Day: 16 December 2019

Hannah MacKay has been named the 2019 Mort Johnston scholar. Ms MacKay is currently studying a double degree in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture, majoring in Horticulture, at the University of Queensland. A Tully local and part of the MacKay banana farming family, her interest in the industry began at an early…

The hard-working executive teams of the three New South Wales-based Banana Growers Associations have been re-elected for another term. In August, the Nambucca BGA re-elected Vicki McCudden as president, Tony Styles as secretary and Joyce Ward as Treasurer. In October, Colin Singh (president), Ethan McKeever (vice president/events organiser) and Zac McKeever (secretary/treasurer)…

Banana growers have again been recognised for their contributions across a range of fields – including, of course, producing a top notch product. Frank and Dianne Sciacca, of Pacific Coast Eco Bananas, were announced as the 2019 Charlie Nastasi Horticultural Farmer of the Year award winners in late August. The couple’s…

An extension officer helping banana growers understand water quality on their farms has won the 2019 Reef Youth Champion Award. William Darveniza works with banana and cane growers to reduce sediment and nutrient loss as part of the Wet Tropics Major Integrated Project. From a banana farming family,…

A delegation of Colombian government officials and banana industry representatives visited Far North Queensland in September to learn about the region’s unprecedented success in containing Panama disease Tropical Race 4. Colombia is one of the world’s biggest banana exporting countries and recently had their first confirmed detection of the devastating disease. The…

A playful title for this R&D event, held in October, gave attendees a good indication of what they could expect when hearing about the latest banana research from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF). The event, organised by the DAF banana extension team, was attended by more than 40 people…

The fight against feral pigs is far from over in the Tully Valley, despite a targeted program eradicating more than 5000 of the pests. Feral pigs not only cause considerable environmental damage, but also pose a constant risk of spreading Panama tropical race 4. As at September 30, 5333 pigs…