News Events are back

Events are back

In vineyards, boardrooms, fields and function spaces, Australia’s horticulture community is coming together again in 2022 to help shape and grow our industry.

Face-to-face events are back on the agenda after almost two years of predominantly virtual workshops and meetings. And while digital platforms have allowed us to safely continue to learn and exchange ideas, they can’t replace the in-person experience. In Sunraysia this month, Mildura Field Days is going ahead at Mildura Racecourse. The event on 20 and 21 May will share the best of horticulture with the wider community. Dried Fruits Australia will take to the main stage to announce the winners of its annual Dried Fruit Quality Awards, presenting awards for the best sultanas, currants, raisins, Sunmuscat and Sunglo. This year, the industry’s best producing dried grape businesses will also be recognised with the inaugural DFA Top Crop Awards. There will be an overall winner – the business that produced the highest value crop per hectare – as well as individual awards for all major varieties – Sunglo, Sunmuscat, currants, Selma Pete, Sugra 39 and sultanas.

Next month, members from across the industry will converge in Brisbane for Hort Connections 2022 – Australia’s largest horticulture conference and trade show. The event, on from 6 to 8 June, will focus on how and where the hort world can connect and grow the industry post pandemic.

DFA and the Australian Table Grape Association will continue to host field days and workshops, offering growers and other industry members a chance to connect and get a first-hand look at industry projects and innovations. In July, the ATGA will host its tech hub, which was originally scheduled for 2021. The event will include presentations on traceability and feature the latest in agtech. Another two events that were initially planned for 2021 also recently went ahead in Mildura. DFA’s 2022 Grower Forum in April welcomed expert speakers to the region and explored topics including irrigation technology, the impact of chemical residues, South Africa’s dried grape industry, sustainable farming, water, and local projects. Growers also had the opportunity to get hands-on with the latest horticultural innovations at the Mallee Regional Innovation Centre’s Growing Smarter in the Mallee agtech summit from 5 to 6 May. The August 2022 Vine will bring you all the details and photos from many of these events. v

Australia positions itself as a competitive player in the table grape landscape Double-digit growth of licensed SNFL varieties

AUSTRALIA, A GROWING EXPORT MARKET

The current Australia table grape season has displayed significant growth compared to the challenging 2020/21 season. With a 5% increase in production and a competitive proximity to a thriving Chinese demand, Australian grapes are set to recover the valuable Chinese grape market. Indeed, China remains the key market for Australian growers which now accounts for more than half of the region’s 220,000 tons of export crop. At the same time, Australian growers are expanding and diversifying into other countries like Korea, Singapore, Japan, and the Middle East where consumer demand for Australian premium varieties continues to thrive.

SNFL UNLOCKING GROWTH IN AUSTRALIA

For over a decade, SNFL has expanded its presence in Australia with its Sheehan varieties and has significantly invested in trial blocks of its new genetics program. SNFL technical experts aim to give growers the tools to be able to succeed, from harvest to market, providing a comprehensive end-to-end service. The SNFL Australian team has developed local production protocols and maintains one-toone collaborations with growers. SNFL DELIVERING LEADING VARIETIES

Plantings of Allison™ have increased 60% in the past 12 months, resulting in an impressive growth of the volume of boxes harvested. Michael Scullino from Scullino Produce is excited about Allison’s “good returns, excellent yield, no colouring issues and that pickers are very happy to pick this variety.” SNFL varieties such as Allison™, Timpson™ and Ivory™ are finding favour with growers in Australia, and offer high fertility and productivity, as well as large natural berry size and loose bunches, which require much less grower inputs. Moreover, the consumer also benefits from its flavour, crunchy texture and good shelf life. “As a grower, you do not want to worry about the colour or over-shatter during bad weather conditions. Allison™ showed fantastic colour, size, and great crunch. Allison is easy to grow and an easy to pick variety” explain Jason & Donny Garreffa from Bliss Grapes. Timpson™ continues to create impressive reactions and “received remarkable feedback from the buyers. The young vines had exceptional yield with consistent quality. Timpson™ is indeed an easy to grow grape with minimal inputs and less labour management issues. It was one pass pick and we picked good quality and quantity of grapes.” share Chris & Nelson Dichiera from AUSBRAND Farming.

Sponsored content by SNFL.

Discover

our varieties!

www.snflgroup.com

SNFL VARIETY

Timpson TM

A superb mid-season variety, easy to grow with high fertility and crop production.

A crisp crunchy berry texture with a hint of muscat flavour.

SNFL VARIETY Allison TM

The most widely planted & successful SNFL’s variety in Australia, that colours naturally.

Very high fertility with large size bunches (Ratio 1:3)

A crisp & crunchy berry texture with a sweet neutral flavour.