Apadrina un Oliva has put the area’s abandoned olive trees up for adoption. The result has handed a lifeline to the town and its residents.

A trial to register private fire units in advance of bushfire season is at risk of being rejected by fiercely independent farmers, the mayor of Kangaroo Island says, despite the operators remaining willing to help during an emergency.

On a farm in Tasmania's northern midlands, Lucy Turnbull is looking through hundreds of photos and videos of deer. Each shot contains somewhere between one and 50 fallow deer. The thing is, she's not on a deer farm.

The Invasive Species Council says the Tasmanian Government must bring its feral deer management strategy into the 21st century by dropping deer's partly protected 'wildlife' status under a review of wildlife regulations.

The Council released its community and science-driven feral deer control strategy in August, which you can read on its website here. 

Public comment is now invited, with a deadline of 30 September 2021 for submissions. Access the Draft Regulations and make a submission here.

 

Kangaroo Island Olives last week was awarded "Best In Show" from the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia for its Smoked Kalamata Table Olives. General manager Michael Esposito said he couldn't be happier and was honoured to receive such a prestigious award. 

The good news for women in agriculture is that the COVID-19 pandemic has opened up flexible work options for women in white-collar roles, enabling more of them to work from home. But women are still paid less, there are very few at the chief executive level, and they make up just a third of the agricultural workforce in Australia.

The continuing lockdowns across the country reminds us all that 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:

The National Plant Biosecurity Status Report (NPBSR) is the latest comprehensive plant biosecurity resource detailing Australia’s plant biosecurity system and the pre-border, border and post-border activities undertaken in the last year.

Find out more and access the report 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, 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.

Three major new missions from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, will grow Australia’s agriculture and food sectors targeting $20 billion by 2030.

Innovate to Grow: Agrifood is designed for established small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) who want to investigate their agricultural R&D opportunities.

The course is a 10-week self-paced virtual program delivered with Edtech partner, Practera, starting in mid October. It is open to established SMEs who are either interested in investigating new R&D opportunities or are in the early decision-making stages about engaging with a research organisation.

Participants will be connected to innovation facilitators and mentors, as well as research and industry experts from across the Agrifood sector.

The next round of the free online learning program is now open, with applications closing on 11 October. Find out more and apply here.

The SA Export Accelerator Program (SAEA) is a competitive grant program that supports South Australian small to medium-sized enterprises to expand into international markets. Funding of up to $30,000 (minimum $5,000) is available, with SMEs required to match the grant funding dollar for dollar.

Find out more and apply here.

For Australian FMCG producers and exporters with aspirations to enter the UK market, there are a number of key considerations that should be fully assessed prior to launch.

From consumer and buyer trends to supply chains and regulatory frameworks, this webinar will touch upon a number of essential areas that will allow businesses to build a thorough checklist for UK trade:

29 September – 5-6:30pm AEST.

Free – register here.

If you haven’t registered already, it’s time to make sure you’re signed up for the 2021 AOA National Olive Industry Virtual Conference. Running from Tuesday, 12 October to Friday, 15 October, the event comprises four two-hour interactive Zoom sessions, held each day at 3:00-5:00pm (AEST). The sessions will feature informative presentations from both industry and external experts, with delegates invited to ask questions and contribute comments live.

Registration is required, and you can register for all sessions or sign up separately for each.

Cost: AOA Members - Free; Non-Members - $30 plus GST per session or $100 plus GST for all sessions.

Tuesday, 12 October – The Big Picture (the economy, trade, export, local markets) – register here

Wednesday, 13 October – Biosecurity (Xyllela, fruit fly, other threats) – register here

Thursday, 14 October - Factors Influencing Olive Yields (frost, biennial bearing, canopy management) – register here

Friday, 15 October - Olives & Olive Oil in Food - (table olives, cooking with olives, health and wellness) – register here

Followed at 5:30-7:00pm by 2021 Australian International Olive Awards Virtual Gala Presentation – FREE registration here

Full week of sessions - register here

The focus will be firmly on the Australian olive industry in October, as Cobram Estate hosts a bid for the largest olive oil tasting session ever held.

In May 2009, 12,909 people gathered in Spain and set a Guinness World Record for the biggest olive oil tasting event. Cobram Estate is now challenging Australians to break that record by hosting what it hopes will be the biggest olive oil tasting ever held across the globe. 

With COVID restrictions calling for a virtual event, participants will join Dr Joanna McMillan, chief oil maker Leandro Ravetti and Cobram Estate co-founder Rob McGavin online for a mass tasting session. They’re aiming to have more than 13,000 Australians take part, ensuring the Spanish record is well and truly beaten – and creating a buzz around Australian EVOO.

This is a great promotional event for our industry, putting Australian EVOO on the world stage in a completely different arena. And it’s something we can all get behind, by taking part in the tasting ourselves (a great way to exercise your EVOO palate) and spreading the word to our networks.

To make that easier, there’s a 50% discount for AOA members to purchase tickets for themselves, friends and family – just use the promo code AOA when registering to get your tickets at just $5 each.  

Cobram Estate Go for Gold virtual EVOO masterclass and tasting

Thursday, 28 October @ 7.30-8.30pm AEDT

$10 $5 using AOA promo code - includes delivery of tasting pack

Find out more and sign up here before Thursday, 30 September to ensure time for pack delivery.

The last of the AOA’s ongoing program of productivity and profitability webinars are being held over the next fortnight, so don’t miss out on the chance for valuable learning via discussion with industry experts. Attendance is free for all industry members – register now!

A presentation and discussion with WA olive specialist Stan Kailis around broadening the selection of Australian table olive cultivars. It will include the outcomes of the AOA 2021 survey results on table olive varieties grown in Australia and cover considerations around table olive cultivars including:

28 September 2021, 12.30pm AEST – 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute interactive Q&A session. Register here. 

A discussion with olive oil specialist Jamie Ayton around the Effect of Storage Containers on Olive Oil Quality, including findings of a 2021 review of RIRDC Publications 09-160, and 12-008.

This webinar will cover the critical control factors for the storage of olive oil after processing, including:

5 October 2021, 12.30pm AEST - 30-minute presentation followed by a 30-minute interactive Q&A session. Register here.

Further details: Liz Bouzoudis, secretariat@australianolives.com.au, 0478 606 145 or on the OliveBiz website here.

Olives New Zealand EO Gayle Sheridan has updated on the 21st New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards, which has attracted a new record of 165 entries. This is made up of 133 Extra Virgin and 32 Flavoured Oils, with the quality rated as “wonderful” by the testing laboratory’s organoleptic panel.

This was backed up by the judges, who are currently working their way through the entries. The comment from one was “ Amazed at the oils tasted so far. Finding it hard to spit them!” 

We’ll bring you all the results following announcement of the winners at the Olives NZ EVOO Awards dinner on 9 October – if you haven’t booked already you can do so here.

Good luck to all the entrants!

The next round of Olives New Zealand Focus Grove Project Field Days will be in October and will include a review of the results of the 2021 harvest data census.

Friday 15 - Northland

Wednesday 20 - Hawke’s Bay

Tuesday 26 - Nelson

Wednesday 27 - Canterbury

Friday 29 - Wairarapa

The schedule and timetable will be emailed to all members once confirmed, and we’ll also update in Friday Olive Extracts.

The Italian Revenue Agency has ruled that extra virgin olive oil used in cosmetics is entitled to the same value-added tax (VAT) as extra virgin olive oil destined for human consumption. In Italy, vegetable oils, virgin and extra virgin olive oil destined for human consumption are subject to a four percent VAT. Meanwhile, a 10 percent VAT is applied to refined olive oils and any vegetable or seed oil destined for other purposes, such as biofuel, cosmetics or other industrial products.

A recent draft report submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate is not carcinogenic. The findings have caused a lot of discomfort among health and environmental campaigners.

For terms and conditions and further information please contact Ben on 0422850699 or Greg on 0407599409, or email newmed.olives@gmail.com

We’re now more than half-way through 2021, 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!

Gelled extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) could soon replace solid saturated fat and trans fat in many different food preparations, providing an unsaturated fat alternative with the organoleptic and antioxidant properties of EVOO.

"First cold press" shows up on many bottles of extra virgin olive oil. What does it actually mean, and is it important? Let's press onwards, shall we? For openers, we have to look at how olive oil is made. 

Nutri-Score is the best food front-of-pack labeling (FOPL) system on the market and should be urgently adopted, according to the latest findings of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Fats and oils remained the category most debated in 2020 by European countries trying to tackle food fraud, according to a report. The EU Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN) is managed by the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG Sante) of the European Commission.

A significant amount of global public funding for agriculture harms peoples’ health, degrades the environment, distorts food prices and it is highly inefficient, a United Nations report claims.

Entries close, Hunter Olive Show

AOA Technical Webinar - Table olive cultivars

AOA Technical Webinar - EVOO storage considerations

Olives NZ EVOO Awards Dinner – Wellington, NZ

Olives NZ Focus Grove Project Field Day – Northland, NZ

2021 Virtual National Olive Conference - Online

Results announced, 2021 WA Olive Awards

Olives NZ Focus Grove Project Field Day – Hawke’s Bay, NZ

Olives NZ Focus Grove Project Field Day – Nelson, NZ

Olives NZ Focus Grove Project Field Day – Canterbury, NZ

World’s Biggest Virtual Olive Oil Tasting

Olives NZ Focus Grove Project Field Day – Wairarapa, NZ

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