Ongoing hot demand for new tractors coupled with the impact of coronavirus on overseas factories means some buyers are now having to wait six to eight weeks for delivery. New tractor sales in August across Australia were up 19 per cent on the same month last year according to latest data from the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (TMA).

Wymah Certified Organic Kalamata Olives named Best Table Olive at Australian International Olive Awards 

Riverina producer Wymah Organic Olives is savouring success in prestigious industry awards. It won Best Table Olive in Show for its Wymah Certified Organic Kalamata Olives at the 2020 Australian International Olive Awards recently. It also scored Champion Kalamata Olive, Best Australian Table Olive and Best Southern Hemisphere Table Olive.

The winners of the 2020 Australian International Olive Awards have been revealed. It’s been a positive year for local growers thanks to consistent rain in many regions, and the fruits of their labour were celebrated in a virtual presentation.

Tensions between China and Australia have been simmering for a while now and the rocky relationship could be about to head to a whole new level. After hitting our barley and then our beef exports, now it seems China could be turning its back on a big chunk of our other commodities — starting, potentially, from today. Have no idea what's going on? Here are five quick questions to bring you up to speed.

Don't purchase your olives like a schmuck, do it in style with Mount Zero Olives' drive-through disco market. The Drive-Thru Disco Market is back to provide you with a contactless shopping experience smoother than the tunes DJ Chris Gill from Triple R and Northside Records will be mixing in the background.

La Nina forecasts and some decent in-crop rainfall has done more to drive down water allocation prices over the past 12 months than actual inflows into the Murray Darling Basin’s dams.

Water pressure in the Great Artesian Basin is recovering as more bores are capped, according to new research unveiled by the University of Queensland.The two-year research project involved more than 100 researchers to gain a better picture of how the world's largest artesian system functions and how to manage groundwater stores.

Got something to sell - like Howard, who’s selling an olive oil bottling machine? Or want to buy? Go direct to your target market – olive growers and producers

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. Howard is selling an Italian olive oil bottling machine (and other equipment) so he came to us to help spread the word. And 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.

An alarming new report out today by CSIRO, confirms Australian agriculture is at risk of increased disease outbreaks and pest incursions, weakened exports and damage to our global trading reputation. The prediction comes after the absence in the October Federal Budget of any meaningful new funding commitment to strengthen the national biosecurity system and following, the failure of the much anticipated biosecurity levy.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is urging farmers and landholders to put in fire breaks as harvest and hot weather ramp up the fire risk in the state's south. RFS operational officer Bradley Stewart said huge roadside grass fuel loads that bordered farms were also concerning.

Last season's bushfires, the worst in Australia's recorded history, have led to a surge in interest in how traditional Indigenous fire management can heal and protect the landscape. In the Bega Valley, where bushfires impacted more than 75 per cent of bushland and forests last spring and summer, the Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council welcomed the recognition and support for their cultural burning practice.

Food ingredients company ADM has released a report on the five food and beverage trends that will impact the way consumers eat and drink in the new year.

Skilled & Business Migration has recently announced significant changes to South Australia’s two Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs). Amongst the changes are a range of new occupations under the DAMAs, under focus areas including agribusiness and food production, and additional English language and age concessions, which will now carry over to the permanent visa. The changes to work experience requirements for a number of occupations will make it easier for qualified international graduates to be eligible to apply.  

More information here.

Growers, traders in dispute urged to contact Ombudsman  

Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell is encouraging growers and traders in disputes that fall under the Horticulture Code of Conduct to contact her office. The Horticulture Code is a mandatory code that aims to improve the clarity and transparency of trading arrangements between growers and traders. 

The Ombudsman’s office can provide information and assistance with dispute resolution, including access to mediation services. Mediation is a far more cost-effective and timely way to resolve disputes than taking legal action. The ASBFEO website also lists horticulture produce assessors who can help resolve a disagreement by investigating and reporting on matters linked to a horticulture produce agreement.

For information about the Horticulture Code or help with resolving a dispute that falls under the Code, visit www.asbfeo.gov.au or call the hotline 1300 650 460. And you can learn more about alternate dispute resolution via this short video.

Running through November and December, the Soil CRC webinars cover a wide range of topics focussing on the organisation’s research activity. Remaining events include the development of rapid, field-based soil tests and analysing soil biology. Each webinar includes time for questions at the end, and attendance is free.

Find out more and register here.

Farming Together is presenting a series of webinars based around collaborative business models and structures. Scheduled through November and December, the events are free and run from 7-8pm AEDT.

Details:

Thursday, 19 November - Galvanising Hidden Strengths: building community knowledge and support networks

Thursday, 26 November - Building Trust and the power of collective data

Thursday, 3 December - Love Thy Neighbour: neighbouring farmers joining forces

Thursday, 10 December - Stories From Country: indigenous collaborative farming

Thursday, 17 December - Talking About Your Generation: planning for success in succession

More information and register here.

Spain is expected to produce 1.6 million tons of olive oil this season. Slowing sales in the hospitality sector and a dry summer and spring have some producers concerned.

A newly-published report from Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food confirms the anecdotal evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic increased domestic demand for olive oil. Individual household olive oil consumption increased by 12.7 percent in the rolling 12-month period that ended in July 2020, compared with the previous one. 

(Jordan) A national anti-fraud campaign concerned with protecting the public against adulterated olive oil has been launched by multiple authorities under the name “Check Your Oil Before it Enters Your Home”.

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!

If you’d told me at the beginning of the year that I’d become a kitchen scientist, fiddling around with drain cleaner to cure olives, I wouldn’t have believed you. But no one could have anticipated much of this year: the pandemic, the racial reckoning, the wildfires and the election results that hang in the balance.

New COVID-19 containment measures announced by the Italian government will once again impact the country’s restaurant and food production sectors. According to the latest estimates published by the farmers association Coldiretti, the damage for the mandatory closure of restaurants for the next month will cost the sector €3.8 billion ($4.47 billion).

Spanish olive oil cooperatives have been given the green light to voluntarily self-regulate by the European Commission. The move will allow members of Spain’s main agricultural cooperative, Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias, to withdraw surplus olive oil from the market during years in which production outstrips demand and exports.

A bottle of olive oil which, due to the high temperatures to which it was exposed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and changes throughout its nearly 2,000 years, bears the traces of chemical changes typical of edible fats has been discovered by researchers from the University Federico II in Naples and Vanvitelli in Caserta and the National research council (CNR). The bottle was discovered in Pompeii and kept at the archaeological museum Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Mann).

Across Italy, students and volunteers are flocking to the olive groves to help with the harvest. The olive oil they help produce is destined for those in need from Sicily to Lombardy.

OSA 2020 AGM – Adelaide, SA

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

Advertising: editor@olivegrower.com.au

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