Biodiversity credits; Chip crunch; Climate management innovation

02 September 2022

Brought to you by Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor www.olivebiz.com.au

Today's Top Story

Fed govt announces biodiversity credits scheme diversity credits

New tree planting to restore biodiversity and capture carbon on Jodie McQueen's property near Sheffield.

Australian landholders could soon be rewarded for looking after the environment on their properties.

The federal government has announced a biodiversity credits scheme will be established which would operate in the same way the carbon credits scheme does now.

Australia

ACCC updates guidance material for Horticulture Code

The ACCC has updated its Horticulture Code guidance to help growers and traders understand their rights and fulfill their responsibilities under the code.

The code seeks to protect horticulture growers by requiring all trading with agents and merchants (traders) to happen under a written agreement. The agreement must include certain things, such as how prices are calculated and when the grower gets paid.

Find out more here.

Have you seen the reports on the great olive oil shortages? here’s why Aussies won’t feel the squeeze

Homer called it “liquid gold”, Hippocrates dubbed it “the great healer” and Galen, one of antiquity’s leading medical scholars and physicians, praised it for its positive health effects. While Aussies might have been a bit slow to the party, our taste for the silky ambrosia is only growing – we now each consume around two litres of olive oil per year.

COVID restrictions: stay informed

With new variants and a new wave of infections spreading across the country, it’s important to keep up with the changing status of pandemic regulations across the board. You can access state-specific information on COVID-19 from the links below:

Vic- https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/
ACT - https://www.covid19.act.gov.au
New South Wales - https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19
Queensland - https://www.covid19.qld.gov.au/
South Australia - https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/
Tasmania - https://coronavirus.tas.gov.au/
Western Australia - https://www.wa.gov.au/government/covid-19-coronavirus

Victorian Farmers Federation rejects call to ban older trucks from Melbourne, Sydney

Marshall Rodda says he can't justify replacing his 24-year-old truck. (Supplied: Marshall Rodda)

Farmers say push to ban older trucks from Sydney and Melbourne because of the damaging impacts of exhaust fumes would "create a major issue" in getting food to market.

Desperate farmers say Jobs and Skills Summit must address labour issues rather than being a 'talkfest'

The federal government's Jobs and Skills Summit has been dubbed an over-priced "talkfest" by farmers who worry their fruit won't be harvested due to a lack of pickers and packers.

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 Ben, who has an OMB semi-manual labeller to sell. 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.

Victorian farmers raise biosecurity concerns over proposed Loddon River campsites

The state government has opened up campsites along waterways right across Victoria. (ABC Central Victoria: Luke Radford)

Farmers and landholders in Central Victoria have raised concerns about the expansion of waterfront Crown land campsites, saying it creates serious biosecurity risks.

Opportunities

National Agriculture Day – get involved!

Australian agriculture’s biggest day of the year is on Friday, 18 November 2022, when the nation comes together to celebrate National Agriculture Day. After a two years of scaled-back events, AgDay is back and planning to be bigger than ever.

Organisers are calling on communities across Australia to start planning their celebrations – with a target to reach over 300 registered events in 2022.

Find out more and get involved here.

Regional drought grants

Grants of up to $500,000 are available for community organisations in 35 regions for projects to help regional Australians prepare for drought events. Successful applicants also get access to leadership development support for their communities.

The grants scheme forms part of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, in partnership with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal and the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation.

Find out more and apply here.

Events

2022 AOA National Olive Conference & Trade Exhibition – the time to book is NOW!

Friday 14 - Sunday 16 October, Devonport, Tasmania

The weeks are counting down until the first face-to-face national olive industry conference since 2019, and we’re all getting excited about the chance to finally get together again.

Tasmania is a great destination but it’s not a mega-city, so now is the time to register and make your travel bookings to secure the best flight and accommodation options. The Visit Devonport information centre site is a great place to start – take a look here.

From zero waste to biennial bearing

This year’s content covers a diverse range of topics, including: zero waste, getting started in table olive production, Xylella fastidiosa, promotion and marketing, and business value-adding. Grove management highlights include insight and learnings from the Olives New Zealand Focus Grove Project (which has seen an increase in tree production from 5kg to 25kg+ in participating groves via a targeted practice program), mechanical harvesting of table olives, and biennial bearing.

The Trade Exhibition will feature a range of leading olive industry suppliers and service providers, providing a chance to review your business needs and learn about the latest product innovations from experts in the field. A list of conference exhibitors is available here and is updated regularly.

Program:

Friday 14 - Optional Field Day; p.m. - Australian International Olive Awards Presentation Dinner

Saturday 15 - Conference Day 1 + Trade Exhibition; p.m. - Conference Dinner

Sunday 16 - Conference Day 2 + Trade Exhibition

View the full program here and register here.

Ask R U OK? No qualifications needed.

Thursday, 8 September is R U OK? Day, a National Day of Action and a reminder that every day is a day to check in with your friends, family and colleagues.

This year, the message is ‘Ask R U OK? No qualifications needed’, to remind all Australians they already have what it takes to support the people in their world who might be struggling. You don’t need to be an expert to have an R U OK? conversation: listening and giving someone your time might be just what they need to help them through a difficult period.

The R U OK? Team has recently developed Rural and Remote Mateship Manual Kit, a FREE resource including guides, tips and ideas to help you know when and how to have an R U OK? conversation.

Access the R U OK? Mateship Manual here www.ruok.org.au … and ask R U OK? because a conversation could change a life.

For support at any time of day or night, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

CSIRO Growing the Future Annual Lecture 2022: Gold-standard evidence to support a green image for agriculture

Increasingly we want to know how our food is produced and how it impacts the environment, with farmers and businesses required to demonstrate their sustainability credentials.

The science of lifecycle assessment measures impacts across the entire production chain and provides a framework to integrate productivity and sustainability to identify priorities for mitigation, as well as trade-offs.

This lecture draws on examples from lifecycle assessments for the Australian grains industry to show how this area of science is helping Australian agriculture remain competitive, be sustainable and respond to consumer needs.

Details:

Thursday, 15 September 5-6pm AEST. Online – FREE.

Find out more and register here.

2022 AIOA Presentation Dinner – Don’t miss Celebrations!

It’s the olive industry’s ‘night of nights’ and we’re getting together in person for the first time in three years, so this year’s Australian International Olive Awards Presentation Dinner is sure to be a seriously fun celebration!

Highlights of the night include:

AIOA major awards announced
Great food, wine and conversation
Official AIOA winners’ photographs – your opportunity to have your AIOA win captured and promoted into the future!

Details:

2022 Australian International Olive Awards Presentation Dinner

Friday, 14 October from 6.30pm

Paranaple Centre, Devonport, Tasmania – in conjunction with the 2022 National Olive Conference & Exhibition.

Book your tickets here.

Major sponsors

New Zealand

Book now for 2022 NZ EVOO Awards Dinner

Entries have now closed for the 2022 NZ EVOO Awards, with an enthusiastic total of 152 entries received - not far off last year’s record of 165 entries.

That means there is once again some serious competition for the major awards, including every producer’s goal, the Best in Show trophy.

It could be you, so make sure you’re there when the winner is announced and book yourself a seat at the 2022 NZ EVOO Awards Dinner, being held on Saturday, 8 October at the Rydges Airport Hotel, Wellington. A gala occasion with a fabulous menu (and no doubt a glass or two of equally-fabulous NZ wines!), it’s sure to be an exciting night of industry celebration as the big winners are announced.

Book your tickets here.

International

Spain's olive oil producers devastated by worst ever drought

Jaén province generates half of all Spanish oil.

Francisco Elvira picks his way through his scorched olive grove, stopping to inspect the stunted fruit on almost-bare trees. "Look at them," he says in desperation. "They ought to be bursting with olives now, close to the harvest. But they're empty. And this is the crop that should produce the oil in supermarkets next year."

And unfortunately, the picture is similar ‘next door’ …

Olive oil production in Portugal set to slump after record year

A combination of drought and many producers entering an ‘off-year’ will keep Portugal to around 100,000 tons of olive oil production in the 2022/23 season, according to the latest data.

So it’s good to read about mitigation practices like this:

Croatian olive grower innovates to overcome drought, pests

From irrigating at night to covering developed fruit in kaolin clay, one Croatian producer is adapting to the country’s increasingly hot and dry summers.

Friday Olive Extracts – send us YOUR news

We’re now well into 2022, and Friday Olive Extracts (FOE) continues 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!

Olive Center expands olive oil education to adolescents and children

More than two dozen adolescents and adults completed an olive oil educational program at the UC Davis Olive Center earlier this month. Javier Fernandez-Salvador, the Olive Center’s executive director, told Olive Oil Times that the pilot program was, to his knowledge, the first of its kind in the United States that provided a comprehensive sensorial analysis and olive oil cooking class for children.

We wonder if they were inspired by Olives South Australia’s Young Judges Program, which takes EVOO sensory training into schools.

Safeguarding Italy's millenary trees

Patriarch of Nature. Image: Agenzia Agris Sardegna.

Silent witnesses of history, Italy’s millenary olive trees have proven their resilience over time. Local organizations are working to protect them from climate change.

How olive oil brings you respite from painful cracked heels

Crack heels are one of the most difficult things when it comes to self-care. No matter how much we try, we often get cracked heels and sometimes, they are also painful. While some use market-bought creams for cracked heels, some useful home remedies cure them. Market products have chemicals that create other issues and they also take a lot of time to heal. Hence, the use of olive oil is best.

Another use for your past-perfect oil?

Wineries, breweries, olive oil mills are Greece’s new tourism attractions

In a move to diversify Greece’s tourism and boost agri-businesses and small to medium enterprises, Greece’s Deputy Tourism Minister Sofia Zacharaki has launched an initiative to promote special interest tourism to the country’s wineries, breweries, cheese factories and olive mills.