan Brooke-Barnett appeared on radio this week discussing registration of labour hire companies. Mr Brooke-Barnett noted that the National Farmers’ Federation is working on a certification scheme to let growers know which companies are complying with their legal obligations.

AUSVEG National Manager – Export Development Michael Coote appeared in print media this week discussing the Vegetable Industry Export Strategy 2020. Mr Coote said that the development of the export markets outlined in the strategy is critical to the longterm viability of the industry.

Communication of levy funded R&D activities is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development National Vegetable Levy and National Potato Levy and funds from the Australian Government.