Newsletter - June 2013

Hydroponic Farmers Federation Inc.
HYDROPONIC FARM
NEWSLETTER
A0033906W
HFF Executive
Committee
President:
John Elford
johnelford@bigpond.com
(03) 5341 7691
V. President & VFF
rep, Membership:
Tony Spurling info@gatewayestate.com.a
u
(03) 9739 0568
Secretary
& Newsletter:
Tony Bundock
tony.bundock@chisholm.ed
u.au
(03) 5990 7163
Treasurer:
Ryan Brightwell
rbbrightwell@netspace.ne
t.au
(03) 9756
6904
Committee:
David Pearson
pearsons@countryfreshherbs.
com.au
(03) 5952 6870
Michael Tran
mtran@eem.com.au
(03) 9742 1903
Ian Mortlock
ian@morthydro.com
(03) 5461 1111
Ex-officio:
Graeme Smith graeme@graemesmithconsulti
ng.com
0427 339 009
Volume 1, Issue 38
June 2013
President’s Report
Welcome to our latest
News Letter, and thanks
again to Tony B for his
outstanding
work
in
putting this all together.
At our recent A.G.M held
late March, we had two committee
members resign. Peter (and Annie) Ross
who have been great supporters of the
HFF over many years and we thank
Peter for his contribution to the
Committee and wish him and Annie all
the best for the future. Annie Hart has
also resigned, and whilst only on the
Committee for a short time, her input
was most valuable, and we also thank
her and we wish her all the best in her
future endeavours. With two committee
members down we have had Ian
Mortlock (Grower) and Michael Tran
(Industry) put their hands up to join the
committee. Thanks gentlemen, we hope
you get as much out of it as we do.
Guest Speakers at the AGM Included:Kate George – a Chisholm student, who
gave us a presentation of her recent trip
to the UK and Holland with the VET
Mobility project. This was a project that
the HFF sponsored to assist the students
to look at modern technology within the
horticultural industry.
David Forbes – who gave an overview of
what is required to employ an
apprentice or trainee, which was very
informative.
Ben Stapeley – Croplife – who talked
about Chemical registration in Australia
- and how the APVMA looks at all new
products that are bought in to the
country and how the products are
checked for impact on the environment
etc. Ben explained how once
registration is approved, how the
chemical is then managed by each state.
The differences in management by each
state has an effect on growers, with
different requirements in each state being
very difficult to manage. His talk was most
informative. Following this, Tony Bundock
gave the group a tour of the Chisholm
training glasshouse and explained some of
the activities in growing that Chisholm is
undergoing,
changing
crops,
and
highlighted the challenges with the work
force. At the AGM it was noticeable that
attendance numbers where down.
Discussion on this by the group in
attendance followed in general business,
with the possible reasons for members
not attending being issues being to close
to Easter, wrong day, no attraction to
attend, to busy on farm etc. Which leads
me to the fact, why did those attend the
AGM?? We are trying to provide venues
and Speakers that we think may assist our
members, so if you have suggestions
please let us know. Our next Grower
meeting is planned for 25th June at Avia
Produce. Andy and Porter have been
farming for as long as I can remember and
we believe this venue will provide strong
attraction for members to attend. We are
also planning to have guest speakers
attending to give practical demonstrations
on hygiene products available at this
point, which may be good timing for those
growers in the process of planning plant
change overs or the next twelve months
strategies for combating potential hygiene
issues. Graeme Smith will also be in
attendance to give us all an update on
Industry News which will be as usual,
most informative. Dion Potter, Syngenta
Australia, will be providing us with an
understanding on recent issues in bringing
seeds into Australia, as this has become a
major issue for all of us. Some of the areas
that need answers that will be covered by
Dion are: What are these new tests? Why
do we have these new tests? How does
this effect seed supply? What are the seed
Continued on page 3.
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The Secretary
The say that if you want something
done, then ask a busy man to do it.
This has apparently been a sign that
must have been hanging over my head
for the past 3 months as life has been a
bit hectic. On top of all the usual things
I have to do, in March I was fortunate enough to
attended the Haifa Fertiliser companies Pioneering
Knowledge’ seminar on the topic of fertigation in
greenhouse crops. The conference itself was held
in Bleiswijk, Holland—so this saw me leave
Australia on a Saturday afternoon, arrive in London
on the Sunday before travelling to Holland on the
Monday morning—have a meeting with the Priva
guys in a taxi on the way to the conference, and
then attend the main event! This was closely
followed by a return trip the UK on the Thursday
morning, before flying out of London on the
Thursday night and arriving home the following
Saturday morning! So was all that flying
worthwhile for a seminar—undoubtedly. The seminar itself was run at Wageningen University & Research Centre and was presented by leading industry experts such as Wim Voogt, WUR, Ronald
Valke, Haifa and Chris Blok, WUR. During the seminar the delegates were given a very
comprehensive overview of the issues associated with fertigation, recipe mixing and composition, and it
was certainly a highly informative seminar. So, very
nice if you can jet off to Holland, but how do local
growers get to hear about this
information? With both my HFF and Chisholm hats on I
am now working with Haifa fertilisers to bring this
seminar to Australia. The plan is to hopefully bring
some of the Dutch presenters across and to jointly
run the event with Haifa Australia. At this stage the
tentative date is around the end of August/ early
September mark. As soon as we can get confirmation of the availability of the speakers we will be
informing the HFF members first and then the general horticultural community.
The double hat wearing trick also worked well in that
I was able to host a specialist Priva training day at
Chisholm for growers who use Priva climate
management systems. Delivering the training was
renowned Dutch Priva expert, Peter Mos. The day
was well attended and growers from WA, QLD, NSW,
VIC and New
Zealand converged on Chisholm
Institute’s National Precision Growing Centre for the
day. The training day sparked some lively debate and
the chance to interact with an expert of Peter’s
calibre was a great experience for all of the
participants. With the Priva systems having so many
complexities, it was a great chance to broaden
everyone’s general knowledge and explore some of
the in depth potential that a computerised system
can unleash in terms of managing a controlled
growing
environment
climate.
Ventilation was a topic that was of particular interest
– this is the function that we use almost every day of
the year – and some time was spent looking at how
the Priva system can manipulate the P band settings
based on both internal and external factors within
the glasshouse. The
bottom line being that
everyone was able to return to their home locations
and experiment in ‘tweaking’ their own systems to
try and create that perfect climate for their own crop
areas. Both of these events highlighted to me that as
growers we often ‘know what we know, but we
don’t know what we don’t know!’ so the need to
keep constantly updated is always with us if we are
to succeed in life. Later on in this newsletter you will
see some references to online news sites that are
now appearing , I would urge you to have a look at
these sites as they will all enable you to be better
informed at the end of the day. Finally, I have
created some spare time in my busy life as I completed a Masters of Education degree and graduated
at Monash University in May. There was a good
feeling in completing this study, and after having
written a thesis, the challenge of writing a
newsletter isn’t quite so daunting as it was before!
Membership
I am pleased to report that the HFF Membership is currently running at 51 members. 38 of these
members are currently financial, and this is made up of 20 growers, 15 industry members and 2
life members. Non current members number 13, including 1 affiliate, 9 growers and 3 industry. Can I
take this opportunity to give a gentle reminder to those of you who still have to renew your
membership to do so as soon as possible. Remember that only financial members can take advantage of the
benefits conferred by HFF membership, including free grower meetings and discounted
registration at both the HFF and AHGA conferences to name a few. Happy growing, Tony Spurling. Membership secre-
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President’s Report Continued
companies doing to improve the situation? What can I do as a grower to help?
If all of the afore mentioned speakers and venue have left you with the thought that it’s not a good enough
reason to attend, then maybe the following may help. THE MEETING IS FREE TO FINANCIAL MEMBERS!
And in the spirit of the best advertisements—but wait, there’s more - in our wisdom, the committee has decided
to dangle a nice juicy carrot in front of our members. We really believe in what we do, and providing the
opportunity for Growers and Industry to network, and experience other growers challenges can be most
beneficial.
So if you attend this Grower meeting and you meet the “criteria” you will be eligible for a voucher that if
presented when registering for the this year’s National (PCA) conference in July, YOU WILL RECEIVE A FURTHER
$50 DISCOUNT TO THE PCA CONFERENCE.
And don’t forget the only cost to you attending this Grower Meeting if you are a financial member, is Fuel, Your
Time and Beverages..... THE REST IS FREE.
Details of Grower meeting are within this addition of the news letter.
Hope to see you at the Grower Meeting.
CHEERS!
John Elford
President
Hydroponic Farmers Federation
Energy Workshop
There is an opportunity to hold an "Energy workshop" for growers in Victoria during
the period of June to September this year. Through this workshop, participants will
gain a practical understanding of assessing energy use throughout the farm, and using
this information to plan energy efficiency improvements. There is also a session on
geothermal heat pumps and how this technology offers an alternate energy option for
the industry. Participants in the workshop will also receive an information guide and
energy self-assessment book as well as a greenhouse heat energy estimator tool.
There would be no cost to growers. The workshop would be approximately 4 hours so
could be run as a half-day or an afternoon/evening. The event is being proposed by Jeremy BadgeryParker,Greenhouse Industry Development and Extension, NSW Department of Primary Industries. Jeremy is
well known within the Industry and has been involved in many projects, so the HFF is happy to support this
activity.
A potential venue and date will be discussed at the up and coming Grower Meeting.
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Overseas 90 hectare development
There are few multi-million pound projects that reach
completion within deadlines and on budget. The new
£17m greenhouse at Thanet Earth UK, is a remarkable
building; and is a great example of collaborative
design and construction. The first tomatoes from
Thanet Growers One (TG1) at Thanet Earth are now
being harvested, packed and making their way onto
retail shelves across the length and breath of the UK.
As with all greenhouses at Thanet Earth, rainwater
capture and a clever water recycling system provides
around 80% of the water needed by the plants. The
heat and CO2 come courtesy of the CHP electricity
generation units in the greenhouse. This technology
provides a valuable income stream through the sale
of its electricity and helps ensure a consistency and
added control over cost of production. The site now
boasts a total generating capacity of 20MW.
Offering consumers a British winter tomato range
produced with the help of artificial lights is a core
part of the Thanet Earth proposition, and grow lights
are scheduled for installation later this year.
The Thanet Earth tomato growing expert, Gert van
Straalen explained: “For me, having all the precision
controls within this greenhouse is key to realising my
goal of maximum productivity alongside the best
possible quality and flavour of our fruit. I’m confident
that the equipment and system within this
greenhouse is the envy of every commercial grower
right now. We’ve taken everything we’ve learnt from
our previous experience of growing on this site and
around the world and we’ve made even further improvements.”
Gert van Straalen
For its first season TG1 is producing six speciality
tomato varieties for the multiples. It’s also home to
some closely-guarded trial varieties that emerged
from the site’s innovation work and the Thanet Earth
Discovery Fellowship project with Hadlow College.
Production of tomatoes in TG1 is to be a 52 week
operation, providing year-round work for some 100
people across the greenhouse and packing factory.
The Discovery Zone is a new feature for Thanet Earth
within TG1. Given the risk of disease introduction
from visitors, the greenhouses remain an area closed
to visitors. However, at TG1 a new, first floor
education and meeting space has been set aside to
help Thanet Earth introduce more people to their
growing system without putting the plants at risk.
Approaching its final fit-out, the room will feature a
full demonstration kitchen along with educational
exhibits. For retail customers, for schools and
colleges, this is one way in which the company is
further demonstrating its commitment to helping
connect consumers more closely with their food.
Thanet Earth is a huge site and when finished will
cover 90 hectares. The UK's largest privately-owned
fresh produce supplier, Fresca Group Ltd, originally
purchased the site and maintains a 50% stake in the
marketing business on site that sells the crops
(Thanet Earth Marketing Ltd). The remaining 50% of
the Thanet Earth Marketing business is owned by
companies who are specialist growers - Kaaij
Greenhouses UK Ltd, Rainbow Growers, A&A
Growers and Fresca Group Ltd. These companies
have purchased their own greenhouse plot and
constructed their greenhouse at Thanet Earth. They
all pack and market their crops through Thanet
Earth. Marketing Ltd.
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Protected Cropping Australia
Conference
The 12th biennial Protected Cropping Australia Conference will be in Melbourne from Sunday 28 to Wednesday
31 July 2013. The venue is the Pullman Melbourne Albert Park Conference and Events Centre, 65 Queens Road,
Albert Park. The event will feature technical lectures, trade show, farm and market tours as well as social events
are organised specifically for commercial greenhouse, hydroponic and aquaponic growers.
Trade Expo - The trade exhibition of 50 stands of Australian and overseas suppliers is open to the general industry
on the Sunday afternoon and reserved for delegates throughout Monday and Tuesday. Long lunch and tea breaks
are served in the trade exhibition for plenty of opportunity to mingle with suppliers, manufacturers, speakers and
other commercial growers.
Technical Presentations Plus Workshops -Technical lectures and practical workshops will run throughout Monday
and Tuesday. These will be concurrent sessions, with some repeated according to demand, giving delegates a
Soilless Farm Tours - On Tuesday there is an optional sunrise tour of Melbourne Flower Markets (sponsored by
Flowers Victoria) On Wednesday there will be optional all day bus tours to soilless and greenhouse farms and other associated facilities. There is a choice of 3 tours - Flowers, Fruit & veg & leafy greens, plus a mixed General
tour. These tours are strictly only open to conference delegates.
Social Networking - As always, the event will foster the major conference benefit of networking within the
industry. Welcome Cocktails on Sunday evening are always a fun way to kick start the conference networking, and
Monday evening’s Banquet will be another highlight, with great food and ambience.
So what are you waiting for! Register as a delegate without delay!
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Keeping up with the e news…...
It doesn’t seem that long ago when we kept up to date
by reading a newspaper, watching the TV, or thumbing
through a paper based copy of a trade magazine. But
with technology now moving at such high speed, our
news sources have now moved in to an e format that
offers instant access and constant updates.
Recently you may well have been informed of a couple
of Horticulture based news sites that have arrived on
the scene.
Hortidaily.com defines itself as an online meeting
place for the international horticulture industry. The
website is updated daily with interesting news from
around the globe. HortiDaily intends to provide as
much information as possible, to help growers with
the management of their horticultural enterprise.
Hortidaily, by nature, is an interactive concept, which
relies greatly on the participation of its readers. This is
expressed through many press releases, photo
material, responsive messages, and information
requests that readers send to the editors.
Hortidaily also offers readers free press release
publicity. Further information can be found at their
website—http://www.hortidaily.com/ or they can be e
mailed at info@hortidaily.com.
Hortibiz
This is all good for the bigger picture, but what about
the Australian market? Well look no further than a
revitalised version of an old friend.
Practical hydroponics has now gone from a hard copy
bi-monthly subscription publication to a monthly e
version. The digital edition can be read online, or
downloaded onto your PC, Mac, laptop, tablet or
smartphone for off-line reading at your leisure.
HortiBiz is a website of TuinbouwCommunicatie, the
leading publisher in the Dutch horticulture industry.
To subscribe to the digital edition, just go to the web
site http://hydroponics.com.au/free-subscription/ and
enter your name and email address.
In the Netherlands, TuinbouwCommunicatie publishes
a variation of horticultural websites like GroenteNet
and
SierteeltNet, also two specialist journals KAS
Magazine and GTT Magazine about greenhouse horticulture.
According to managing editor, Steven Carruthers, the
digital edition is free to growers, consultants,
researchers, educators, suppliers, allied trades and
their staff and employees.
At this site you can browse through an e version of the
magazine to get all of the latest world wide
information and technology updates.
Hortibiz can be found at http://www.hortibiz.com/
‘Our new website is possibly the most unique and
useful hydroponic and greenhouse resource on the
internet. It provides regular updates on news, grower
issues and new product and service releases and
contains fully searchable and indexed articles from
over 21 years of publishing’ said Steven Carruthers
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Spot the issue—a tale of recognition
One of the constant battles of being a grower is to
keep your crop in good condition in terms of pest and
disease control. As you build up your experience, it’s
possible to store away many of the common
symptoms of pest and disease infestation in the
memory bank so that when they appear again you
know the corrective measures to take, or even
better, you can apply such measures before the
threat to your crop takes place. The issue is when
something new to you comes along and you are
instantly turned in to a detective as you try and solve
the issue.
As a case in point, some growers have been seeing
signs on their tomato crops of yellow spots. These
first symptoms have been occurring on lower leaves
as bright yellow spots that range from 5 to 10mm in
diameter. The spots enlarge and eventually turn
brown. As infections progress, the entire leaf can
wither and die but remain attached to the stem.
There are no symptoms on the stems or fruit. So
what’s the solution? One of the basics of disease
identification is to look at the symptoms of the issue,
but this can be tricky as you try and decipher the
visual symptoms that you have in front of you with a
picture from either a book or the internet that looks
something like the issue that you have. Symptoms
present ideas such as Alternaria leaf spot or Target
spot or even Septoria leaf spot. So rather than play
the guessing game, it’s a good idea to consult with
someone who’s an expert in this area. In the case of
the yellow spot issue, a sample of an infected leaf
was sent to Dr Elizabeth Minchington who is a plant
pathologist at the Department of Environment and
Primary Industries, located at Knoxfield. The tomato
leaf
sample
in
question
was
examined
microscopically to give a thorough inspection. And
The result? The issue was identified as powdery
mildew Leveillula taurica (Oidiopsis sicula) and the
key factor was that under the microscope the actual
spores of the disease could be identified on the
basis of pointed conidia spores. Not something that
you could see with the naked eye or even a hand
lense. But hang on, powdery Mildew has some
pretty distinct symptoms in terms of white fluffy
spores on the top of the leaves—I didn’t do four
years at Agricultural college for nothing you know!
Well that’s certainly true in the case of Powdery
Mildew Erysiphe (Oidium lycopersicum) White spots
consisting of mycelium and spores develop on the
top side of the leaves and stems. They are usually
conspicuous even when small. Yellow lesions do not
develop with infections by this fungus, but large
areas of the leaves may be affected. So where to
from here? Well control is the answer, and once
again the best people to talk to on that score are
the experts. If you give Michael Tran a call he would
be delighted to discuss a range of solutions that he
can provide for you—and I am not going to step on
his toes here! However, on a personal note, I have
found that a routine spray of EcoCarb® has certainly
kept this issue at bay in the Chisholm Tomato crops,
this being a contact fungicide based on activated
potassium bicarbonate in a wettable powder
formulation that changes the pH on the leaf creating
a more alkaline environment, and disrupts cellular
processes of germinating fungi, inhibiting their
growth and preventing their spread. EcoCarb® also
has the benefit of not leaving any residue on the
fruit and is compatible with IPM programmes. There
are no withholding periods, or re-entry restrictions.
So good luck with your own detective work!
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Fresh produce imports increase
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry figures show that the value of imported processed fruit and
vegetables has risen from $71 million in 2010-2011, to $116 million in 2011-2012. Fresh fruit and vegetable imports also increased, by 19% over the same period.
South West grower Ben Taylor said imports were the biggest issue threatening WA growers, who were being
forced to slash prices to compete.
Mr Taylor said high production costs made the price cuts unsustainable.
"It's killing us," he said. "We are financially stuffed because our returns are not there any more.
"I'll be lucky if I have two years left if things don't turn around," he said.
AUSVEG spokesman Hugh Gurney said overseas growers were able to produce more cheaply than Australian
growers because costs, such as wages, were lower.
Vegetables WA executive officer Jim Turley said processed fruit and vegetable imports, which include canned
fruit and frozen vegetables, were threatening the viability of WA growers.
"We are appealing to consumers to stick by their local growers because if they don't, we won't be here in 10
years," Mr Turley said.
Source: au.news.yahoo.com
HY D R O P O NI C FA R M NE WS LE T T E R
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AUSVEG launches innovative 1800
Agronomist hotline for vegetable
AUSVEG has launched a 1800 Agronomist hotline for vegetable growers, an industry-driven initiative which will
be introduced on a national basis to provide technical information and address gaps in knowledge across the
industry.
AUSVEG spokesperson Andrew White said the hotline would provide vegetable growers with unparalleled
access to technical agronomy information and would benefit many vegetable growers across Australia by
providing them with technical insights relevant to their circumstances.
“This is a unique and innovative initiative for the Australian vegetable industry that will be particularly useful for
those growers that cannot afford to employ a full-time technical agronomist on staff or are unable to easily
access technical information relevant to their circumstances due to the remoteness of their farm,” Mr White
said.
“Technical advice will be provided through the service by a leading Australian agronomy service provider. The
hotline will provide a useful resource for growers to obtain technical advice in a range of areas, including pest
control and identification of pest problems, weed control, nutrition, post-harvest, seed / genetic selection,
protected cropping and other on-farm technical issues,” Mr White said.
“Growers will be provided with up-to-date information relevant to their circumstances and may also be guided
to the industry’s Knowledge Management R&D database located on the AUSVEG website for additional
information where it’s appropriate,” he said.
The pilot project is being funded by Horticulture Australia using the National Vegetable Levy with matched funds
from the Australia Government.
Mr White said that the service would become a valuable industry resource.
“The industry felt that a 1800 hotline was the easiest and most cost-effective way to address potential lack of
access to technical information on a national basis. The service provides an avenue to access technical
information that will assist those growers who would otherwise be unable to access such information,” Mr
White said.
For more information:
Andrew White
AUSVEG
Tel: +61 (03) 9822 0388
Mob: +61 (0)409 989 575
andrew.white@ausveg.com.au
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Accredited training for the
Hydroponic Industry
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