TWO of the largest horticulture representative bodies put their money where their mouths are when it came to working together resulting in Hort Connections 2017 last week.
In what was perhaps the largest ever gathering of Australia's horticulture industry, Ausveg and the Produce Marketing Association Australia - New Zealand (PMA A-NZ) jointly hosted the three-day conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Four years ago, few would have predicted the two organisations would come together to organise the mammoth gathering which attracted some 2500 delegates.
In recent years, the two organisations held independent events, at one point only weeks apart, putting a strain on delegates, sponsors and trade display exhibitors.
That was all relegated to the past though as PMA A-NZ and Ausveg both trumpeted the benefits of cooperation.
In officially opening the conference, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Senator Anne Ruston, congratulated the organisers and acknowledged that "something changed" which resulted in Hort Connections being possible.
Ms Ruston also took the opportunity to encourage the horticulture sector to make the most of the opportunities currently open to it, particularly in regards to collaboration.
"One of the most important reasons you are here is to help shape future," she said.
"The future is in your hands. You are the industry; the government is not.
She spoke of the $700 million allocated for rural and research development, plus the $180m Rural R&D for Profit Programme, as projects where numerous industries wanted a "piece of the pie".
"It's a very generous pie. Let's all work together to make the pie bigger. The only way we are going to do that is to work together," she said.
"It's up to you to determine what is done with marketing levies. Are the levies working the way they are supposed to?
"What are you doing to ensure that we, the government, are contributing to the research?"
She touched on various hot topics such as the Horticulture Code of Conduct, labour hire issues, country of origin labelling and biosecurity, saying it was time the industry took real ownership of its future.
The idea of working together rang out through the traditional State of the Nation address on the final day of the conference, where Ausveg chief executive officer, James Whiteside and PMA A-NZ CEO, Darren Keating, shared the stage in an interview format.
Mr Whiteside described it as a "tremendous mood of collaboration" presently within the industry.
He said many of the groups within horticulture were facing the same issues which provided an opportunity to present a stronger collective voice.
Part of that industry body collaboration will include a 12-month, industry-funded promotion aimed at increasing Australian vegetables and key export markets.
Mr Whiteside said every grower and individual needed to understand his or her place within the industry.
"It's important that farmers understand what the consumers are thinking," he said.
Flowing on from that, Mr Keating said the way people eat was changing, with so many more sources of information now available for further food engagement.
"Look at how many people taking photos of their meals. What's driving that? It's an interest in food," Mr Keating said.
The two leaders shared similar thoughts on the labour issues which confronted the industry.
"One of the challenges that we've got is there is a number of people within the industry that are choosing not to do the right thing," Mr Keating said.
"We have enough laws. Some businesses choose not to follow that for whatever reasons. We need to promote those doing the right thing."
Mr Whiteside said the fact was, growers would sooner employ locals, however many were not willing to work, which meant other sources were needed.
"If we are going to pick the fruit, get it out the ground, we need to have a reliable workforce that works with the peaks and demands," he said.
In terms of industry recruitment, Mr Whiteside put the challenge out to come up with a phrase to replace the term "unskilled labour" which hindered the image of working in horticulture, be it picking, packing or researching and farm management.
"They are not unskilled. By the time we are finished with them, we've got them very skilled. It's a technically complex task," he said.
While discussion hovered around the coming together of the industry, a notable absence of presence was the industry lobby group, Voice of Horticulture which was formed in 2014 with the aim of representing the horticulture industry.
During its formation, it also stated it would provide guidance to Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA) to get maximum benefit from grower levies and government contributions.
VoH was referenced during the launch of the Fair Farms Initiative but did not appear to have any other involvement with the conference.
At the Hort Connections Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner, Ausveg chairman, Geoff Moar, said vegetable growers must be willing to adapt to a changing global retail environment to ensure it could increase production, improve profitability and compete in the world’s fresh produce market.
“It is imperative that we reflect on where we are as an industry and where we want to be," Mr Moar said.
"We must not only be the best in the world at growing fresh produce, but also the best in the world at promoting it to Australian consumers and customers all over the world."
Mr Moar said the collaboration that led to Hort Connections was an acknowledgement that the industry was open to change.
“It is time the vegetable industry takes charge to ensure that it can capitalise on the genuine and unique benefits that our products can deliver consumers and society more broadly," he said.
"The promotion of our produce to Australian consumers and the rest of the world is a critical step to further securing the viability of our industry for generations.”
It was also announced that next year's Hort Connections will take place in Brisbane.