NZ stoushes, labour shortage warnings and the rise of MasterChef: Welcome to 2010

Worries over possible pest and disease introductions from the proposed importation of Kiwi apples and potatoes was taking considerable focus at conferences and in media columns.

Those biosecurity concerns were just some of the major issues facing horticulture a decade ago.

With Good Fruit & Vegetables celebrating 30 years of printing, a look back at the publication's coverage of news issues from 2010 provides a perspective on today's challenges.

There was plenty happening on the vegetable front with Ausveg reporting its concern over a worrying 5.9 per cent decrease in production in 2008/09 against the previous year.

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The organisation was also in the midst of pushing out the EnviroVeg Program through a series of regional workshops to outline the benefits of best environmental practices on farms, with particular regard to soil health.

Western Australian potato growers notched up a world first by eradicating the dreaded potato cyst nematode.

The state's potato industry regained access to valuable international markets after more than two decades of rigorous testing and surveillance.

On September 13, Western Australia was reinstated as a potato cyst nematode (PCN) free area.

But it was the ongoing love-hate relationship with New Zealand horticulture which kept popping up throughout the year.

Australian potato researchers and growers praised the collaboration between the countries in sharing information on the devastating potato disease zebra chip, while at the same time fearing the impact of the disease as New Zealand pushed to export

Added to this was the prospect of apples being imported into Australia from China, New Zealand and the US.

In November 2010, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rejected Australia's appeal against a previous WTO ruling that some quarantine protocols Australia had imposed on apple imports from New Zealand did not conform with international phytosanitary agreements.

Australia's quarantine restrictions were aimed particularly at ensuring the disease of apple and pear crops, fire blight, did not enter Australia, though the WTO decision also covered apple leaf curling midge.

Then Apple and Pear Australia Limited chairman, Darral Ashton, said the WTO was the independent arbiter and Australia had no further avenue of appeal.

IT wasn't all going New Zealand's way though.

The New Zealand kiwifruit industry was rocked by the widespread discovery of the exotic canker bacteria, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, or Psa, which was confirmed in 90 orchards at the end of November.

Back home, the realisation began to grow about the importance of bees and pollination within the greater agriculture sector, in 2010.

A report on the pollination practices of Australian horticulture warned of an over-reliance on wild honeybees to establish successful crops.

Released in August, 'Pollination aware' highlighted the risks associated with relying on incidental pollination, and quantified the likely demand for paid pollination services should anything happen to the escaped European honeybee populations

The report came out a month before a meeting of the Asian Honeybee National Management Group, working under the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), which confirmed the Australian Honeybee Industry Council was the only organisation to agree to contribute financially towards the eradication of the Asian Honeybee.

An Asian honeybee nest was detected in the mast of a fishing boat in Portsmith, Cairns, in May 2007.

Battling pests was also made that bit harder after the ban of "workhorse" pesticide, endosulfan, which left the horticulture industry struggling to find a replacement product to control challenging insect pests.

A major industry initiative by the avocado, macadamia, custard apple and lychee sectors was set to begin in October, exploring a range of alternative sprays and management strategies to assist producers phase out endosulfan use.

At the same time, the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) quashed reports that the use of dimethoate and fenthion for post-harvest dipping for fruit-fly control would be cancelled the following month.

Dimethoate was eventually banned about a year later, while fenthion was officially ruled off the table in October 2015.

WHILE these paddock-level production concerns had the industry anxious, it was buoyed by the continual rise of the television show, MasterChef which promoted fresh produce use and sparked spikes in purchases of products featured on the show.

Agriculture also got a new federal minister with Joe Ludwig taking up the position.

Curiously the issue of labour shortages being played out today was flagged at least a decade ago.

A study titled, "Towards a Better Understanding of Current and Future Human Resource Needs of Australian Agriculture", released by the Australian Farm Institute in 2010, indicated a labour shortage of at least 96,000 full-time workers and 10,000 part-time workers.

The study said future projections of labour supply and demand for the sector showed no signs of the shortage being reduced over the next decade.

The research concluded that if the sector continued on a business-as-usual course over the next decade, the shortage of available labour would continue to worsen, driving up labour costs and limiting future growth in the sector.

As it always has done, water politics was making headlines in 2010 as well.

Irrigators were informed they faced at least another 14 months of uncertainty before the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) finalised its plan for the basin.

"The authority will now submit its plan to Water Minister Tony Burke in early 2012, after extending its final reporting deadline from late 2011," an article from the time said.

"It's the latest in a series of delays to the reform process that has frustrated farmers. Mr Burke said he supported any move that meant a better outcome for the river, but stressed he also wanted to avoid endless delays."

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