Horticulture

Lockyer Valley Fruit & Vegetable Processing Company Limited (‘Lockyer Valley Foods’), the circular economy fruit and vegetable processing facility, has launched a $50M Series A funding round to begin construction ... Founder and CEO Colin Dorber said the Lockyer Valley – known as ‘Australia’s salad bowl’ – is vital to Australia’s food security ... ARR.News interviewed Chair Murray Chatfield to find out more about the facility, the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

In this interview with ARR.News, Churchill Fellow Kelly Lees shares insights from her experience with the intitial attempt to eradicate Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite of honeybees, and a little of her passion and vision for their successful management in Australia by our beekeepers who, as described by Kelly, are hard working, resilient and resourceful.

Hugh Schuitemaker. Riverland stone fruit growers have seen "large amounts" of certain crops wiped out at a critical time, following last week’s heavy rainfall ... "We all appreciate a good rain, and we all need it of course – especially the farmers – but the reality is that it does do a lot of damage, in terms of stone fruit, depending on timing'; Summerfruit SA executive officer Tim Grieger.

Australian native stingless bees are vital for pollinating many of the country’s unique native plants, but these bees may be facing challenges due to rising temperatures. Recognising the important role these bees play in the ecosystem, an AgriFutures Australia Business Innovation Grant supported Ann Ross and her team at Hive Haven to develop an innovative solution: the Hive Haven V10.

Labour shortages in the horticulture sector have eased slightly, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES). ABARES executive director Dr Jared Greenville said the report, based on a survey of over 2,000 horticulture farms across Australia, showed a fall in the number of farms struggling to find workers.

Sebastian Calderon. Almost 40 women gathered within almond orchards in Loxton ... to welcome industry newcomers, compare notes and learn more about Riverland production. Believed to be the first time a gathering exclusively for women working in the industry had taken place ... the event was ... deemed a total success.

Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) has advised that entries are now open for the Giant Pumpkin Competition. The iconic competition offers $3,450 in prize money, including a bonus $1,000 for the heaviest pumpkin weighing more than 350kg ... Downlands College from Toowoomba carved their name into the record books in March 2024...

The NFF Horticulture Council ... confirmed it cannot support an updated Food and Grocery Code of Conduct that resembles the draft recently shared for comment. Chair of the Council, Jolyon Burnett said ... the core concerns of the fresh produce industry remained ignored ... "despite the time available and keen public interest, neither Dr Emerson or the Treasury appear to have been interested in understanding how fresh produce supply chains work and how best to protect vulnerable suppliers."

Queensland’s agriculture sector and local councils have united in a powerful call-to-action, urging the state government to prioritise biosecurity. With growing biosecurity risks on the horizon, industry and community leaders have called on the government to work with agriculture to develop and implement an effective plan, backed by an investment commitment, that will safeguard the future of our farms, environment, and economy.

Singapore horticultural show garden, Gardens by the Bay’s first Australian-themed floral display Carnival of Flowers, inspired by Toowoomba’s ongoing event, opened this week with a mini “floral float” parade. The iconic Singapore attraction, which was recently named Number 8 in the world by Tripadvisor, showcases plants from all over the world in thematic floral displays.

In a mission to develop a long-term sustainability program for the Rubus Berry industry, Hort Innovation and Lifecycles are embarking on a Life cycle assessment (LCA) project aimed at generating comprehensive information and metrics about the environmental performance of raspberry and blackberry production in Australia.

Sebastian Calderon, Hugh Schuitemaker. A senior local wine industry figure says some Riverland grape growers will experience "devastating" damage to vineyards from frost conditions. The Riverland recorded its lowest-ever Spring temperatures on Monday night and Tuesday morning, after near-zero temperatures were also seen last week.

Bumble bees in Tasmania are being geared up with micro radio transmitters and cameras to help scientists uncover their environmental impact and crucial role in crop pollination. Delivered through Hort Innovation’s Frontiers investment program and led by Western Sydney University, the $3.3M initiative will produce a comprehensive large-scale study of the Buff-tailed Bumble bee.

"Custard apples come lumpy, Quite seedy and bumpy, When added to fruit salad, They rhyme like a ballad." In case anyone hasn’t noticed we are well into custard apple season until probably October when the Qld fruit fly will start to get active with the warmer weather and sting the fruit.

The NFF Horticulture Council has today reaffirmed its call for tighter government controls on supermarket trading practices as annual profits are reported by the major listed companies. Council chair, Jolyon Burnett said the results would speak for themselves, and that not even a cost-of-living crisis had dampened the supermarket drive for profits above all else.

Growing production in Australia’s ‘tree nut’ industry – as significant almond and macadamia orchards reach maturity over the next few years – will provide opportunities to meet growing international demand according to new industry research. In its just-released report, Australian Tree Nut Outlook – opportunities and risks in almonds and macadamias … Rabobank says Australia’s tree nut industry is currently in a "period of growth".

A collaborative craft beer strategy will aim to grow WA’s craft beer sector, create jobs and promote the industry’s ‘paddock to pint’ tourism experience. The new strategy will bring together all parts of the craft beer supply chain to drive forward a unified and sustainable industry.

A high-yielding, disease-resistant and delicious new strawberry variety has been unveiled at the Ekka, on top of the famous Ekka strawberry sundae. The new subtropical strawberry variety, Stella-ASBP, developed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and Hort Innovation’s Australian Strawberry Breeding Program (ASBP) in partnership with Hort Innovation and the Australian berry industry has hit the shelves this winter.

... this region is renowned for its abundance and diversity of produce ... Marc and Stacey Brooke are one such couple who have wholeheartedly embraced the area’s inherent spirit of diversity, with the transformation of their small cropping farm nestled on the outskirts of Wakool into the blossoming Australian natives enterprise, Tulla Natives.

BeeHero's updated sensing solution, already in use worldwide, enables first-of-its-kind, high resolution heat mapping of bee activity, and features improved sensing and pollinator monitoring capabilities that enable predictive models for pollination success. ARR.News found out more about PIP 2.0 from Yuval Regev, Co-founder and CTO of BeeHero.