Growers in Australia’s largest winter cropping region have taken a blow of more than $100 million after Cyclone Debbie ripped through the Bowen Gumlu region this week.
Bowen Gumlu Growers Association (BGGA) joined with Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to tour the cyclone ravaged farms once access became available on Thursday morning to estimate the extent of the damage.
BGGA Industry Development Officer Cherry Emerick said up to 20% of the regions seedlings were planted in readiness for the season in what
more
Recent posts
Australian potato farmers: Shortage never this bad
Heavy rain, particularly in New South Wales (Australia), combined with a cold winter have led to a tight potato supply.
That has all had an impact on prices. One of the major upward movers in an otherwise soft Consumer Price Index result released on Wednesday was vegetables (up 12.5 per cent for the year and 2.5 per cent in the December quarter).
Potatoes, along with broccoli and cauliflower, were called out by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as leading prices
more
Aussies suffering a potato shortage
Australia is looking at a potato shortage due to floods cleaning out crops across the country and wet ground making it near impossible to plant more potatoes, meaning consumers will have to pay a small fortune for the starchy vegetable until at least February.
It’s not good news coming into barbecue season, with potato salads and potato bakes likely to be off the menu and hipsters may also need to give up their weekend potato rosti.
READ MORE
more
Healthy prices predicted for coming onion season
ONION growers could be looking at improved returns for the coming growing season.
With the looming Australian onion season, Onions Australia reports dwindling supplies are expected to nudge farmgate prices up to levels not seen since 2010.
The majority of the southern Australian long-day onion crops were all harvested by mid-May. The Northern Territory and Queensland will kick off the new domestic onion season within weeks.
READ MORE
more
Health conscious consumers turning to beetroot
Health conscious Australians are making beetroot a kitchen staple according to AUSVEG’s Project Harvest consumer research.
Interest in beetroot has boomed among shoppers keen on in its nutritional benefits following the vegetables promotion as a ‘superfood’ in Europe.
“Beetroot sales are set to soar in the UK to over £1 million per week due to its highly publicised nutritional powers in relation to blood pressure, cholesterol and degenerative disease, and we are seeing a similar trend in Australia, with
more
Healthy snacking: food expert sees vegetable potential in future fast foods
Vegetables, but not necessarily as we know them, are predicted to be key ingredients in fast foods of the future.
Everything from crunchy freeze-dried beetroot, powdered greens, avocado flesh in a squeeze tube and yoghurts with layers of vegetables are some of the foods we may already be eating, or expect to eat in years to come.
A food industry expert says the next generation of food production is following a trend toward convenient, healthy, snacking foods for growing populations of wealthy
more
Look out for more Australian Made products on our shelves
We may start to see more Australian Made products hit our shelves with the teaming up of RANGEme and the Australian Made Campaign.
The new partnership aims to help give Aussie growers and manufacturers a competitive edge when pitching their products and produce to retail buyers.
RANGEme is an online platform used by retail buyers within the grocery, pharmacy, convenience and health food channels to source new products for their stores. Suppliers
Food Leaders Australia launches in Toowoomba with ambitious plan to make southern Queensland ‘the silicon valley of food innovation’
With the mining boom slowing in southern Queensland, a new group has been established as a vehicle to drive a food innovation and agribusiness boom.
Food Leaders Australia; a partnership between the Toowoomba Surat Basin Enterprise and the University of Southern Queensland, is positioning itself as a "one stop shop" for helping agribusiness develop new products and access new export markets, particularly in Asia.
Jo Sheppard is General Manager of Agribusiness and Export at the Toowoomba Surat