Vegalogue

Earlier this year, an Australian vegetable grower-led delegation travelled to India to investigate opportunities to connect Australian growers with skilled and semi-skilled horticulture industry workers from the nation, as part of a pilot program supported by Hort Innovation. During the week-long visit, the delegation met with key partners to get an in-depth understanding of Indian training pathwa...

Every year lives are lost and families are changed forever by incidents on farm. Felicity Richards, Chair of Farmsafe Australia and a beef farmer from Northern Tasmania, brings both lived experience and a national perspective to farm safety. In this episode we dig into some key considerations around farm safety, major contributors to safety incidents, and look at some practical steps that can be t...

Earlier this year AUSVEG released it’s updated Biosecurity Handbook, which provides a guide to how vegetable growers can ensure they’re up to date with the latest industry standards. The Farm Biosecurity Manual has been produced as part of the vegetable industry biosecurity and business continuity strategy, known as VegWatch. (Project code: VG22004) which is managed by AUSVEG. Support for it was a...

In February 2026 a group of 13 Australian vegetable growers spent a fortnight in Europe on the first study tour of the year. Led by AUSVEG and supported by Hort Innovation the tour spent the first week in Berlin attending Fruit Logistica, widely regarded as the biggest horticulture trade show and conference in the world. From there they moved onto Spain, attending a series of farm field days, and...

Carbon reporting and Scope 3 are becoming big topics in the fresh produce supply chain. Claire McClelland and Chris Cosgrove unpack what emissions reporting actually means for horticulture growers and what they need to focus on. Growers can learn more in the Common Greenhouse Gas Accounting Framework for the Australian Fresh Produce Industry available here: https://freshproduce.org.au/__static/4b1...

In March 2025 a group of Western Australian vegetable growers, based in the south west of the state began work on developing a low cost, do it yourself, open source weed detection and management tool. Once the growers decided on what they wanted to develop, they began looking for support, and the grower-led OWL Project in Manjimup was born. This initiative is being driven by the Warren Cauliflower...

Yumeng Chen is one of the 2026 Nuffield Scholars who has been sponsored by Hort Innovation. Her project will explore how virtual modelling can optimise production systems and decision-making in vegetable growing. As she describes it the project will look at ways of using a virtual model of part of a farm, or part of an operation’s supply chain, combined with historical sales and production data, t...

From lifting vegetable consumption to grower confidence, this episode reflects on a defining 12 months for AUSVEG advocacy. AUSVEG Chair Bill Bulmer unpacks key advocacy initiatives, sentiment survey insights, and the evidence shaping change in 2026. Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries.  Join us for insights from growers, indu...

Bill Winter unpacks the real dynamics behind farm succession - communication, planning, fairness and fear - and how treating succession as a gradual transition can strengthen families and safeguard the business for the next generation. 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 develop...

In September onion growers from across Australia spent two very busy weeks in Europe as part of the vegetable and onion study tour program, Project VG23002 funded by Hort Innovation. Over that fortnight the group visited farming, packaging and processing operations in the United Kingdom and The Netherlands. Two of the tour group were Lynette and Glenroy Logan who are growers based in Queensland’s...

Meet the next generation driving Australian horticulture forward. Erin Cranwell, Rashan Walia, and Dylan Bellchambers share their journeys, insights, and hopes for the industry — from workforce and compliance to stronger grower and consumer connections. Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues...

In late August a group of Australian vegetable growers spent a week in New Zealand as part of the vegetable and onion study tour program, funded by Hort Innovation. ‘These industry study tours provide opportunities for Australian vegetable and onion growers and supply chain businesses to increase their awareness and knowledge of the research and innovations in the global horticulture industry thro...

Compliance and regulation costs vegetable growers over $213M a year — but solutions are urgently needed. This episode explores key reforms to cut duplication, streamline processes, and give growers time back to their real jobs, rather than filling out endless forms. Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries. Join us for insights fro...

Level Up Hort, the business improvement and benchmarking program funded by Hort Innovation, released its 2024 season benchmarks in June.  The project is led by Planfarm and supported by RMCG, and in its second seasonal report boasted a rise in grower involvement, as vegetable and onion growers around Australia considered the benefits of business benchmarking.  One of those is Burdekin vegetable an...

How can school lunches shape kids’ eating for life? Julie Dunbabin shares lessons from global programs and how Tasmania’s pilot is boosting attendance, food literacy, and children’s appetite for vegetables. 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 f...

How can GMOs and gene editing help solve real-world farm challenges? Dr Jai Denton of CropLife Australia breaks down the science, busts the myths, and shares how smarter regulation can unlock innovation and resilience for 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 lat...

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 pra...

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 m...

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...

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 contr...

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 indus...

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...

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...

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 confron...

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...