Foodbank Tasmania helps to restore hope to people who are struggling by rescuing edible food waste from farmers, manufacturers and retailers and distributing it to local charities providing food relief to the public. Every month this simple process enables it to feed 33,000 Tasmanians who might otherwise go hungry.
FGT is seeking support from Tasmanian fruit growers to develop and run a pilot program delivering training for a list of core training modules to new employees working in the horticultural sector. This pilot will be run in Southern Tasmania including the Derwent Valley, Huon Valley, Southeast and Channel Region. Employees that complete this program will then enter the workforce with an Ag-industry recognised qualification similar to those used by the construction and other industries.
In consultation with APAL, microbiologist Elizabeth Frankish has put together a 15-minute survey about assuring quality in apple packhouses to support a PhD on “Risk Management in apples”. You are invited to participate in the packhouse self-assessment survey to help provide data to understand the most effective ways that packhouse practices can be improved […]
Victoria’s Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes recently announced the Goulburn Murray Valley (GMV) Regional Fruit Fly Project will be extended until 30 June, 2020. GMV Regional Fruit Fly Coordinator Ross Abberfield said the project, which commenced in 2017, had applied a strategic approach to the Area Wide Management of the pest and successfully brought industry, […]
Coles launched the $50 million Nurture Fund in April 2015 to help small businesses innovate and grow. Since then, Coles have offered more than $19 million in financial support to 50 different producers to help fund the development of new market-leading products, technologies, and processes. Apple and Pear growers have successfully secured funding in previous […]
Material for this article has been adapted from a post published on the Procurious blog on Feb 13 2019. Growing great fruit, running a business, and thinking about the future while trying to get through the next few years; managing an orchard can be tough. But when you’re under the pump, the harder you try to […]
Export producers and packhouses across Tasmania are in the process of renewing their annual export accreditations for key protocol markets. To assist with this, Fruit Growers Tasmania (FGT) held its northern and southern regional export registration workshops on 22 July and 1 August 2019. Both workshops brought together export producers of cherries, apple and other fruit to discuss export requirements for the coming year.
The ACCC has proven willing to enforce recent changes to the Horticultural Code of Conduct where it identified terms of contracts between Australia’s largest potato wholesaler, Mitolo Group Pty Ltd, and some of its potato growers as unfair. This signals a more active crackdown on industries the ACCC is concerned may contain more widespread non-compliance. Traders […]
With Parliament resumed, APAL’s Head of Advocacy and Government Relations Jeremy Griffith spent some time in Canberra meeting with local members for several of the industry’s growing regions to discuss advocacy objectives. Those met with include Dr Mike Kelly of Eden Monaro, which includes Batlow, Nola Marina of Forrest, which includes Manjimup and Donnybrook in […]
By calibrating new data with soil moisture data, growers can know when, how much and for how long to irrigate to supply enough water to meet tree demand, writes Marcus Hardie and Nigel Swarts from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (UTAS). Despite the economic importance of the Australian apple industry little is known about the […]