PLANS are well and truly underway for the inaugural Victorian Vegetable Innovation Days.
The field days will be held at Butler Market Garden's Catani farm over April 27 and 28, 2023.
An organising committee comprised of representatives from Stuart Grigg Ag-Hort Consulting, Ausveg Vic, Food and Fibre Gippsland, Ausveg and Butler Market Gardens will be delivering the event. Many industry players have expressed interest in being part of the event.
Elders Limited has been named as the major sponsor, while Syngenta Australia and Corteva have both offered platinum sponsorship to support the event.
Connor Steel, Elders Pakenham horticultural agronomist said Elders, and more specifically the local horticultural branches in the surrounding growing regions, are extremely proud to be sponsoring this event.
"Our people work very closely with the growers everyday and are very proud to not only be sponsoring this event but to be part of the process," Mr Steel said.
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Spaces at the Victorian Vegetable Innovation Days have been snapped up in record time, with all seed trial plots now fully subscribed and only one agricultural chemical trial site remaining at the time of writing.
The site is being prepared, and soil testing and mapping has been provided by Precision Agriculture to support optimal soil and nutrition management.
The 10 seed companies participating are:
- Terranova Seeds;
- Fairbanks Seeds;
- HM.Clause;
- Rijk Zwaan;
- BASF Vegetable Seeds (Nunhem's);
- Enza Zaden;
- Bayer/Seminis;
- Lefroy Valley Seeds;
- South Pacific Seeds;
- and Bejo Australia.
Stuart Grigg and John Said of Fresh Select previewed what to expect at VicVID23 when they visited the Week 39 demo days in France and the Netherlands recently.
Upon his return, Mr Grigg said there has been quite a lot of movement in the breeding pipelines in the last three to four years.
"I'm really excited to see many of the new genetics on show locally and for the Australian industry to have access to many new world-class varieties," Mr Grigg said.
Seedlings will be produced and generously supplied at no charge by both Boomaroo and GroLink, two of Victoria's major nurseries.
In addition to seed varieties, the field days will also host eight companies and trials of agricultural chemicals and fertilisers. In addition to Syngenta and Corteva, these sites will include Incitec Pivot Fertilisers, Stoller, Nufarm, Bio-Start, and EE Muirs.
Senior production and compliance manager of Butler Market Gardens, Dale Creed said he was very excited to play host to VicVID23.
"I'm particularly excited to be hosting a diversity of different product trials. It will be a fantastic opportunity for local growers to evaluate upcoming products in soils and climate similar to their own," Mr Creed said.
Mr Creed inducted those involved in the trials in early December, with biosecurity practices a top priority to protect the site at Catani.
The trial sites will be the centerpiece of the event, however many other businesses from along the supply chain have also registered their presence, ensuring that it will be a well-rounded event for Australian vegetable growing businesses.
- To register interest in one of the remaining spots for the event, contact the Organising Committee: VicVID@ausvegvic.com.au
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