News Stakeholders set industry priorities

Stakeholders set industry priorities

Representatives from all sectors of the dried grape industry have contributed to setting priorities that will form the backbone of Dried Fruits Australia’s strategic direction for years to come.

Growers, processors, contractor services and Hort Innovation were at the recent DFA research, development and extension planning forum.

Facilitated by DFA field officer Stuart Putland, the event aimed to identify opportunities to improve the economic productivity of dried grape production systems.

Stuart said through rigorous discussion, the workshop participants formulated their priorities for research, development and extension.

New equipment and automation systems, trellis design and on-farm management systems, and education and training were identified as the top three priorities. Other key areas included new varieties, nutrition, efficient cell size including replication and utilistion of agronomy services.

Stuart said discussions looked at the entire production of dried grapes, from growing through to marketing.

“There was a particular focus on the production systems, and how we focus on that to make it successful at scale,” he said.

Stuart said larger dried grape growing properties also presented the opportunity to develop and implement more automation and autonomous systems, including GPS-driven tractors.

“It may not necessarily make sense for a small property to invest in this type of system, but when you get to scale you can start looking at those things – different opportunities start to open up with scale,” he said.

The forum found dried grape producers could look outside of their own industry to gain knowledge from other producer industries to adapt and implement systems to improve wetting, pruning, spraying and harvesting.

Similarly, attendees identified a range of ways education and training could be improved to benefit the industry – from school programs, through to online learning, and sharing experiences through field days and mentoring programs.

Stuart said the forum’s findings would guide DFA’s investment and strategic planning and operations over the coming years.

Due to the success of the forum, and how productive it was in exploring key industry priority areas, he flagged the need to host similar events more regularly to continue collaborative discussions on how the industry can adapt and grow.

“The discussion was really solid and well thought-through; people were really thinking about what the industry needs,” Stuart said.

“There was agreement on priorities by the end of the day, and that’s a good indication that we’re focused on the areas the matter most and have also come away with a good list of things to guide the industry in research, development and extension.”

Staff will now work through the information gathered at the event, in conjunction with the DFA Board, Hort Innovation and the Dried Grape Strategic Investment Advisory Panel. v