Today is National Agriculture Day (AgDay). In shearing sheds, paddocks, schools, homes and offices more than 150 events are planned across the country in celebration of our farmers and agriculture. You can still get involved in AgDay by joining the #AgDayAU Bake Off or by sharing the love on social media using the hashtag #AgDayAU.

Find out more and get involved here.

The majority of environmental water redirected from irrigators under the $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan isn't being delivered to its intended wetland targets, with private land blocking the connections between rivers and floodplains, new research shows. 

The Victorian Government is sticking to its promise to stand up for Victorian irrigation communities after more on-farm projects were put up for consultation on the Commonwealth website late last week.

Two former senior employees of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority have found there has been a 140 per cent increase in the volume of water harvested from floodplains and moved into on-farm storages in northern New South Wales since 1994.

Life on the land is never easy and the past four years have been particularly challenging for Australian farmers. Despite their struggles, many producers are planning to stay in agriculture but with new strategies and fresh mindsets.

Got something to sell, or want to buy? Go direct to your target market – olive growers and producers - like Tom, who’s selling a harvester, and Michael, who’s looking for Kalamata table olives

If you’ve got something industry-related to sell, you can reach your target market directly with Olivebiz Classifieds. Our online Classifieds service is an easy and inexpensive solution to advertising your unwanted equipment, extra oil - or even your grove. Tom is selling a Manitou telehandler harvester so he came to us to help spread the word, as did Michael, who’s keen to buy bulk Kalamata table olives. He knows that if there’s something you’re looking for, it’s the ideal way to get the message out loud and clear to your peers and industry associates – the most likely to have what you need.

Olivebiz Classifieds cost just $40 for AOA members ($100 for non-members), including a text ad and link through to either your web page or images hosted on our site. And you don’t need to be a tech-head: just send us your info and we’ll post it up for you.

Olivebiz Classifieds are online now at www.olivebiz.com.au/classifieds. To arrange a listing, contact Gerri at editor@olivegrower.com.au.

The Barossa and McLaren Vale wine regions stand to lose an estimated $44 million in exports, industry representatives have said, as their respective councils remain stunned over a decision to allow genetically modified (GM) crops in their districts. The State Government will lift its moratorium on broadacre GM crops across the mainland in 2021 after rejecting applications submitted by 11 councils to remain exempt.

The horticulture sector can become better versed in Australia's free trade agreements thanks to a new online tool. Austrade has launched the Free Trade Advantage, a site designed to help Australian exporters come up to speed with FTAs. The portal will host more than 40 hours of content, including resources on exporting and trade, interactive modules, digital FTA seminars and more.

When Jeff Wicks retired, he and his wife Julie reflected on their life in Queensland. They asked themselves, how much is enough? They decided they had more than enough money to live on and they wanted to give the rest away. Now. So the Wicks set up a private philanthropic foundation - one of 1,600 in Australia.

The International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) has extended the ‘air bridge’ between Hobart and Sydney, enabling Tasmanian exporters to connect with IFAM-supported international flights.  

New and extended flights announced over the past fortnight include Melbourne and Brisbane to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Melbourne and Brisbane, Adelaide to Doha, and Hobart to Sydney.

Contact your preferred freight forwarder to access available flights.  

For more information and flight details, visit the IFAM webpage or download the IFAM Flight Schedule Outbound.

Olives SA has regretfully been forced to postpone the working bee at the NOVA olive grove scheduled for tomorrow, 21 November, due to re-imposed COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings. 

The event will be re-scheduled at a later date once restrictions are lifted, and we’ll keep you informed here in Friday Olive Extracts. In the meantime, you can find out more about Olives SA and its activities, and becoming a member, here.

Learn how a group of beef producers gained each other’s trust to share data including benchmarking input and performance costs. Together they engaged experts to analyse data to build greater collective knowledge which has enhanced everyone’s performance and profitability. Find out how a leap of faith and the right expert analysis improved everyone’s bottom line.

Details: Thursday, 26 November, 7-8pm AEST – free. More information and register here.

Olives NZ has been aware that Mancozeb use may be withdrawn in the EU during the 20-21 NZ fruit growing season as the product, along with others, was under review. Olives NZ Executive Officer Gayle Sheridan reports that this has now been confirmed and all existing authorisations will expire on 31 January 2021. The issue is around residue testing, although Olives NZ had residue testing carried out on the Focus Groves’ 2018 Frantoio and none was detected.

Sheridan said the issue would only be of concern to those exporting NZ EVOO to Europe, however the Executive has approved that residue testing be carried out again under the auspices of the Focus Grove Project. This to assure members and the public that the residue potential is being monitored by the NZ olive industry. 

We’ll update when the testing results become available.

Results are in for the 2020 NZ Royal Easter Show Olive Oil & Gourmet Oil Awards, with Kapiti Olives taking the title of Supreme Champion. Major award winners are:

Supreme Champion: Kapiti Olives Koroneiki, Kapiti Coast - 4 Gold, Best in Class Medium

Best in Class Delicate: Oruaiti River Olives Leccino, Northland

Best in Class Medium: Kapiti Olives Koroneiki, Kapiti Coast 

Best in Class Intense: Rata Olives Frantoio, Marton 

Best in Class Infused: Bella Olea Lemon, Wairarapa

Best in Class Table Olives: Telegraph Hill Kalamata, Hawkes Bay

Access the full results here

The Ministry of Agriculture forbade, on Tuesday (17th), the marketing of nine brands of extra virgin olive oil products suspected of fraud. The ministry’s action took place after the Civil Police of Espírito Santo dismantled, on Wednesday (11), a criminal organization specialized in the falsification of oils.

Producers in Italy warn that storage facilities are filling up quickly just weeks into the harvest. Low demand from the restaurant and hospitality sector has caused the backlog.

Although the Yale Hospitality Food Conversation events have moved to a virtual format, an olive oil tasting this Monday was still able to teach students about the importance of olive oil and give them the skill to find their preferred olive oils for cooking.

A newly-imposed lockdown has brought Greece to a standstill and created a logistical nightmare for olive growers. Some health experts believe the start of the harvest is partly responsible for the spread of the virus.

The year is flying past, and Friday Olive Extracts (FOE) continues to bring all the latest industry news and events to your Inbox every week. THE place to share olive industry news, event details and reminders, our industry e-newsletter keeps growing in popularity and we now have nearly 4000 subscribers across the globe. If you’re not one of them, you can sign up here.

And please remember that FOE is YOUR e-newsletter, so we’re keen to receive your news and help spread the word. Just email your information to Editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au - it’s free, and the best way to reach your fellow industry members!

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium has started replanting the olive trees temporarily moved during construction works, back to their original locations, Trend reports citing the consortium. The trees cut down due to being infected by Xylella will be replaced by young olive trees resistant to the bacterium, said the consortium.

A reduced olive yield in Portugal will not hinder the growth of its olive oil exports, according to the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development. Lisbon expects exports to reach €600 million in 2020, up from €518 million in 2019 and €177 million in 2008, according to TrendEconomy, an international trade database.

2020 National Agriculture Day – Australia

Soil CRC Participants Conference

Entries close, Berlin Global Olive Oil Awards – Berlin, Germany

Entries close, EVO IOOC 2021 – Palmi, Italy

Farm2Plate Exchange 2021 – Scenic Rim, Qld

Hort Connections 2021 – Brisbane, Qld

2021 National Olive Conference & Trade Exhibition - Devonport, Tasmania

To include your event, or update your existing event details, email FOE editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au

Friday Olive Extracts Editorial editor@olivegrower.com.au

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