News & events
Supporting Victorian Farmers And Preparing For Drought
The Andrews Labor Government is supporting drought affected communities in East and Central Gippsland and helping farmers across Northern Victoria prepare for tougher conditions ahead.
Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford today announced a $25 million Drought Preparedness and Support Package with targeted support for mental health, small business planning and support for parents in farming communities manage cost of living pressures.
Spotted Wing Drosophila: Special Seminar 30 October 2018, 12pm - 2pm at Wandin North Public Hall
Growers, extension professionals, researchers, and government representatives are invited to attend a special spotted wing drosophila seminar to be given by Professor Rufus Isaacs of Michigan State University.
Professor Isaacs will describe the impact of spotted wing drosophilain the United States and how industry is currently managing the pest.
Lunch will be provided at 12pm preceding the seminar. The afternoon will also include an update on Queensland fruit fly from Agriculture Victoria and your regional Qfly Coordinator.
To book a place contact the cesar office on (03) 9349 4723 or get in touch with Dr Jessica Lye: jlye@cesaraustralia.com; 0401 555 567.
Media Release: Australian horticulture receives $5M export boost
To help open up more market opportunities domestically and internationally, Hort Innovation has launched a $5M effort with researchers, industry and regulators to strengthen evidence of pest control measures.
The four-year national project, funded by Hort Innovation and research partners and led by CSIRO, will involve developing new approaches for preventing and handling risks across the supply chain, and setting limits relating to these risks.
Cherry Growers Export Workshop / Registration day
June 5-6, 2018 at Rydges in Canberra
Agenda and details in attached link
Save the date
Cherry Growers Export Workshop 5-6 June 2018, Canberra. A must for growers and packers wishing to register for export. Agenda and details out soon
Rain dampens record crop predictions
Cherry Growers Australia president Tom Eastlake says pre-harvest predictions of a record national crop have been curtailed by large amounts of unseasonal rain across growing areas, but this year’s crop is still expected to be bigger than last year’s, which was two-thirds down on the previous year. “We are unsure as to whether we will see a record, but we expect significant volumes of cherries to satisfy demand,” he told The Weekly Times. “Saying that, we have seen prices steady and firm since the recent weather events and we expect that to continue.”
Source: The Weekly Times
Deal opens door to Chinese market
The Federal Government has struck a deal to allow fresh cherries from Australia’s mainland to be airfreighted to China. The move, announced as part of market access reforms that will also see Australian peaches, plums and apricots gain access to the lucrative Chinese market, is considered a major win for the industry. Changes to fumigation requirements mean cherries from mainland Australia can potentially be on Chinese supermarket shelves within 48 to 72 hours of harvest. While Australian cherries have had access to China since 2013, only Tasmanian cherries could be airfreighted, due to fruit fly concerns.
Horticulture Code updated with stronger protections and penalties
The Horticulture Code is a mandatory code of conduct that aims to create transparency around the grower-trader relationship and establish fair dispute resolution mechanisms in the horticulture industry.
There have been recent changes to the Code that strengthens the protection it provides. As a grower, you need to know how the changes affect you and what your rights and obligations are under the Code.
Vietnam recognizes Australia’s pest-free areas in new cherry import protocol
Vietnam’s finalized protocol for Australian cherry imports has given growers what they were hoping for, recognizing two key growing regions as pest-free areas (PFA) while allowing for irradiation or cold disinfestation treatment for fruit from other parts of the country.