Cassowary Coast growers, we need you!

Feast of the Senses is just days away, but we still need more volunteers to ensure the Australian Bananas marquee is a success.

If you can give up just 1 hour of your time, this Sunday March 25, please contact Elise Nucifora on email: fioritoptyltd@bigpond.com.

Volunteers are needed from 8am-2pm to help hand out merchandise and whip up banana smoothies – it’s an easy, fun-filled day with good company.

The Feast of the Senses Market Day is sponsored by Australian Bananas and we are keen to ensure our bright yellow marquee remains the success it has been in previous years.

Rummaging through your reject bins

Matt Weinert is in the Coffs region until March 24 as part of the new subtropical development and extension program.

He’s keen to look at reject and downgraded fruit as part of this project, which is funded by the Hort Innovation Banana Fund.

By developing an understanding of what causes the reject and downgrade, growers will be better able to manage these problems in the future, with the aim of packing more premium fruit.

Growers in the Tweed, Brunswick and Richmond will be visited over the coming weeks, and Coffs again from April 16.

If you are interested in being involved in the project give Matt call on 0438 644 136. You can read more about this project via the NSW Country Hour.

Congratulations Krista!

Walkamin banana grower Krista Watkins has been named Queensland’s AgriFutures Australia Rural Women’s Award winner.

Krista, from Natural Evolution Foods, wants to help farmers generate additional income from produce that would normally be wasted.

She’ll also be in the running for the national Rural Women’s Award in September.

Bananas classic creates buzz

Fair warning: you’ll have this bananas classic in your head for the rest of the day if you read on.

‘Make Those Bodies Sing’ this week made Buzzfeed’s list of 28 Iconic Australian TV Ads. “It honestly made me believe that eating bananas would solve all my problems,” the author wrote.

We couldn’t agree more!

Highest risk growers getting Panama TR4 ready

Biosecurity Queensland reports that a key take-away from highest risk grower visits is that farm zoning is the first priority to being Panama TR4 ready.

Effectively separating clean zones from dirty zones both in the farming activity zone and the packing shed is vitally important, while a clean access road allows fruit transport vehicles to enter farms, allowing trade to continue.

Staff from the ABGC and Biosecurity Queensland have been visiting these growers to discuss how best to get their farms Panama TR4 ready and to meet the requirements of a ‘Notice of presence of Panama disease tropical race 4 affected land’ if the disease is detected on their farm.

Feedback is that the personalised information for the growers has given them a better understanding of what they need to consider when making operational changes to meet a notice. Growers can then work through to tailor their own solutions to meet the requirements.

More information on farm zoning can be found here.

Have you subscribed to the Panama TR4 Program Update?

Are you missing out on important information about Panama TR4? Keep up to date with Biosecurity Queensland’s Panama TR4 Program by subscribing to their Program Update.

Visit the Biosecurity Queensland website and subscribe to their bi-monthly eNewsletters and alerts by ticking the ‘bananas’ box here. The March edition is out now. This month’s topics include:

·         minimal downtime for the third infested farm

·         how Biosecurity Queensland works with farms that might be infested

·         the tracing and surveillance review

·         a long-term plan for managing Panama TR4

·         innovative ideas in decontamination.

Read the March Program Update online here.