Horticulture

Victorian Government announce $17 million package to encourage locals to fill harvest labour roles

A $17 million package has been announced by the Victorian Government to help address seasonal workforce shortages brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The package includes more than $6 million to boost the supply of COVID-safe accommodation for...

Rodney Woods

Take your gap year in regional Australia, parliamentary committee says

Young Australians could be given student debt discounts to work across regional Australia in a bid to plug critical labour shortages. An interim parliamentary committee report has floated the measure as part of a wider plan to address urgent needs...

Country News

Automation could solve labour shortage

Growers across the Goulburn Valley are facing the rising risk of labour shortages for the upcoming harvest season. Apple and Pear Australia’s Future Orchards Spring Walk in the Goulburn Valley will provide growers with tips to prepare their orchards...

Jamie Salter

Automation could solve labour shortage

Growers across the Goulburn Valley are facing the rising risk of labour shortages for the upcoming harvest season. Apple and Pear Australia’s Future Orchards Spring Walk in the Goulburn Valley will provide growers with tips to prepare their orchards...

Jamie Salter

Fruit fly activity reduced by 83 per cent

Queensland fruit fly numbers have been significantly reduced in Cobram with the introduction of sterile flies. As part of a pilot program, sterile fruit flies were released from a plane each week in Cobram from September last year to mid-April this...

Jamie Salter

Shepparton orchard set to go organic

After 50 years in the fruit game, Shepparton’s Kalafatis Fresh Produce is making a leap into the organic market. The Kalafatis family currently produces conventional plums and pears from its 500,000-tree orchard and is set to invest in new...

Spencer Fowler Steen

Shepparton orchard going organic thanks to $500,000 grant

Shepparton orchard Kalafatis Fresh Produce is set to transition into organic produce with the help of a $500,000 grant. The Woolworths Organic Growth Fund will allow the Kalafatis family, who supply Woolworths with conventional pears and plums from...

Rodney Woods

Shepparton’s Ranmali Kariyawasam loves agriculture - and wants you to love it too

Shepparton’s Ranmali Kariyawasam had never set foot on a farm — but somehow knew working on one was exactly what she wanted to do. It was a case of love at first sight — and that was just from looking at a picture of a verdant New...

Madi Chwasta

New app to trace fruit exports

An app could be used to track Australian horticulture exports to ensure authenticity and compliance is met. The University of Tasmania is developing the cloud-based application that will focus on tracing Australian fruit marketed in China. The...

Jamie Salter

Third apple and pear productivity program launched

Hort Innovation has kicked off the third Apple and Pear Industry Productivity, Irrigation, Pests and Soils (PIPS3) program. The program covers apple and pear orchards across the country and focuses on new technology and advanced management systems...

Country News

Unions call for end to Working Holiday Visa

Unions have called for an end to the Working Holiday Maker program, but growers say they rely on the extra labour for harvest. The Australian Workers’ Union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association and the Transport...

Jamie Salter

Labour shortage issues could become worse after Federal Court decision on backpacker tax

The challenges keep on coming for the region’s horticulture growers after the Federal Court ruled the backpacker tax legal. The Australian Taxation Office won its appeal in the Federal Court on August 6, in a case that involved British backpacker...

Rodney Woods

Ardmona orchardist a leader in innovation

Ardmona’s Plunkett Orchards orchard manager Jason Shields is up for an award to recognise the application of innovation in agriculture. Mr Shields was nominated for the Agricultural Innovation Award as part of the Victorian Regional Achievement and...

Jamie Salter

Anger over fruit juice health star rating

Citrus growers are unhappy over a multi-national government decision to give juice a lower health rating than diet cola. The bizarre outcome has come about because the health rating is determined by the level of juice in food — natural or...

Geoff Adams

Harvest labour questions over border closure

Seasonal labourers are among the cross-border travellers banned from entering Victoria under tougher new restrictions introduced by NSW on Tuesday night. The action has raised concern in Victoria for businesses relying on seasonal workers to harvest...

Geoff Adams

Barham avocado grower features on TV

A Barham avocado grower has featured on a television program which takes a look at the businesses of Australian fresh food growers. Katrina and Tim Myers’ business, Barham Avocados, appeared on a segment of My Market Kitchen screened on...

Geoff Adams

Businesses surprised by border closure

Barham avocado grower Katrina Myers has been surprised to hear the announcement of the NSW-Victoria border closure.

Geoff Adams

Harvest Trail Services will secure seasonal workers

A multi-million program hopes to encourage more Australian job seekers to take up seasonal harvest jobs in major horticulture regions across Australia, including the Goulburn Valley. The $24.1 million Harvest Trail Services program will cover...

Jamie Salter

Fruit fly action plan funding extended for Goulburn Murray Valley group

Moira Shire Council has received $522 800 to continue delivering the Goulburn Murray valley’s fruit fly regional action plan. The funding is part of the Victorian Government’s one-year extension of the Managing Fruit Fly in Victoria Action...

Rodney Woods