Author: Amy Spear

Export opportunities investigated Where in the world could Australian bananas make their mark?  A recently released study investigated opportunities for locally grown produce in an already competitive environment. Amy Spear reports. Australian-grown bananas are a staple in most households around the country. Up until now, the industry has been largely…

What does the latest round of benchmarking reveal about the banana industry? The 2016/17 results are in and Howard Hall, of Pinnacle Agribusiness, is here to help break them down. It’s clear banana growers aren’t afraid of a bit of hard work – and know how to…

Australian Bananas continues to reach consumers in innovative, exciting ways – using both new and traditional media to target their audience. Marketing Manager Kylie Drumond reports. Hort Innovation is responsible for investing the banana marketing levy into a range of activities to drive frequency of purchase and consumption, under the Hort Innovation…

To ensure everyone plays their part in helping to minimise the spread of Panama disease tropical race 4 (Panama TR4), Biosecurity Queensland has been implementing a number of key projects to raise awareness with growers and the wider community about what they can do to be Panama TR4 ready. By Deanna Belbin, BQ…

Congratulations to Matt Abbott and Joshua Rolfe who have claimed a place among the world’s fastest outrigger canoe paddlers. The North Queenslanders, both from well-known banana growing families, competed at the Va’a World Sprint Championships in Tahiti last month. Beating out a field of about 50 talented paddlers for a…

Soil and topographic work is underway at sites for bioreactors (nitrogen traps) and constructed wetlands on farms in the Cassowary Coast region. Contractors are undertaking topographical surveys and soil samples at five sites in the Johnstone and Tully catchments to help guide the design and construction stages of systems repair…

A former Far North Queensland banana farmer believes a mechanical banana harvester he developed 20 years ago will eventually become the way of the future. With horticultural farming practices increasingly moving towards automation and robotics, Tom Johnston maintains his robotic harvester reduces fruit damage, is more cost and labour efficient and…