Earlier this week an Incident Alert was sent to media (including your FOE editor) from the SA Emergency Services Communications Centre, requesting assistance to ‘spread the word’.

A drone had been spotted at an active Mt Gambier fire, which had forced aircraft water bombing operations to cease. The CFS could not continue to drop until all drones were removed from the area.

This is a serious issue, as the delay in getting water onto a fire could dramatically affect efforts to control any outbreak and/or see it rapidly increase in severity. 

The message is simple – and really important: if you’ve got a drone, please don’t fly it if there’s a fire in the vicinity. If you want updates on the fire status, log into your local emergency services warnings and information service, and find out there.

The nation's peak farming body wants the government to end the reactionary approach to supply chain emergencies and has put forward a way to predicting the unpredictable.

Victoria's peak farming lobby group has joined forces with Fruit Growers Victoria and Food and Fibre Gippsland to directly procure rapid antigen tests for their members.

With the Omicron variant sweeping across the country, it’s more important than ever to keep up with the constantly changing status of pandemic regulations. You can access state-specific information on COVID-19 from the links below:

A highly invasive introduced grass, which can become a nightmare for farmers, is building resistance to herbicides on the New South Wales Central Tablelands. A single plant of serrated tussock can produce up to 140,000 seeds and can take over a paddock in as little as four years.

NSW and Queensland farmers can now apply for grants of up to $50,000 to salvage damaged crops and stock, rebuild fences and replace machinery. The grants are jointly-funded by state and federal governments to help agriculture rebuild after November's flood events.

The gross value of Australia’s agricultural production is forecast to reach a record $78 billion in 2021–22. ABARES’ $5.4 billion upward revision from their outlook issued in September is the result of further improvements in domestic growing conditions and downgrades for key overseas competitors driving prices higher. However, significant challenges remain such us steep increases in logistics and fertiliser costs worldwide.

Find out more here.

Got something to sell? Or want to buy? Go direct to your target market – olive growers and producers 

If you’ve got something industry-related to sell, you can reach your target market directly with Olivebiz Classifieds. Our online Classifieds service is an easy and inexpensive solution to advertising your unwanted equipment – like Mary, who’s selling handmade olive tapenade to extend your product range. And if there’s something you’re looking for, it’s the ideal way to get the message out loud and clear to your peers and industry associates – the most likely to have what you need.

Olivebiz Classifieds cost just $40 for AOA members ($100 for non-members), including a text ad and link through to either your web page or images hosted on our site. And you don’t need to be a tech-head: just send us your info and we’ll post it up for you.

Olivebiz Classifieds are online now at www.olivebiz.com.au/classifieds. To arrange a listing, contact Gerri at editor@olivegrower.com.au.

The federal government is committing $12.2 million in funding to entrepreneurs around the country, including some in the agtech industry.

Locally produced supplies of a crucial diesel exhaust fluid have ramped up significantly, with 3 million litres of AdBlue produced in Australia over the past week, but a long-term supply plan is yet to be finalised.

If you own, manage or operate a business now is your opportunity to contribute to Victorian circular economy research. 

Victoria Circular Activator, supported by the Recycling Victoria Innovation Fund, is conducting a study to understand the Victorian circular economy landscape, and the enablers and barriers to industry transition. They’re seeking owners, managers and operators of Victorian businesses to contribute to a short survey that will take around 15-20 minutes to complete. 

Find out more and take the survey here.

Nominations are now open for the 2022 Australian Farmer of the Year Awards. 

The Awards celebrate excellence in farming, seeking out those going above and beyond to build successful farming enterprises and elevate the agricultural industry. 

Find out more and nominate a farming star you know here.

Applications for the Victorian Rural Women’s Mentoring Program are now open. The program provides rural women an opportunity to take part in a reciprocal peer-to-peer style mentoring relationship that will be guided by an experienced facilitator. 

Applications for the program are open until Monday 7 February and can be made on the Agriculture Victoria website here.

The International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) is supporting more freight capacity to Guangzhou with FedEx. Flights operate Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Check the IFAM Flight Schedule Outbound for details.

IFAM supports Australian exporters to continue to supply international markets via critical global air connections. Contact your preferred freight forwarder to access available flights and for more information and flight details, visit the IFAM webpage or download the IFAM Flight Schedule Outbound.

It’s been postponed a couple of times thanks to the COVID pandemic but the AOA has now been able to schedule the Wagga Wagga Healthy Soils Field Day.

The date will be March 27 and the venue is Margie Carter’s Parafield Olives at Yarragundry, NSW. The program is yet to be finalized, so keep an eye on your weekly Friday Olive Extracts and we’ll update as more details are announced.

Looking to break into the UK market? The recent Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the UK has opened new opportunities in the food and beverage and other consumer markets. 

In this webinar, UK consumer industry experts will explore these opportunities and provide tips on how to navigate legal frameworks around labelling and certification to get your products to market.

Details: 10 February 2022, 2-3pm AEDT.

Find out more and register here. 

Producers say they face ever-growing hardships from the effects of a global pandemic, climate change, higher production costs, market instability and a persistent lack of consumer understanding about their products.

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘EU – Olive Oil (Virgin) – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends and Insights‘. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

We’ve started another new year, and Friday Olive Extracts (FOE) will continue to bring all the latest industry news and events to your Inbox every week. THE place to share olive industry news, event details and reminders, our industry e-newsletter keeps growing in popularity and we now have nearly 4000 subscribers across the globe. If you’re not one of them, you can sign up here.

And please remember that FOE is YOUR e-newsletter, so we’re keen to receive your news and help spread the word. Just email your information to Editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au - it’s free, and the best way to reach your fellow industry members!

With the olive harvest well underway in Spain, authorities expect to produce 1.25 million tons of olive oil in the 2021/22 crop year, which would amount to approximately 42 percent of the global olive oil production.

Muscat: The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources took part in the high level regional online meeting on Olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS). The ministry’s delegation was chaired by Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Bakri, Undersecretary for Agriculture.

Producers associations warn production costs could increase by 12 percent in 2022, fuelled by rising energy prices and raw material costs.

An ambitious project is underway in northwestern Sardinia to renew abandoned olive farms in Surigheddu and Mamuntanas on the outskirts of Alghero.

ABARES Outlook 2022 Conference

Olives NZ Focus Grove Field Day - Nelson

Olives NZ Focus Grove Field Day - Canterbury

Olives NZ Focus Grove Field Day - Northland

Olives New Zealand 2022 Annual General Meeting – Online

Olives NZ Focus Grove Field Day - Wairarapa

Olives NZ Focus Grove Field Day - Hawke’s Bay

AOA Healthy Soils Field Day – Wagga Wagga, NSW

Olives NZ Conference and Awards Dinner – Wellington, NZ

Field tour, 2022 AOA National Olive Conference & Exhibition – Devonport, Tasmania

15-16 October

2022 AOA National Olive Conference & Exhibition – Devonport, Tasmania

To include your event, or update your existing event details, email FOE editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au

Friday Olive Extracts Editorial editor@olivegrower.com.au

Advertising: editor@olivegrower.com.au

Subscribe to Olivegrower & Processor magazine secretariat@australianolives.com.au