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 Coffs Harbour executive: Ron Gray, Jeff Eggins, Phil Bicknell and Wally Gately.Team Nambucca: Tony Styles and Vicki McCudden (not pictured: Joyce Ward).Leading the Tweed: Zac McKeever, Ethan McKeever and Colin Singh. The hard-working executive teams of the three New South Wales-based Banana Growers Associations have been re-elected…

Dianne and Frank Sciacca with the prestigious Charlie Nastasi Horticultural Farmer of the Year Award. 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…

Wet Tropics MIP extension officer – and now Reef Champion - Will Darveniza. 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…

All front left: Ms. Marcela Cadavid, Director Cenibanano, Augura, Mr. Antonio Jose Gonzalez, ASBAMA and Mr. Jorge Vargas, Researcher Cenibanano, Augura with the team from DAF at the South Johnstone Centre for Wet Tropics. A delegation of Colombian government officials and banana industry representatives visited Far North Queensland…

Growers and researchers participate in round-the-table discussions on a range of R&D topics. Shannon Paton, DAF's Tegan Kukulies, Gavin Devaney and Parmjeet Tut at the event. A playful title for this R&D event, held in October, gave attendees a good indication of what they could expect when…

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…