Vegalogue

On a windy day in May, 20 vegetable industry members got together to hear the latest lessons from a trial site hosted by Butler Market Gardens near Melbourne, run by the Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection project.

Butler Market Gardens has hosted a Soil Wealth ICP trial at their Skye farm for a number of years, and the trial has been a useful vehicle for the business to explore its own practices, as well as generating lessons for the wider industry.

AUSVEG's Tom Bicknell caught up at the field day with Camilla Humphries from RMCG and Dale Creed from Butler Market Gardens.

Learn more about the project discussed in this episode: Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection - phase 3 (MT22004)

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

A few episodes ago we spoke to grower Dan Hodges about some of the cutting-edge agtech he’d seen on a study tour of the US.

Well in April, some of that leading tech was on display in Tasmania at the Ag Innovation Expo 2025, held at the Hagley Farm School by the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group.

Ian Layden from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries was at the expo to run a farm mechanisation field demo as part of the VegMech project, a three-year project to help Australian vegetable growers adopt advanced mechanisation technology.

Ian also joined a timely panel discussion on the key issues facing Tasmania’s onion sector, where he spoke about how agtech could be part of the solution.

AUSVEG’s Campbell Cooney caught up with Ian at the expo.

Learn more about the project discussed in this episode: Advanced vegetable mechanisation program to maximise labour and cost efficiency (VG23003)

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Discover why resilient local agriculture is critical to national security. Andrew Henderson shares practical steps to safeguard Australia's food systems for a more secure, sustainable future.

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries. 

Join us for insights from growers, industry leaders, and researchers on the latest challenges and opportunities in Australian horticulture.

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Annual ryegrass is one of the most costly weeds for the Australian ag industry. It’s a major problem in grain crops, and it causes significant issues in horticulture as well.

For many years, farmers have relied on herbicides to control ryegrass, but in Australia the weed has now evolved resistance to multiple chemistries, particularly post-emergents.

The prevalence of herbicide resistance in ryegrass populations varies around the country; across southern Australia the Grains Research and Development Corporation cites a range of 1-93 percent for post emergent herbicide resistance, but only 0-32 percent for pre-emergents.

That lower resistance to pre-emergent herbicides prompted Tim Groom of Tasmanian onion grower Wynyon to explore which pre-emergents might work well for an onion crop, in concert with an integrated weed management approach.

Learn more about the project discussed in this episode: Accelerating the adoption of best management practices for the Australian onion industry

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Workforce shortages remain a major challenge for horticulture, with nearly half of Australian vegetable growers reporting difficulty in filling skilled and semi-skilled roles. In this episode, we explore how early education and industry engagement can shape a stronger, more sustainable horticulture workforce.

Luciano Mesiti, CEO of the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA), joins us to discuss the crucial role that food and fibre education plays in inspiring the next generation of agricultural workers.

From breaking down industry stereotypes to developing curriculum-aligned resources and building pathways from school to career, Luciano highlights the work being done—and what still needs to be done—to connect students with the world of horticulture. He also shares how partnerships between schools and agribusinesses can create more visible and viable career opportunities for young Australians.

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

The deep, sandy soils of Western Australia’s Swan Coastal Plain are among the most infertile in the world.

They’re also where many of the state’s vegetables are produced, however, and growers have long struggled with the low ability of these soils to retain nutrients or moisture.

More than 60 percent of irrigation water and nitrogen fertiliser applied to vegetables on the sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain leach past the rootzone. The story’s not much better for phosphorus or potassium.

Against that backdrop, input costs continue to grow, water allocations tighten, and concerns about fertiliser runoff into waterways and wetlands increase.

In an effort to address this problem, WA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has launched a new levy-funded project to develop a system for capturing leached nutrients and irrigation water from below the crop’s root zone, and recycling this water back onto crops as irrigation.

The project, which runs until February 2030, will investigate the use of geomembranes installed below the root zone of crops to collect leachate and divert it into dams for reuse.

We had a chat with DPIRD research scientist Dr Valeria Almeida Lima about the project, and how this new system might work.

Learn more about the project discussed in this episode: Evaluating on farm water and nutrient recapture in Western Australia production systems 

You can also contact Dr Lima at [email protected].

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Join us as we discuss the many diverse facets of commercial vegetable production in Australia with growers, industry figures, researchers and many more of the incredible people who make up our vibrant sector.

The Australian vegetable industry is at a crossroads. With the new mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct set to take effect on 1 April 2025, and the ACCC Supermarket Inquiry nearing its conclusion, growers have a rare window of opportunity to reshape their place in the supply chain.

In part two of this discussion, Neil Rechlin, Director of NextGen Group, examines the ongoing power struggles between growers and retailers, the gaps in the current Horticulture Code of Conduct, and the urgent need for pricing transparency.

Tune in as we explore how growers can take control, negotiate better deals, and secure a more sustainable future in an evolving market.

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Historically, Australian producers have been rapid adopters of new technology and innovation, and the current generation is no different. Growers are looking to new agricultural technologies, or agtech for short, to help them confront the pressure from climate change, labour shortages, rising input costs and changing market demands.

The technologies being explored read like a list of TED Talks keywords; artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, drones, big data, the internet of things…

Understanding, sourcing and trialling these new technologies can be time consuming and costly, however, so in 2024 Hort Innovation launched a $4.1 million levy-funded project to help Australian vegetable growers adopt advanced mechanisation technology.

Run by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries over three years, the project will deliver field days, showcase events, demonstrations, international study tours, webinars and more to help growers engage directly with the latest equipment and manufacturers.

In October 2024, the project took a group of 16 vegetable growers on a study tour to the US, where they attended the FIRA-USA International Forum for Agricultural Robotics in California.

One of those growers was Dan Hodges from Peninsula Fresh Organics in Victoria. Dan’s an enthusiastic adopter of new tech on the grower’s two properties on the Mornington Peninsula, and we spoke to him about the promising agtech he saw in the US, and the potential for applying in Australia.

Learn more about the project discussed in this episode: Advanced vegetable mechanisation program to maximise labour and cost efficiency (VG23003)

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body, AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Join us as we discuss the many diverse facets of commercial vegetable production in Australia with growers, industry figures, researchers and many more of the incredible people who make up our vibrant sector.

With the new mandatory Food and Grocery Code of Conduct set to commence on 1 April 2025, and the ACCC Supermarket Inquiry due to report at the end of February, the Australian grocery sector is undergoing significant scrutiny. This episode, the first of a two-parter, delves into the evolving power dynamics between growers and retailers, and how the new Code aims to create a fairer and more sustainable supply chain.

Neil Rechlin, Director of NextGen Group, brings over 20 years of experience in developing category and capability solutions. He shares his insights on the impact of the new Code, the changes it introduces, and what it means for vegetable producers. Neil also discusses the potential for civil penalties, the importance of understanding the Code’s protections, and how it could reshape the grower-retailer relationship.

Keep an eye out next month for part two of this interview.

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Facing rising input costs and greater environmental awareness, an increasing number of Australian vegetable growers are practicing a system of farming that has come to be known as ‘regenerative agriculture’.

Regenerative agriculture means different things to different people, but in a broad-brush sense it’s a holistic way of managing landscapes that aims to move beyond sustainability to regenerate natural systems, while at the same time supporting the viability of farmers.

On farm, that generally translates to practices that improve soil health, store carbon and increase biodiversity, which, importantly, improve yields and reduce input and water requirements.

There isn’t a clear definition of which is and isn’t regen ag, but it’s generally understood to involve things like cover cropping, minimal tillage, rotational grazing and biological inputs, among others. It’s a broad church, and exact practices vary by crop, region, and grower.

The best way to understand it is through five core principles, according to Andrew Johanson, the Sustainable Agriculture Manager at Mulgowie Farming Company, a family-owned vegetable grower with farms in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Learn more about the projects discussed in this episode: Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection - phase 3 - AUSVEG

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.

Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.