 #9 August 2020
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Last minute cropload intervention - Cherryhill Orchards
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Real-time temperature monitoring for Victorian cherries
Agriculture Victoria will help deploy real-time temperature loggers to monitor and improve the coolchain for Victorian cherries exported to SE Asia.
South East Asia is an important emerging market for Australian cherries that was worth more than A$13M in 2018-19. This season, Victorian cherry growers will have the opportunity to deploy real-time data loggers to monitor the supply chain for cherries exported by air to Vietnam.
These loggers will record temperature, humidity, location, light, and shock/vibration and will highlight if, and where, any impacts on fruit quality are occurring along the supply chain.
Agriculture Victoria scientist Glenn Hale said “The aim of the project is to encourage growers to utilize new technology to help monitor the supply chain in real-time so if there are any issues then they can be dealt with immediately before it is too late”.
“Harvesting fresh cherries at the optimal maturity is the first step in achieving great quality as is handling them at the correct temperature, as fruit quality can only ever be maintained after harvest but not improved,”.
“It’s definitely a team effort for everyone in the export process to work together, whether it be contract pickers, packers, transport companies, treatment providers, freight forwarders or airlines, so that these highly perishable fruits arrive in overseas markets in the best possible condition”.
“Monitoring the supply chain in real-time makes all the links more accountable for their actions as loggers can be initially set up with temperature thresholds so that an alert is sent via email or text if the threshold is breached”.
There will also be an opportunity for growers and exporters to trial, and provide feedback, on a new dashboard that has been developed between the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Queensland in consultation with other fruit growers and Agriculture Victoria. The dashboard has been designed to stream-line the programming process that is required to set-up the loggers soon after activating them and for ease of data interpretation”, he said.
Charlotte Brunt from Cherry Growers Australia, encourages small, medium and large growers to participate, and learnings from these research trials will be shared with industry through regular communications during the season, and a summary report post-season.
This project is funded by the Agriculture Policy group within the Export Development and Investment Strategy at Agriculture Victoria with the goal of increasing Victoria’s food and fiber exports to A$20B by 2030.
To be a part of the project, contact Glenn Hale on 0419 500 302 or e-mail: glenn.hale@agriculture.vic.gov.au
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Cherry label extension for ProGibb LV
Cherries have been added to the ProGibb label. Apply a single spray when fruit is early to mid-straw coloured to produce larger, brighter coloured and firmer fruit. The use of gibberellic acid may slightly delay colour development and harvest. Read the label
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Turbulent times: Weighing up air versus sea freight
Australia’s fresh fruit and vegetable exports were valued at $1.6 billion in 2018/19. Asia and the Middle East account for most trade. Our image as
a ‘clean and green’ producer of premium quality fresh produce has helped Australian exporters to develop a comparative advantage over competitors. Read more
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Helping crops fight off smoke, rain and too much sun
As the country sees the headlines of the effects of the California wildfires—not only potentially burning crops, but the after effects of smoke and ash on the state’s crops—it raises the question: could more be done to protect agriculture from major weather events? Read more
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NW cherry campaign draws to a close
US industry harvests one of the most “consumer-complimented” crops on record. Read more
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The Cherry cracking Suppressant
Parka. Saves time, money ...... and cherries!
Keep the rain out and the quality in –– it only takes two applications of Parka to protect your cherries from cracking. The first line of products from Cultiva, Parka™ is powered by SureSeal™ Biofilm Technology. The experts at Cultiva partnered with the research scientists of Oregon State University to create a better solution to fruit cracking and the best cherry protection in the market. And the result is Parka, proven in seven years of testing from multiple sites in the Pacific Northwest, as well as: Europe, Latin America, and Australia.
Parka™ is an organic, food-grade, hydrophobic Biofilm that is applied to cherries to help prevent cracking due to rain. By providing a protective shield against water absorption, Parka protects the integrity of the outer skin, or cuticle, of cherries during final growth stages to prevent and reduce fruit cracking.
The elastomeric properties of Parka allow it to ‘grow’ and provide continuous protection as the cherry rapidly expands during its final growth stages. This gives growers a simple two-application program that greatly reduces spray trips and labour costs.
By supplementing the cuticle on cherries, Parka® demonstrates its ability to reduce rain cracking by 50%. How? By repelling moisture from the fruit surface and increasing membrane stability to minimize external water damage.
Parka’s unique elasticity allows a simple application program starting at shuck fall. Early applications of Parka reduce the development of micro-fractures in the cuticle at this early stage, leading to less cracking at harvest. Parka also helps increase the plant’s tolerance to environmental stress and provides sunburn protection. This results in improved fruit quality and yield at harvest as well as prolonged shelf life.
Post-harvest applications of Parka have also shown to protect trees from heat stress for a healthier crop, and reduce the incidence of fruit doubling the following season.
You Tube video
For more information contact:
Russell Fox
inSense
Mob: 0428 570 394
russell@insense.com.au
https://www.insense.com.au
Luis Hernandez
Cultiva
Tel: 1-888-638-1955
sales@cultiva.com
https://www.cultiva.com
Travis Allan
Allan Brothers
Tel: +1 (509) 653-2625
info@allanbrosfruit.com
https://www.allanbrosfruit.com/
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Independent Market Access Assessment Panel
Hort Innovation’s International Trade team has undergone a review of the Trade Assessment Panel and is pleased to be launching a revised process, the Independent Market Access Assessment Panel (IMAAP).
Overall the steps in the Panel process remain the same, however embedded in the process is more support for industry and a more robust system of communication between industry, Hort Innovation and the Panel. Details of further updates can be seen on the new dedicated IMAAP web page and in the associated information booklet. There are also new application forms, including a separate streamlined application form for market improvement.
Please get in touch with Isabelle Meere or any member of the International Trade team to find out more about the process or to begin preparing your application. We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with industry throughout this process.
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Back Picker
Back Picker is an online job search website developed to streamline the recruitment process between employers and employees during the harvest periods.
When you have registered your business and posted a job, the backpicker team will push your job post to the 50,000+ job seekers actively seeking work through the backpicker website. Once applicants start to apply, you have the option to communicate through our website privately without sharing your contact details.
We envision backpicker developing into the number one job search website that business owners trust to quickly secure their workforce.
Join our growing community of backpicker users and help us continue to develop something great for all growers.
Weblink: marketplace.backpicker.com.au/
E-mail: hello@backpicker.com.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/backpickerapp
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/backpicker
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BOM Climate outlook for October to Januar
Climate outlook overview
- The remainder of the year is likely to see above average rainfall across the eastern two thirds of the country.
- October to December days are likely to be warmer than average across far northern Australia, and the far south-east, but cooler than average in southern WA through SA to NSW and the southern half of Queensland.
- Nights during October to December are very likely to be warmer than average across much of Australia, except areas of south-western WA.
- The Bureau's ENSO Outlook is at La Niña ALERT, meaning there is around a 70% chance of La Niña forming in 2020.
- Models suggest the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) index could meet negative threshold values during October.
- La Niña and a negative IOD typically increase the likelihood of above average rainfall across much of Australia during spring and early summer.
Wet end to 2020 for much of Australia; particularly during October
- October to December is likely to be wetter than average for much of mainland Australia and northern and eastern Tasmania (greater than 75% chance in much of this area). Chances of a wetter or drier than average three months are roughly equal for much of north-west WA and the Kimberley.
- October is very likely (greater than 80%) to have above average rainfall across much of the eastern two thirds of mainland, and is also likely (65 to 75% chance) to be wetter than average for south-coast and eastern WA and north-east Tasmania. Most remaining parts of WA have roughly equal chances of a wetter or drier than average October.
- In the shorter term, the fortnight 28 September to 11 October is likely to be wetter than average for large parts of northern, central, and eastern mainland Australia. Parts of north-west WA extending from the Pilbara coast into the state's center are likely to be drier than average.
Issued 24 September 2020
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RSA stonefruit season underway
Lack of sufficient air freight capacity expected to hit early stonefruit shipments from South Africa. Read more
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Chinese importers cautious ahead of Chilean summerfruit season ...
One importer says it will be difficult for Chilean cherries to sell at high prices in the Chinese market this season, and it is highly probable that the sales volume will be lower than in previous years. Read more
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Keeping your temperature monitoring real
Horticultural exporters need an efficient and reliable supply chain for their fresh produce to arrive in international markets in premium condition. Temperature plays a big role in maintaining freshness and quality of the produce. Read more
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Good Fruit Grower Magazine
New edition out now
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Sustainable Produce Summit
If you missed the Sustainable Produce Summit, the sessions are available on demand
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Notification of 6-week levy objection period commencing 10 September 2020
The process for changing the mix of the cherry levy components has been ongoing for some time. The CGA levy amendment proposal was submitted in March 2020 to Minister Littleproud. Read more
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Marketplace
Have an item to sell or advertise? Connect to over 800 people by advertising in the CGA newsletter. Rates for growers and associate members are $240 per page (A4) web equivalent, $120 for half a page, $60 for a quarter of a page and $30 for text only. Prices are for 2 consecutive months (issues). Add 10% if you are not a grower or Associate member. Contact CGA at export@cherrygrowers.org.au for more information.
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Funding, grants and scholarships
Until filled: state-based Climate-Smart Agriculture Fellowships will build the capacity of farmers to manage climate risk, while supporting business and industry resilience in Victoria, Queensland and NSW. Fellows will also be supported to plan and deliver a project that supports their communities to be more sustainable in the face of a changing climate.
October 15: The Executive Women in Agriculture Trailblazer Award will be given to a female producer who is a shining example for her peers. The winner will be an advocate for agriculture and represent an innovative farming or ranching operation.
October 2: Women in horticulture scholarships
Funding grants of up to $10,941 per person are currently available to women who work in the horticulture sector to support their participation in a leadership development program.
Agriculture Workforce Plan: grants between $10,000 to $300,000 are available for projects you are planning as a result of Covid-19, covering costs up to 50%.
Export market development grants In response to COVID-19, the Government has made a number of updates to the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme, which include waiving the export performance test. In the 2019–20 grant year a total of 4,015 recipients received a combined total of $192.2 million.
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