DFA chair, CEO & industry updates

Changing of the guard

News from our Chair

This year has been a real wake up call for many growers and the processors, bringing back memories of wetter years.

There is still a lot of dried fruit in sheds, and both processors are saying they will be dehydrating for weeks. Dehydrators have been in short supply and great demand and can be heard running late into the night when the temperature is reasonable.

Brown fruit will make up a high percentage of the fruit delivered this year. While total tonnages for 2022 were not known at the time of writing, estimates were around 15,000 tonnes.

Pruning is well underway and canes are looking good. I have been hearing labour is still a major issue. DFA and some growers are looking at different ways to cut costs. There is some great work being done and I urge growers to keep an eye on Currant News to find out about any workshops.

We must remember that this is the first time in many years that numerous incidents made it such a hard year: low temperatures, rain, unreliable weatherforecasting, a shortage of bins, LPG and bottle availability for dehydrators, and labour. We should be looking at these issues and have a plan for a better way to deal with these problems in years like 2022.

News from our CEO

“The times they are a changin’” – so goes the song by Bob Dylan, and that’s certainly true for Dried Fruits Australia.

In this, my last column as CEO, I’d like to introduce incoming CEO Thomas Cheung and offer my congratulations and a hearty welcome. Thomas has a lengthy career and comprehensive experience in the dried fruit and nut industries and will bring a wide range of skills to DFA.

Transition is important for all industries. Over the past five-and-ahalf years, the dried grape industry has seen a critical transition in researching and implementing the mechanisation of winter pruning.

Alongside this work, DFA has been fortunate to receive funds from the Department of Agriculture, through the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Project to discern how agri-technology can provide key data to assist with yield and on-farm performance. These are two important transitions for the industry, firstly in providing a solution to labour shortages and secondly in increasing productive capacity.

The DFA office is also seeing some transitions. Industry development officer Stuart Putland is moving on to other roles and will be very much missed by the dried grape industry.

Stuart’s energy and facilitation skills have encouraged new opportunities, with growers learning from each other on farm, in sheds and at the office. Sharing ideas and working collaboratively is extremely important in sustaining and growing an industry, and Stuart has been an incredible contributor to the DFA team.

I’d like to thank Mark, the board and all the wonderful staff I’ve worked with for their support and encouragement. While small, the DFA team works diligently for our growers, processors and other stakeholders. I can’t thank you all enough.

I believe there are significant prospects ahead for the Australian dried grape industry, with strong demand for the best quality dried grapes in the world. I wish all involved in this historic and innovative industry all the best for the future.v

Mark King | Chair Anne Mansell | CEO

New beginnings

It’s been a long, drawn-out harvest for a lot of us.

The weather was not kind and only those with a cut-and-harvest-early strategy got through without the stress of dealing with rain during the drying season.

One note on the brighter side is that varieties like Sunmuscat and Sunglo have certainly handled the wet conditions much better than our old nemesis, sultana.

Despite the drawn-out harvest, there have been a number of activities go ahead in the Dried Grape Production Innovation and Adoption Program.

Our first on-farm event for the season was driven by Red Cliffs grower David Lyons. The focus of the event on his property was to reflect on a difficult harvest and a reduced availability of harvesting contractors with a discussion around the pros and cons of a range of harvesters, a new look at summer pruning and even trellis design.

Five growers brought their harvesters to the afternoon session and led the discussion, with the 35 growers who attended, on their relative benefits. David outlined the benefits of his twin cutter system for summer pruning and some potential improvements to swing arm trellis design to allow more room for error in the summer pruning process.

David has begun experimenting with a slightly longer bracket linking the swing arm to the post and introducing a five-degree angle in the middle of the swing arm, all of which combine to create a bigger gap between the arm and the post for summer pruning without impacting the geometry of the swinging system. If you haven’t already had a chance, you can view David’s talk on the twin cutter system at DFA’s YouTube channel.

Our second on-farm event was also popular, with more than 30 people turning up to Warren Lloyd’s place to look at Warren's and Ashley Johnstone’s new approach to mechanised pruning and see the La Trobe University-designed DFA mechanised pruner.

It was a great opportunity for everybody to get a look at how the pruner worked.

We could clearly see the LiDAR modelling system mapping the cordon in three dimensions and then guiding the cutting head to a set distance away from the edge of the cordon. Obviously, there is still some work to be done and experience gained with integrating this technology into the production system, but it was clear from the day that the modelling and control systems are very nearly a reality that dried grape growers can now begin to use.

As many of you will be aware, this is my last column as DFA’s industry development officer.

This has been a wonderful industry to work in and the team at DFA have been outstanding to work with. During the past five-and-half years I believe the industry has made significant progress, and focus on consistently achieving 10 tonnes per hectare will help drive more success.

Thank you to all who have helped me deliver the DFA Hort Innovationfunded Innovation and Adoption Program. There are too many to list here but it is important to recognise that this sort of program is only a success if people in the industry are actively involved. I will still be around and if anybody wants to catch up, perhaps a meal at the Gold Diggers — my favourite pub. v

Stuart Putland Dried Fruits Australia field officer 03 5023 5174 projects@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au

Top: David Lyons’ twin cutter summer pruning set up. Middle & Below: Demonstrated with the DFA pruner were the manually controlled cordon pruner and topping/skirting cutter system both Ashley Johnstone and Warren Lloyd have been using this season.