THE
SPRING 2017
VINE
JULY
Breaks
RECORDS
AND NOT GOOD ONES! PAGE 2
Bye-bye
ROYALTIES PAGE 12
A BIG WIN FOR PASSIONFRUIT AUSTRALIA PAGE 5
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MEET THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE PRESIDENT
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CONTENTS 02
REGIONAL ROUND UP
06
MARKETING UPDATE
13
TREASURER
MEMBER
GROWER PROFILE: MEET THE MILLARDS
Sean Russell Brisbane Markets P.O. Box 27 QLD 4006
Keith Paxton 31 Atkinsons Road Woombye QLD 4559
15
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Please contact Margie for any administration or membership queries.
DO THE RIGHT THING WITH WORKING HOLIDAY MAKERS
09
DISCLAIMER The advice and opinions in the articles published in The Passion Vine are essentially those of contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Passionfruit Australian Incorporated or the Editor. The advice is at the reader’s own risk, and no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy of the material presented. Inclusion of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily imply endorsement of the product, company or service by Passionfruit Australia Incorporated or the Editor. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) makes no representations and expressly disclaims all warranties (to the extent permitted by law) about the accuracy, completeness, or currency of information in The Passion Vine. Reliance on any information provided by Hort Innovation is entirely at your own risk. Hort Innovation is not responsible for, and will not be liable for, any loss, damage, claim, expense, cost (including legal costs) or other liability arising in any way, including from any Hort Innovation or other person’s negligence or otherwise from your use or non-use of The Passion Vine or from reliance on information contained in the material or that Hort Innovation provides to you by any other means. Copyright © Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited 2017 Copyright subsists in The Passion Vine. Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited (Hort Innovation) owns the copyright, other than as permitted under the Copyright ACT 1968 (Cth). The Passion Vine (in part or as a whole) cannot be reproduced, published, communicated or adapted without the prior written consent of Hort Innovation. Any request or enquiry to use The Passion Vine should be addressed to: Communications Manager, Hort Innovation Level 8, 1 Chifley Square, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia E: communications@horticulture.com.au | P: 02 8295 2300
LATEST UPDATE ON THE NATIONAL PASSIONFRUIT BREEDING PROGRAM PF15000
10 THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
1
REGIONAL ROUND UP DARWIN FAR NORTH QLD
(Mareeba, Daintree, Cooktown)
WIDE BAY (Bundaberg)
SOUTH EAST QLD
(Gympie to Glass House Mtns)
NORTHERN NSW
PERTH
(Tweed Valley)
WEATHER WATCH JUNE
JULY
AUGUST
The second-driest June on record for Australia as a whole, and driest on record for large areas of southern Australia.
July was Australia’s warmest by a large margin, more than 0.5°C warmer than the previous record set in 1975.
Daytime temperatures were very much above average for most of the growing regions in Australia.
The only areas with significantly above average rainfall were on the east coast between Sydney and Brisbane.
Rainfall was below average for much of southern Australia, particularly in New South Wales where it was the driest July since 2002.
Rainfall was well below average with some regions recording no rain for the entire period.
RAINFALL OUTLOOK CHANCE OF EXCEEDING THE MEDIAN RAINFALL
| O C T– D EC 2 0 17 CLIMATE OUTLOOK OVERVIEW (Issued 14 September 2017)
Chance of exceeding the median rainfall (%)
— Shows an equal chance of wetter/drier conditions across Australia — Means there is no strong driver pushing our climate towards widespread significantly wetter or drier conditions
www.bom.gov.au/climate © Commonwealth of Australia 2017, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
2
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LONG TERM AVERAGE – MEAN RAINFALL (mm) WEATHER STATIONS
OCT
NOV
DEC
Mareeba
12.6
47.2
89.1
Bundaberg
68.6
85.5
128.0
Sunshine Coast Airport
70.1
81.8
143.1
102.9
124.8
169.1
Murwillumbah
GROWER REPORTS FAR NORTH QLD Mareeba and surrounding areas continue to have harsh growing conditions. Rain events do not exist. There is no subsoil moisture to back up irrigation coupled with diurnal temperature conditions. I believe this could be the reason why passionfruit yields are low. Lakeland Downs and some coastal areas have experienced growing difficulties this season. I remain optimistic with the weather warming, the season could still prove to be reasonable. Tinaroo Dam is now 44% full which is amazing considering that 7500 megalitres has been released into the Barron River for the months of August and September for an environmental flow. Irrigators relying on extra water from the Tinaroo irrigation scheme are disturbed by decisions made of this nature. Looking forward to meeting everyone at the Regional Field Day & AGM.
Brian Westwood, Mareeba BUNDABERG Now in mid-September, and Bundy has received minimal rain since mid-May and absolutely nothing for six weeks. My bore water allocation is still 90%, but I imagine in the next allocation period this will reduce dramatically. The cane harvesting season has had no stoppages due to the weather and the harvesters/haul out tractors are creating a major dust problem whereever they are working, (not good when its beside your house). Our winter crop was average for the Misty’s and the panama crop was big in volume, but the size of fruit was down due to the large crop load on the vines. We have been experiencing cold nights recently which does not promote too much plant growth in the young vines. Some local farmers are still picking into the good money period which eases the pain, a bit, for having basically no summer crop due to the high temperatures. That’s all until next time.
Peter Griffiths, Bundaberg SUNSHINE COAST The Sunshine Coast has certainly lived up to its name of late. We have hardly seen a drop of rain since Cyclone Debbie. We have generally had a reasonable winter season here as opposed to the start of the year, good steady production and fair prices. It was a little disappointing that prices didn’t go up as our production dropped off in late August / early September. I think most of us on the Sunshine Coast have all but finished for the season as of mid-September. Like everyone else we go like crazy now chopping out vines and preparing for when our plants arrive in the next couple of weeks. The long-range weather forecast is predicting a wetter than average spring, so I hope they are correct. I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at the Regional Field Day & AGM where we can swap good rainfall stories. Happy planting!
Jim Gordon, Yandina
FAR NORTH QLD
(Mareeba, Daintree, Cooktown) Mareeba (station 031210)
JUN
JUL AUG
MEAN (mm)
13.2 [12.1]
4.6 [6.0]
3.8 [7.9]
MEAN DAYS >1mm
3 [1.9]
2 [1.6]
1 [1.2]
MEAN (MAX ºC)
24.5 26.1 27.5 [25.4] [25.0] [26.3]
MEAN (MIN ºC)
15.4 15.6 14.4 [15.3] [13.9] [13.8]
WIDE BAY
(Bundaberg)
JUN
Bundaberg (station 039128)
JUL AUG
MEAN (mm)
7.0 9.0 0 [65.7] [53.5] [33.4]
MEAN DAYS >1mm
2 [4.3]
1 [4.0]
0 [3.5]
MEAN (MAX ºC)
23.8 24.4 25.6 [22.4] [22.0] [23.2]
MEAN (MIN ºC)
12.0 [11.3]
10.9 [9.9]
11.0 [10.7]
SOUTH EAST QLD
(Gympie to Glass House Mtns) Sunshine Coast Airport (station 040861)
JUN
JUL AUG
MEAN (mm)
35.2 21.0 0.8 [19.6] [63.1] [77.2]
MEAN DAYS >1mm
4 [9.4]
MEAN (MAX ºC)
22.6 22.6 24.4 [21.4] [21.1] [22.2]
MEAN (MIN ºC)
12.3 [11.4]
4 [6.6]
0 [5.3]
9.8 [9.6]
9.7 [9.9]
TWEED AREA The first nine months of this year have been the most challenging period I have experienced in passion fruit. 2017 started hot and dry with our vines only setting a small autumn crop. Then a lot of damage was caused by ex-TC Debbie in March/April. And then it just kept raining with one ‘memorable’ period of 3 wet weeks - absolutely no sun- and the vines were going backwards. July came and things dried up quickly. In mid-August, Newrybar received the worst hail storm in the 40 years my parents have been there. Golf ball sized hail ripped through the vines leaving skeletons clinging to the wire. Fruit covered the ground when it hailed and it looked like someone had hit it with a hammer. Some of my 2-year-old vines that were struggling through winter have already died with others likely to follow. Up and down the remaining stalks are uglylooking abrasions which will cause problems down the track. I’ve put a couple of Copper sprays on to help them heal. We obviously had no tips to start grafting with so I was able to get some from the Tweed - thank you to the Constables and Johnsons. Since then we still haven’t had any rain. My dam is pretty full and I’ve been pouring the water on but I feel 20mm of rain could really start to turn things around. I hear some whispers of a La Niña cycle possible so fingers-crossed. I’m hoping for some better news for my next report. All the best.
NORTHERN NSW
(Tweed Valley)
Murwillumbah (station 058158)
JUN
JUL
AUG
MEAN (mm)
222.7 [108.1]
30.7 [61.1]
1.8 [54.1]
MEAN DAYS >1mm
11 [7.3]
7 [5.8]
1 [5.2]
MEAN (MAX ºC)
21.4 [21.3]
22.6 [21.0]
24.6 [22.5]
MEAN (MIN ºC)
11.8 [9.9]
7.2 [8.6]
7.2 [8.8]
Figures in [ ] are long term historical averages. All weather data from www.bom.gov.au Thank you to Brian, Peter, Jim & Nick for their reports
Nick & Nerida Hornery, Newrybar THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
3
The Passion Vine – June 2017
Page 9
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You are passionate about what you grow! We are passionate about what we sell!
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WELCOME TO THE NEW COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAMME After a highly contested competitive tender process operated by Hort Innovation on behalf of all levy payers, we are proud to announce that the team from Passionfruit Australia Inc (PAI) have been selected to be the communication delivery partner working hand-in-hand with the team at Hort Innovation. The new project, Australian Passionfruit Industry Communications Programme (PF16003) is a strategic levy investment under the Hort Innovation Passionfruit Fund and will operate for four years. It builds on the great work that has been done in the past by many within the industry.
Some of the new & exciting communication pathways include: — BRAND NEW WEBSITE, designed to become the hub of your passionfruit business; — MONTHLY-NEWSLETTERS bringing you updates from the industry, current projects and important changes that could affect you and your farm enterprise;
SO, WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN FOR PASSIONFRUIT GROWERS? If you’ve read through the Hort Innovation Strategic Investment Plan you’ll know that there are really five key outcomes that we need to drive to develop further as an industry and put simply these are; GROW SALES DEMAND
FARM AT YOUR BEST
Our levy funded marketing programme has made great progress in engaging with and educating the public in our domestic market to show them new ways to use passionfruit and encourage them to make passionfruit a part of their weekly shop. There are two new projects that will boost the opportunity for the industry to develop an export business and more information will be provided on these shortly.
Ultimately, we all farm passionfruit as a way to provide for our families and to develop our businesses. High labour requirements present challenges for all growers no matter how big or small, so new work exploring ways to reduce labour inputs and improve profitability by embracing new technologies is already underway.
GROW FRUIT QUALITY Research from within the supply chain shows we have work to do in order to deliver a consistent high-quality product to the consumer every time. Other horticulture industries have faced the same challenge and have made huge progress so let’s learn from their success and do it too.
— R EGIONAL FIELD DAYS operated twice a year and taking place out in the growing regions as a way to share news on best practice, new growing technology or showcase new pest and disease innovations; — RESEARCH FORUMS held every two years that will bring together all of the parties operating R&D in passionfruit to ensure that we build a strong and sustainable business for the future.
There has never been a more exciting time to be a passionfruit grower; we have significant levy funds to invest against a well-structured and growth-oriented plan facilitated by the team at Hort Innovation; we have a commitment to four years of well supported communication activities and we are just beginning to explore the world of possibilities that exist to bring exciting new technology and developments to our industry.
— And of course, last but not least, that you’re reading now! A new look for The Passion Vine!
NEW LOOK!
BE IN THE KNOW Knowledge is power. Sir Francis Bacon said that in 1597; he was right then, and he’s still right today. Identifying sustainable best practice ideas and then making those accessible to all growers is one way to make a step change in how we share knowledge within our industry. And that is what the new Communication Programme is going to do.
GROW SALES RETURNS We have a national breeding program already underway to provide the next generation of varieties designed to deliver great flavour attributes combined with growing advantages like high yield and high disease resistance. This will not be a quick win, but significant investment is being made to secure a plant pathway for the future of our industry.
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THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
5
HORT INNOVATION
MARKETING UPDATE Throughout the months of June, July & August, #Aussie Passionfruit continued to inspire media, influencers and consumers to use passionfruit during its winter peak. Through the Aussie Passionfruit channels and earned media, we spread awareness of the winter season, posted inspirational and seasonal-appropriate recipes, and offered support with produce selection tips. We continued to leverage the ‘Finish With Passion’ positioning throughout the campaign, showcasing how Aussie passionfruit can be used to finish a dish and transform a meal. Taste and provenance were the main focus, supported by seasonality, selection, handling and storage tips. Farm updates from growers were also an important part of our community engagement.
ABOVE: A double page spread in That's Life magazine dedicated to passionfruit 6
www.passionfruitaustralia.org.au
RESULTS
EARNED MEDIA
The media outreach component of the 2016/17 campaign wrapped up in July. It achieved 194 pieces of media and social media coverage, generating a total reach of more than 12.8 million. Our winter season key messages were well received, with 76% of coverage including seasonality messaging, and 65% including usage tips. Coverage appeared across print, online and social media. The most notable coverage in this period came from Australia Women’s Weekly, That’s Life and Recipes+.
RESULTS
SOCIAL CHANNELS
The Aussie Passionfruit social channels continue to inspire usage by showcasing delicious recipes, tips on storage, picking and cooking, and also health information and insights into the grower community.
THE TOP PERFORMING POST for this period was a passionfruit cheesecake recipe from Foodiful, reaching 398,600 PEOPLE and 746 SHARES.
These shares show that people LOVED THE CONTENT that much, they wanted to share with all of their friends.
In the three months to August 2017, we have had 1,870 new page likes and reached more than 1.4 million people through the Facebook page.
Second to that was the CURD ‘HOW TO’ VIDEO, which was created for the 2016/17 campaign.
The fanbase is highly engaged, regularly asking questions on seasonality and growing, and offering recipe suggestions. The fans are passionate about telling us how much they love passionfruit.
This video had a REACH OF 241.9K and was shared by 901 PEOPLE.
INSTAGRAM The Aussie Passionfruit Instagram channel reached more than 12,500 people in the three months to August 2017, from a follower base of 931. We continue to maintain a steady increase in followers of our page. Across both channels our followers respond best to beautiful, delicious, sweet recipes as well as farmer profiles. Moving forward we will continue to amplify health, provenance and taste messaging through insightful and inspiring content. We will also continue to grow both channels through targeted advertising, driving reach of the content and increasing followers and fans.
BELOW: Passionfruit was also featured in myfoodbook’s ‘Dessert Lovers’ book’, which can be found & downloaded at myfoodbook.com.au.
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Show Stoppers
THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
7
Peter Bundock Southern Cross Plant Science Southern Cross University Lismore, NSW, Australia E: peter.bundock@scu.edu.au
PF15000 NATIONAL PASSIONFRUIT BREEDING PROGRAM
PANAMA AND ROOTSTOCK BREEDING Some big news for the National Passionfruit Breeding Program is that Hort Innovation have funded an addition to the project, to select rootstock and Panama varieties and to start crossing different potential rootstock/Panama varieties. Rootstock and Panama varieties need to be true-breeding or true-to type from seed. This can be achieved by in-breeding. A number of generations of self-pollination will produce seed that yield very similar offspring (usually only a few variations). Six generations should produce pretty uniform offspring, but it might take a little longer if the original parent was from a wide cross. You can see why it might take a while to develop a truly new Panama or rootstock variety. We have two years for this program, so we can really only get the process started. However, crosses have been made and some old and new selections have been sourced and included for initial trial to see if they are as described and to DNA fingerprint them, to make sure they are what we think they are and for future reference. We can also trial some crosses between true-breeding varieties to see how they perform. If the parents are true-breeding then the F1 cross progeny between two true-breeders will also be uniform. This is the system used to breed and produce most modern varieties of tomatoes and maize. So, this is something we can try in the time frame and compare them against the tried and true varieties. In any case, this will form the start of crossing to obtain new in-breds. Peasley Horticultural Services carried out the crosses for the Panama and rootstock part of the breeding program and SCU is raising the seed for the initial trial at Duranbah to determine if the Panama seed stocks produce uniform plants as expected. Next year we hope to send seedlings out for trial to growers and assess if there are any clear winners.
8
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By the way, if there are any Panama growers out there that would like to share a good but different variety that they grow from seed, then we would love to hear from you.
SELECTING SCION VARIETIES We have been busy assessing vines to select the best seedling vines from those grown by trialists. Being new to the passionfruit industry it was essential that help was at hand and John McLeod and Leo Burgoyne did most of the work of selecting while I try to learn the ropes and keep the records. Many thanks to both of them (and Vicki McLeod and David Peasley), and also to the trialists whose properties we visited: Jim Gordon at Yandina, Joel Dunne and Ian Campbell near Murwillumbah and Shane Adams at Burringbar. There are just over 20 selections that will be grafted for a closer watch over the next season and 3 or 4 selections that can go out for 2nd stage trialling in a month or two, all being well and if we can find them some homes (eight vines, consisting of four selections in duplicate – have a think, you might be well placed to adopt them).
SCORING TRAITS FOR DNA MARKER ASSOCIATIONS We have been busy collecting fruit from the mapping population of ~170 Tom’s Special x Lacey grafted vines, mostly from Nick Hornery’s property at Newrybar because it is closer to Lismore. The fruit pulp is ‘harvested’ and then measured for sugar content (BRIX) and pH. So far, we have collected and ‘harvested’ 400+ fruit (after bagging to record vine number) with 300+ fruit measured for pH and BRIX. We will use this information along with the DNA marker map to try to find markers linked to sugar content and pH.
Many thanks to Nick Hornery and family for tolerating all the visits from the SCU crew and for growing a copy of the mapping population. At Shane Adams’ property at Burringbar, where there is a second copy of the mapping population, we have been scoring vines for their health and flowering. We need to keep in mind that some healthy vines produce little if any fruit and so selection for fruit production and flowering (traits which we are only starting to look at) need to take precedence, although markers for healthy vines should also be useful.
Thanks again to Shane for making this site available.
NEW INBRED LINES On 14th September, we carried out some selfing of selected Lacey x Lacey selfs at Burringbar in a bid to produce some true-breeding lines in the future. It was good to get this second generation underway to preserve the genes from Lacey before it passes away as a variety. If anyone has good healthy Lacey vines please let me know, as I would like to get a sample of leaf material and perhaps a tip or two for grafting. We have some Tom’s Special x Tom’s Special and Sweetheart x Sweetheart seedlings to select from in 2017-2018. Eventually we may be able to cross these inbred lines to get a great F1, but that is a while away yet!
Thanks to David Peasley for showing us how to carry out pollination. This project would not be possible without the support of industry and many thanks to all who have assisted to date. Just hope that a special vine or two turn up soon to reward everyone’s efforts and improve profitability.
DO YOU EMPLOY WORKING HOLIDAY MAKERS? Any employer can hire a working holiday maker,especially when they need labour for a short period of time. HOW DO YOU IDENTIFY A WORKING HOLIDAY MAKER? — they will hold a Working Holiday visa (subclass 417) or Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
HOW SHOULD YOU TAX A WORKING HOLIDAY MAKER? — they are now taxed at 15% from the first dollar earned, regardless of their residency status — they can’t claim the tax-free threshold — they must provide you with their tax file number (TFN) — if they don’t, you need to withhold tax at the top rate — they are entitled to superannuation, if they are eligible
YOU SHOULD NOT EMPLOY OR PAY SOMEONE FOR WORK IF THEY DON’T HAVE PERMISSION TO WORK IN AUSTRALIA HOW DO YOU EMPLOY WORKING HOLIDAY MAKERS? — check your worker has the correct visa using the Visa Entitlement Verification Online service Visit: www.border.gov.au/Busi/visas-and-migration/ visa-entitlement-verification-online-(vevo)
— you must register with us to withhold tax at the working holiday maker tax rate before making your first payment to them — penalties may apply if you fail to register Register at www.ato.gov.au/twhm
— once you register, you withhold 15% from every dollar earned up to $37,000 with foreign resident withholding rates applying to income over $37,000 — if you don’t register, you must withhold tax at 32.5% from every dollar earned up to $87,000 and foreign resident withholding rates apply to income over $87,000 — penalties also apply if you employ someone with visa subclass 417 or 462 but don’t register as an employer of working holiday makers
DON’T BE CAUGHT OUT BY THESE CHANGES For more information visit: www.ato.gov.au/business/your-workers/in-detail/ employers-of-working-holiday-makers
THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
9
IS YOUR FARM REALLY WORK-SAFE?
UPCOMING REGIONAL WORKSHOPS DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS COST-EFFECTIVE TRAINING PACKAGE FOR YOUR BUSINESS Queensland’s agricultural industries are working together to help farm businesses reduce risks and increase efficiency and compliance through a series of one-day workshops across the state. The Workplace Essentials workshops, funded by the Queensland Government and coordinated through the Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network (QAWN), will focus on providing farm employers and team leaders with practical information and resources to enhance workplace health and safety and people management skills. Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) President Stuart Armitage encouraged farm businesses to take advantage of the subsidised training specifically tailored for farm employers and employees.
“There are approximately 1700 workplace injuries within agriculture per year. This is unacceptable and why we want to help farm businesses get up-to-speed on their safety obligations.”
2017 Mareeba
17 Oct
South Johnstone
18 Oct
Emerald
23 Oct
Rockhampton
24 Oct
Gympie
2 Nov
Caboolture
14 Nov
Logan
22 Nov
2018 Mackay
6 Feb
Bowen
7 Feb
Charters Towers
8 Feb
Kingaroy
20 Feb
“It is important that all levels of farm leadership are aware of their obligations and the practices that can be adopted to better control risks and prevent future workplace accidents. These workshops are a clear example of industry proactively addressing sector wide workplace health and safety issues.”
Chinchilla
21 Feb
The last round of Workplace Essentials workshops, which focused on employment management practices and compliance, were a resounding success attracting more than 230 participants statewide.
www.growcom.com.au/wes
“Feedback indicated that farm employers wanted the next series to focus not only on workplace health and safety but also supervisory skills. These elements are all covered in the upcoming workshops that aim to provide farm frontline staff with a much clearer understanding of workplace health and safety obligations regulations, supervisor responsibilities, performance management, and how to manage bullying and conflict constructively,” said Mr Armitage. “Attending these workshops should enhance management capacity, which leads to better bottom line results, so it should be considered an investment in the future of your business.” 10
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SECURE YOUR SEAT TODAY AND REGISTER ONLINE: COST: $30 PER PERSON Includes workshop, resources, morning and afternoon tea and lunch
GROUP DISCOUNT Save 20% if booking for 3+ people from the same business
TAP INTO YOUR LOCAL STATE TRAINING SCHEMES QUEENSLAND If farmers are looking to upskill their existing workers, Queensland Agriculture Workforce Network (QAWN) officers can assist with information about available funding and training courses. QAWN can assist any agriculture sector and we are happy to help, whether it is by providing information on available employment options and wage subsidies, or connecting employers with local training providers and providing an update on what funding opportunities are available to upskill their workers. Agribusiness employers are encouraged to explore what labour options are available and QAWN Officers can assist in connecting you to funded training in your region.
NEW SOUTH WALES The Department of Primary Industries has a comprehensive program called PROfarm, developed to meet the needs of farmers, primary industries, agribusiness and the community. Courses are delivered locally by highly skilled and respected NSW DPI staff. Many of the courses are subsidised to reflect the public benefits provided by the adoption of more sustainable farming practices.
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL QAWN OFFICERS: SOUTHERN QLD Karen George E: qawn_sqld@growcom.com.au P: 0408 135 003 SOUTH EAST QLD (PROJECT MANAGER) Michelle Templin E: mtemplin@growcom.com.au P: 0400 231 949 SOUTH BURNETT Stephanie Denman E: stephanie.denman@daf.qld.gov.au P: 07 4182 1825 WIDE BAY BURNETT Kylie Jackson E: kylie.jackson@bfvg.com.au P: 0488 533 801
By participating in a PROfarm course you will gain valuable skills to meet the ever-changing needs and compliance requirements of today’s farming and agribusiness sector.
NORTH QLD Julia Wheway E: workforce@bowengumlugrowers.com.au P: 0427 009 929
NSW DPI delivers accredited short and full-time courses through its Registered Training Organisation (RTO) - Tocal College. The College has two campuses, the CB Alexander Campus near Maitland and the Yanco Campus, formerly known as the Murrumbidgee Rural Studies Centre.
FAR NORTH QLD Leanne Kruss E: rwdo.mdfvga.fnq@gmail.com P: 0431 743 633
NSW DPI offers a variety of educational courses, facilities and activities for people working in the state’s primary industries, and PROfarm forms an important part of their commitment to lifelong training and education. For more information visit: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/content/agriculture/profarm
NEW HORT TEAM INNOVATION Kelly McGuinness has recently taken over our marketing program from Monique Emmi. Kelly has been part of Hort Innovation for just over a year and is based in the Sydney office right in the heart of the city. Kelly works across a range of horticulture products including bananas and mushrooms, so she gets to bring us learnings from those programs where the budgets are much bigger! Although not a chef-ette, Kelly loves to use passionfruit to bring some pizazz to her baking and regularly uses pulp she has frozen to make soda water a bit more exciting. Kelly is well-travelled and well-connected; she studied at the University of Connecticut in the United States, has met both Jerry Springer and the Dalai Lama (wouldn’t THAT be an interesting dinner party combination!) and clearly doesn’t mind the cold as seeing the northern lights from Iceland and exploring the highlands of Scotland are right near the top of her bucket list.
Kelly–Welcome toTeam Passionfruit! THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
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GREAT NEWS FOR GROWERS AS ROYALTY SCHEME ENDS From 1st July 2017, Passionfruit Australia Inc will no longer be seeking royalty payments for new plant orders of ‘Misty Gem’, ‘Sweetheart’ or any other varieties. The plant royalties scheme was introduced with the release of passionfruit varieties developed for the industry after the national body was formed and named APIA. The intention of the royalty scheme was to provide funds for the association to invest in the development of the passionfruit industry in Australia. At the inception of the scheme, it was planned that it would be discontinued when the association was in a position to be able to continue industry development without the royalty income. With the award of the Passionfruit Communication Programme for the next 4 years, the expansion of our membership base, income from our industry partners through sponsorship activities and funding through grant opportunities being pursued, the Management Committee has decided to close the royalty scheme from the start of this financial year.
The Management Committee – past and present – would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to both growers and industry partners for supporting the scheme over the years. It has enabled us to continue as an association and provided many benefits in breeding and development to all growers. The association is incredibly grateful and look forward to continued support from growers in the form of membership and participation in our growing set of ongoing projects designed to take the industry forward. Royalty payments for Tweed Varieties are still payable to David Peasley and further details will be provided shortly.
DON’T MISS THE FIRST
REGIONAL FIELD DAY
NEW
FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER 6.30am
Brisbane Markets, 385 Sherwood Road, Rocklea Field Day includes: Market tour, Hort Code of Conduct update, Market panel and pricing discussion
10.15am Brisbane Golf Club, Tennyson Room, 70 Tennyson, Memorial Avenue, Yeerongpilly Field Day continues: Meet the new team Brad Mills & Kelly McGuinness from Hort Innovation, get updates on Breeding, Marketing & other Hort Innovation projects + an overview of the NEW Communication programme 12.30pm Lunch and the chance to catch up with old friends or make some new ones 1.30pm
Close for non-Passionfruit Australia Inc. members
PASSIONFRUIT AUSTRALIA INC. (PAI)
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Come along to find out more about 2 new exciting Passionfruit Australia projects! BUILDING AN EXPORT PLAN FOR THE PASSIONFRUIT INDUSTRY BRINGING ROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY TO PASSIONFRUIT CULTIVATION
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www.passionfruitaustralia.org.au
TOPICS INCLUDE: — Updates on PAI grants recently won + new ideas in planning
— Special guest presentations from AustSafe Super, Growcom & Australian Horticulture Exporters Association — Association business including Management Committee elections & a report from the President The day finishes at 3.45pm
New members welcome to join on the day!
GROWER PROFILE:
MEET THE
MILLARDS Brad & Hannah Millard operate a 10,000 vine property called Beenham Valley Passions in the picturesque Wolvi area near Gympie in Queensland. The farm also grows pumpkins as a second crop. Hannah is a teacher and she helps out during the school holidays along with their two young girls and all the nephews and nieces. The farm has 4 semi-permanent staff which swells to up to 10 employees during the peak season times.
BRAD’S TOP TIP FOR NEWER GROWERS:
“Go to field days because you always get ideas from others and there is always something to learn no matter where you go”
The surprising fact about Brad Millard is that he is the third generation operating this farm – his parents, although technically retired, do still help out especially during the really busy periods. Brad has been farming passionfruit for 17 years now and he loves that every season is different. Never quite knowing what each season will bring, that’s what makes growing passionfruit a challenge. And after 17 years, Brad is still keen to learn more. Growing passionfruit isn’t for the faint-hearted – Brad lists broken wires, the spraying requirements and full moons at Christmas time when the pick is so heavy as some of his least favourite aspects. Plus of course “If
you don’t like working over Christmas and Easter it’s not the crop for you”.
So Brad, if you had your time over again, what else would you do?
“Beef cattle, it looks easier and when it’s raining you don’t have to go out and pick in it!” And if you could get away from it all for a month, what would you do?
Brad would take the family away somewhere where the camping is great and the fishing is even better. THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
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ARE YOU READY FOR HARMONISATION? WHAT IS HARMONISATION? Harmonisation is about reducing the need for multiple audits for businesses growing and packing whole produce for retail sale. Miraculously, all of the major retailers have agreed to a single standard known as HARPS – Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme. The project is funded by Hort Innovation and the Australian Federal Government and early estimates of industry savings are around $40 million.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? As an indirect supplier (i.e. via a wholesaler) you are required to have a compliant standard in place by 1st January 2019. This means your 2018 audit must be to a compliant system – you cannot wait until 2019. You will need to make sure you implement one of the approved systems below before you do your 2018 audit.
WHICH SYSTEMS ARE COMPLIANT AND WHICH ARE NOT? FRESHCARE FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY R R SQF CODE LEVEL 3 R GLOBAL G.A.P. INTEGRATED FARM ASSURANCE. Q GENERIC HACCP SYSTEMS SAFE QUALITY FOOD INSTITUTE (SQF) www.sqfi.com
GLOBALG.A.P
FRESHCARE
www.globalgap.org/uk_en
www.freshcare.com.au
For more information visit: www.harpsonline.com.au or contact your existing auditor
SEE YOUR LEVY AT WORK IN THE NEW HORTLINK! Don’t miss the latest edition of Hort Innovation’s Hortlink, which provides an update on all new, current and recently completed levy-funded activity in each levy industry. Check out the passionfruit section at www.horticulture.com.au/hortlink-2017-edition-3/passionfruit. Hortlink includes easy-to-read project updates, results and resources you can use in your business, plus case studies, industry contacts and more. You can choose to browse the whole passionfruit snapshot or use the interactive project list to jump straight to the information you want. Stay in the loop with your levy by becoming a member of Hort Innovation, the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture. Paying a levy doesn’t automatically make you a member,but signing up is free at www.horticulture.com.au/membership.
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www.passionfruitaustralia.org.au
Grab a cuppa, put your feet up & enjoy!
WORD SEARCH Find the words hidden in the puzzle
AGENT MARKET MISTYGEM PANAMA PANDORA PASSIONFRUIT PAVLOVA PULP SWEETHEART TIPPERS TROPICAL VINES
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE There are
10 differences between these two pictures – can you spot them all?
FREAKY FACTS Australia has over 10,000 beaches around its coastline which means you could visit a new beach every day for over 27 years!
The human nose can remember different scents Magpies are considered one of the animals in the world and the only non-mammal species able to recognise itself in a mirror
most intelligent
Thanks to www.thefactsite.com for this editions’ Freaky Facts
AUSSIE TRIVIA-TIME HOW MANY GOLD MEDALS DID AUSTRALIANS WIN AT THE 2002 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES? HOW MANY COUNTRIES ARE LARGER THAN AUSTRALIA? WHAT SONG PLAYED DURING SCOTT AND CHARLENE’S WEDDING ON NEIGHBOURS?
CUT OUT AND KEEP ME
WHAT IS THE TALLEST WATERFALL IN AUSTRALIA? THE IDIOT FRUIT & DARLING PEAS ARE POISONOUS, TRUE OR FALSE? >> ALL ANSWERS ON PAGE 16
THE PASSION VINE | SPRING 2017
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Passionfruit
COSMOPOLITAN SORBET SERVES 4 INGREDIENTS
METHOD
10 medium passionfruit (juice and pulp)
1. Combine sugar, passionfruit and warm water in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat and stir gently for 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, without stirring, for 10 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Cool completely.
2 cups warm water 1 ½ cups caster sugar ¼ cup fresh lime juice 1 measure Cointreau® 2 measures Vodka
2. Add lime juice, vodka and Cointreau® and stir to mix thoroughly.
HAVE AN ICE CREAM MAKER?
Recipe courtesy of Jane Richter, Vines with a View
Follow the instructions for your machine to freeze the sorbet.
For more delicious passionfruit recipes Visit www.aussiepassionfruit.com.au
THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY Pour the mix into a deep, cake pan. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until almost firm. Transfer mixture to a food processor. Blend until smooth but don’t melt. Pour mix back into a cake pan. Cover and freeze for 3 hours or until firm.
SERVE & ENJOY!
The Idiot Fruit & Darling Peas are poisonous, True or False? True
Wallaman Falls in Queensland
What is the tallest waterfall in Australia?
'Suddenly' by Angry Anderson
What song played during Scott & Charlene’s wedding on Neighbours?
Five (Russia, Canada, China, USA, Brazil) Australia is the 6th largest country
How many countries are larger than Australia?
2 (Alisa Camplin + Steven Bradbury) CUT OUT AND KEEP ME
How many gold medals did Australians win at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games?
AUSSIE TRIVIA-TIME WORD SEARCH
There are
10 differences between these two pictures
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
1. Star on the awning; 2. Let end of smile missing; 3. Number on right stick sign is 6 vs 8; 4. Yellow pear vs green pear; 5. No stamen on bottom of pear; 6. Light brown chevron missing on bottom of pineapple; 7. No spot on at bottom of watermelon; 8. No stem hole on top of red orange; 9. Bottom left box missing a part of the label; 10. Bottom right box has a flap. www.passionfruitaustralia.com.au
ANSWERS
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GET INVOLVED
UPCOMING EVENTS
Passionfruit Australia Inc. (PAI) is the peak industry body representing passionfruit growers in Australia
2017
HOW TO JOIN PASSIONFRUIT AUSTRALIA
OCTOBER
BECOMING A MEMBER GIVES YOU:
— Access to projects funded by PAI or through competitive grants which provide funds outside of the existing levy system — Grower alerts about immediate threats to your business from weather or pest events provided by our Management Committee
— Representation by an industry body who has your interests as its only priority
MEMBERSHIP RATES | 2017/18 New Grower Member: Renewal Grower Member: New Associate Member: Renewal Associate Member:
$253 $198 $297 $242
Negotiation & Influencing Course Hort Innovation, Gatton 10-11 Free Hort Code Workshop Sunshine Coast (Growcom) 12 Regional Field Day, Brisbane 13 Passionfruit Australia AGM 13 QAWN Mareeba 17 QAWN South Johnstone 18 PMA Fresh Summit Convention & Expo New Orleans, USA 19-21 QAWN Rockhampton 24
NOVEMBER Membership runs from July 1st to June 30th each year, irrespective of the date joined. Membership lapses if renewal not paid within three months of the start of the fiscal year. Associate Members receive a 20% discount on advertising packages which include more than one advertising insertion.
HOW TO JOIN HORT INNOVATION IT IS FREE TO JOIN AND BECOMING A MEMBER GIVES YOU:
— Free access to Hort Innovation Final Reports — A monthly e-newsletter, Growing Innovation
QAWN Gympie 2 QAWN Caboolture 14 China Fruit & Vegetable Trade Fair, Beijing 17-19 TropAg 2017, Brisbane 20-22 QAWN Logan 22 Export Plan Workshop Griffith University – FNQ TBC
— Direct invitations to participate in industry events, as well as Hort Innovation consultations and forums
— The opportunity to exercise voting rights at Hort Innovation’s Annual General Meeting Please remember paying a levy does not automatically make you a member of Hort Innovation. If you haven’t become a member, then now is your opportunity. To join, visit http://horticulture.com.au/membership-application-form/
DECEMBER Export Plan Workshop Griffith University – Tweed & SEQ TBC Export Plan Workshop Griffith University – Wide Bay TBC
2018 FEBRUARY
There are two types of people who will tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid to try and those who are afraid you will succeed. RAY GOFORTH
QAWN Mackay QAWN Bowen QAWN Charters Towers QAWN Kingaroy QAWN Chinchilla
6 7 8 20 21
FEBRUARY Regional Field Day Far North Queensland
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
FUNDED BY:
www.passionfruitaustralia.org.au