DFA CHAIR & CEO NEWS
New season brings new projects A note from our chair Pruning should be coming to an end, however labour has been impossible to find, so we have had to do things differently this year. With the vertical trellis, there were not many options to save labour. Removing last year’s canes was first to be done with the cane slapper or cane stripper. Then the canes for next year had to be rolled on, then a rough pruning. As for the Shaw trellis, we removed the canes, then pinned the foliage wire in place to hold next year’s canes in place. We then rolled the trellis. We will give it a quick pruning. We will run along with the topper under the bottom wire to remove any long canes. It will be rough, but we have no other choice. We did the numbers on a few patches after the 2020 harvest and decided to get rid of low-performing patches. This means we didn’t prune them after the 2020 crop, just rolled the trellis. We cut the vine trunk and dried them on the vine. These were old grafted vines, mainly sultana type, that would produce one year, then less than one tonne to the acre the next. Labour availability is unlikely to change next year, so there is no better time for growers to do the numbers. DFA has a program that gives average costs and income, which may help make decisions on your property. While costs to replant could be high, talk to your processors as they may be able to help.
Water availability has taken up much DFA time as we, along with other industries, realise the ability to deliver water is in doubt in high allocation years. The river system simply doesn’t hold enough water to meet demand. There have been calls to stop new developments in NSW and SA as has been done in Victoria. DFA realises that something has to be done but we would like to look at all options before a decision is made.
News from our CEO Over the past few months, DFA has continued to work on a diverse range of issues. DFA is working with Hort Innovation toward securing a further five years to deliver the industry development officer (IDO) project. After an industry workshop developed a new strategic research and development framework in January of this year, the IDO will have key areas to work toward, including: - The promotion of innovative techniques to assist productivity growth; - Assisting with the further development of industry capacity; and - Reviewing dried grape production systems to ensure both quality and yield parameters are efficient and productive, meeting the needs of markets and the industry as it grows. New Spray Diary out now The 2021-2022 Spray Diary is now available.
Mark King | Chair
10 VINE MAGAZINE
Considerable effort by DFA and processors has again gone into the development of the diary, reviewing maximum residue limits (MRLs) and compliance for chemical applications on-farm. Read your Spray Diary carefully and check with processors regarding your spray program. Each year, the European Union revises the levels of acceptable MRLs and there are considerable changes which flow through to other markets as well, including the domestic market. In this year's diary, please note the information we’ve highlighted on Mancozeb. Annual Growers’ Forum Please save the date for the Annual Growers’ Forum on Thursday, 28 October, at Willow and Ivie, from 2pm. We have an exciting line-up to provide key information for growers. Harry Overly, CEO and managing director of Sun-Maid, will speak on what’s happening in California. We’ll also hear from Ferdie Botha, Raisins South Africa, on issues impacting growers in South Africa. Both of these keynote speakers will appear via video-link. Other information on the day will include results from the 10 Tonne Project, key issues around water, energy, pruning mechanisation and, of course, an overview of the 2021 harvest from the processors. v
Anne Mansell | CEO
