Grow NT Magazine - December 2022

THE LATEST FROM THE NT FARMERS ASSOCIATION 

GROW 

MAGAZINE 

DECEMBER EDITION

Contents 

3 President's Report 

7 View from the CEO's desk 

10 Northern Myths, Opportunities and Realities 

11 Bella McBean awarded the Kenneth Rayner Scholarship 

12 Unearthing Resilient Landscapes across the Northern Territory 

15 Exchange program proves fruitful for Top End farmers 

19 Water Productivity, Efficiency and Sustainability Project 

22 Education Program Update 

24 Diversification Officer Update 

26 Water Efficiency project kicks off across NT & WA 

29 Supporting Landholder Capacity for Quality Development Applications Across Northern 

Australia Project 

31 Looking back at the VegNET 3.0 Project 

34 Farewell, Greg! 

35 Northern Territory Ord Valley Forestry Hub Update 

37 Mango Season in Full Swing 

40 Melons Australia end-of-year wrap up! 

43 Land stewardship draws the focus of new NT Farmers Northern Hub projects 

45 Congratulations, Simone! 

2 GROW MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 

46 Update from Forestry Industry Association Northern Territory (FIANT)

President's 

Overview of 2022 

Simon Smith 

On behalf of the Board of NT farmers I am 

pleased to offer this end of year reflection 

on your organisation’s achievements for 

2022 and our aims for 2023. 

It has been another challenging year for 

farmers and farming across the Territory but 

one in which NT Farmers has once again 

had the back of all members. Whether 

it be labour availability, market access, 

biosecurity, advocacy, extension services 

or communication and networking, our 

passionate and dedicated staff, so ably led 

by CEO Paul Burke and Director of Projects 

and Regions Simone Cameron, have 

delivered. 

Few of us entered 2022 knowing who 

Volodymyr Zelensky was and perhaps 

fewer the Greek letter Omicron. Yet they 

would shape our year; one by defending 

liberty and the other by liberating our urge 

to spend! 

The resultant energy and supply chain 

pressures created a chaotic twelve 

months for farmers. Escalating fuel and 

fertiliser prices, rising interest rates, low 

unemployment and a surge in inflation 

that added cost of business and wages all 

put pressure on farmers. Albo replaced 

Scomo and Natasha replaced Michael but 

no one replaced the 200,000 pre-covid 

backpackers who helped pick and pack our 

crops! Yet somehow through this year of 

upheaval our resilient farmers have cobbled 

together harvest workforces and got crops 

to market. Many have had strong years and I 

hope all have at least broken even or better. 

CEO Paul has outlined elsewhere in this 

newsletter the breadth of our achievements 

throughout 2022 including workforce 

assistance, the great extension and 

support work of our project officers and 

our successful Food Futures Roadshows to 

name a few. 

There are several other initiatives I’d like to 

highlight. 

With workforce solutions remaining front 

and centre for NT Farmers, our tireless 

Policy and Communication officer Iain 

Forrest helped co-ordinate a trade mission 

to Timor Leste in September. As participants 

in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility 

scheme, Timor Leste was the obvious 

choice for an NT specific pilot project aimed 

at a more flexible and tailored seasonal 

worker system. In essence we want the NT 

to become the destination of choice for the 

best farm workers from Timor-Leste. 

To achieve this we are offering a package 

of two-way benefits including targeted and 

expanded pre-departure training, on-farm 

support in the NT to reduce absconding 

and attrition (eg organised social activities, 

connectivity to home, pastoral care) and 

up-skilling opportunities to benefit host 

employers but also improve farming 

GROW MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 3


productivity in Timor Leste (e.g financial and 

English literacy, machinery licenses, first aid, 

WHS, tailored hort/Ag courses). 

Training will be offered on-line and will have 

the dual benefit of also provide gainful use 

of downtime for workers on our isolated 

farms. Similarly, we see flexible Visa 

arrangements and regular flights between 

Darwin and Dili as an opportunity for 

workers to have a few weeks break at home 

rather than being idle after busy periods or 

during production breaks. 

Our proposal was extremely well received 

by the Timor Leste Government, including 

the Prime Minister, relevant Ministers, and 

departmental heads. At present we are in 

discussion with the office of the Minister for 

International Development and the Pacific 

(Hon. Pat Conroy) and the NT Government 

regarding funding. This is an ambitious 

three-year project but one that has the 

potential to provide serious long-term 

labour solutions for our members. 

In a similar vein our proposed ‘Cultivating 

a Workforce’ initiative targets attracting 

Australian or visiting workers through 

a digital and social media marketing 

campaign. The proposal includes free 

tourist vouchers, subsidised or free 

training such as first aid, WHS, white card, 

machinery licenses as well as pastoral care 

needs like connectivity, social activities 

and ensuring appropriate accommodation, 

facilities and working conditions. 

NT Farmers will continue to do whatever 

we can to bring workers to the NT in a very 

competitive labour market. However, at the 

end of the day, staff attraction, retention and 

productivity are the purview of business 

owners/managers and there needs to be an 

appreciation that whatever is offered by way 

of remuneration, conditions, accomodation 

care and respect needs to be stronger than 

ever before. 

I am particularly proud of our RD&E survey. 

One hundred and four responses to a 

half hour survey of 30 questions was an 

outstanding achievement. A big thankyou to 

those who participated and particularly the 

staff and board members who encouraged 

and cajoled! 

The data assembled provides unique 

insights into our industry around not just 

R&D priorities by sector, but importantly 

grower preferences of by whom and where 

research is done and by who and how they 

prefer extension services delivered. For 

example, growers overwhelmingly would 

prefer to see nutrition, irrigation and pest 

and disease trials on member’s working 

farms, new crop trials and biosecurity are 

strongly seen as the province of DITT 

while collaborative extension activities are 

preferred. 

We now have an important tool to assist 

partners such as DITT, DEPWS, The 

Innovation Hub, CDU and the newly minted 

RINA, as well as funding bodies, with 

prioritising our needs over their wants! 

The Board’s RD&E sub-committee, which 

includes the aforementioned collaborators, 

will provide the forum for this co-ordination 

and inspiration. 

Another beneficial outcome of the survey 

is that NT Farmers will now develop ‘shelf 

ready’ projects where clear sector or 

cross-sector priorities have been identified. 

These projects can then be pitched to 

collaborators rather than the usual waiting 

and hoping a funding opportunity presents. 

Several of these will be showcased at this 

year’s AGM. 

Our other Board sub-committee, the Water 

Reference Group (WRG), has also been 

very active this year. While some aspects 

of its role are seen as a contentious, I would 

argue it is the most important of the Board’s 

initiatives. 

Farmers are key stakeholders in the water 

space but we are only one among many. 

This NTFarmers facilitated ‘think tank’

(including NLC, Northern Cotton Growers 

Association, DITT, DEPWS, CentreFarm, 

AFANT, ECNT, RDANT, Territory NRM and 

others) gives us a unique opportunity to 

inform and be informed. Chair and board 

member Kate Peake (also CEO for RDANT) 

does a phenomenal job wrangling the 

disparate parties to achieve consensus on 

many key issues while accepting there will 

be fundamental ideological differences 

on others. There are strong personalities 

with strong viewpoints at these meetings 

however there is also a genuine intent by 

all participants to drive better planning 

and policy outcomes and through this, to 

the surprise of some no doubt, helping 

ensure farmers have guaranteed access to 

water for irrigation. To avoid muddying the 

waters, if you’ll excuse the terrible pun, the 

WRG does not speak for NT Farmers and 

therefore has made a separate submission 

to that of NT Farmers on The NT Strategic 

Water Plan. 

Another Board priority for 2023 is to 

move our funding arrangements with 

both DITT and DEPWS to Service Level 

Agreements (SLA’s). The existing annual 

IDSP (Industry Development Support 

Payments), along with one-off grants and 

project funding, have been vital in the 

establishment of NT Farmers and have 

enabled our continued and expanded 

support for farmers and farming. However, 

your board believes SLA’s will better 

recognise the maturity and collaborative 

nature of our current relationships with key 

Government Departments as well as better 

acknowledging the ever increasing services 

NT Farmers delivers for the benefit of not 

just our industry but the Territory as a whole. 

While this has been a tough year for staff, 

growers and allied trades it has also been 

a demanding year for your Board. The 

requirement for strong governance, clear 

strategy- setting and the protection of our 

organisation’s reputation have increased 

commensurate with our rapid growth in 

influence and profile under our exceptional 

CEO Paul Burke. 

There have been challenging subjects to 

tackle and strong conversations had within 

the board, and with the CEO, however they 

have always occurred with respect and 

objectivity and with the best interests of NT 

Farmers at their core. 

I want to acknowledge the huge effort and 

support of your voluntary board who have 

somehow found time outside their day jobs 

to have the organisations back throughout 

the year; Paul Mclaughlin, Vin Lange, 

Andrew Dalglish, Andrew Colbeck, Bruce 

Connolly, Brett Gill, Jessie Jenkins and Gavin 

Scurr. 

I also want to acknowledge the additional 

contribution of your Board’s executive 

members; Kate Peake, Frank Miller and 

Martina Matzner. Thank you for the many 

additional meetings, emails and phone calls. 

As we look to 2023 two items loom large. 

In January we begin the recruitment 

process for a new CEO to replace Paul 

whose contract expires on June 30. These 

are huge shoes to fill however we believe 

the strength, profile and culture of NT 

Farmers will attract some high-quality 

applicants. Paul assures me he won’t be 

going far and will be there to assist with 

the transition and to continue to mentor the 

many fantastic staff he has recruited. 

In February the staff and Board, with input 

from members and key stakeholders, will 

develop a new five-year strategic plan. 

Setting the future blueprint is important at 

any stage but never more so than with an 

incoming CEO. Having member input will be 

a first for our organisation so I encourage all 

interested members to have your say when 

the time comes. 

We couldn’t do what we do without the 

close and frank working relationships we 

enjoy with the leadership teams at DITT 

and DEPWS. Thank you to Luke Bowen, Phil 

Hausler and Lorraine Corowa at DITT and 


Jo Townsend and Amy Dysart at DEPWS. 

Thanks also to 

Dr. Anne Walters and her team in Plant 

Biosecurity and Mohammad Sohail Mazhar 

and his team in Plant Industries for your truly 

farmer focussed collaboration throughout 

the year. 

While we have faced challenges in the 

NT, our thoughts go out to those far less 

fortunate. In particular everyone impacted 

by flooding across much of Australia and 

those in war ravaged Ukraine. We hope 

2023 brings better times. 

Finally, to our members and friends 

thank you for our continuing support of 

NT Farmers and of each other. Enjoy the 

festive season like never before and on 

behalf of the Board I wish you all a safe and 

prosperous 2023. 

6 GROW MAGAZINE - DECEMBER

View from the 

CEO's desk 

Paul Burke 

At the beginning of 2022, many thought 

that the disruptions of COVID would be well 

behind us for most of 2022, but for many 

the sting in the tail is still very real. Over 

the past 12 months I have continually said 

that work force issues are here to stay for a 

while. The tightening workforce has become 

critical in regional areas and has spread from 

Agriculture and Tourism to all parts of the 

economy. I think it is safe to say that in 2023, 

workforce will continue to be one of the 

largest issues still to be resolved. 

With the current federal government 

taking the Agriculture visa off the table 

and reforming the PALM scheme, we have 

not experienced any major improvements 

in accessing workers. The Northern 

Territory Government have implemented 

worker attraction programs, although 

with every state doing the same it is still 

extremely difficult to attract staff. We are 

also now starting to see different industries 

competing for existing staff with many good 

employees leaving the industry for other 

sectors as we simply cannot compete with 

wages and conditions. 

Backpacker numbers are slowly rising; the 

removal of the 88-day rule has impacted 

the number seeking agricultural work and 

those who are have not materialized in the 

Northern Territory in any great numbers. 

Complicating this further is the very strong 

visitor numbers in the Tourism industry. This 

is great news for the Territory but has had 

the impact of driving up accommodation 

rates at back hostels, further complicating 

the staff attraction campaigns. 

NT Farmers have advocated loudly and 

often in relation to worker shortages and 

have had some successes, but much, much 

more will need to be done in 2023 if we 

are to make any positive impacts for our 

growers. 

Business has certainly not been immune 

to the cost of living rises that all Australians 

have endured over the past 18 – 24 months. 

With inflation stubbornly high and likely to 

continue to rise and real wages relatively 

flat, more difficult times are ahead for 

industry. Key to these are our key inputs 

like: fertilizers, chemicals, fuel, diesel, and 

transport costs are significantly higher 

that the inflation rates and are putting 

real pressure on growers’ profit margins. 

Something we will need to monitor very 

closely in the early part of 2023. 

Not all things have been bad; The Northern 

Territory Farmers Association annual 

production figures showed good growth on 

the 2019 figures and for the first time have 

exceed $500 million. We are well on track 

to meet the $Billion target by 2030. Whilst 

this ambitious amount seemed high a few 

years ago, the interest in development in the 

North has grown and will continue to do so. 

Southern Growers are looking North for 

opportunity and property continues to sell 



for strong prices. The Melon Industry in the 

North has had a purple patch and for the 

first time has eclipsed $80M, fast gaining 

on Mangoes. Our key commodity mangoes 

have been flat for several years but should 

see the new plantings coming online in 

the coming 12-24 months and with others 

looking to enter the sector we should see 

mangoes growing strongly. 

Significant Citrus plantings, continued 

expansion of cotton, and other broadacre 

crops will see our farm gate value continue 

to rise. The completion of the Cotton Gin 

is close and with that we will see many 

new entrants into this sector and the 

cotton industry grow strongly over the 

coming period. Both the Federal and 

Territory Governments continue to support 

this expansion through Research and 

Development projects. 

Biosecurity is an ever-present threat to our 

industry. Again, we have seen an outbreak 

of Banana Freckle and my deepest 

sympathies go out to our growers that have 

again been caught up in a major eradication 

program. I sincerely hope that our growers 

can get back on their feet as quickly as 

possible. 

The Territory and Federal Governments 

have invested heavily into Biosecurity 

funding measures in 2022, being driven in 

no small part to the news that both Foot and 

Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease are 

on our doorstep in Asia. The plant industry 

has much experience and knowledge about 

pest and disease incursions and our advice 

would be “Do everything you can to keep it 

out.” 

A timely reminder to revisit your current 

Biosecurity Plan and ensure it is strong, 

current and will do everything it can to 

protect your business. If you need a hand 

with preparing or updating your biosecurity 

plan, please reach out to NT Farmers and 

we can assist with this important part of 

your business. 

A couple of the key highlights for 2022 were 

the Export Facility at the Darwin Airport 

starting to export both pumpkins and 

melons on scale throughout the year and 

then recently the ‘Mango Express’ flying 

out weekly to service key markets in Asia 

like Singapore, Dubai and Korea. A special 

acknowledgment to all the growers that 

made all the exports possible - thank you. 

The Draft Surface Water Take policy is 

finally out and strikes a good balance 

of protecting environmental flows and 

aspirations of industry to grow and expand. 

This policy is currently out for comment and 

I urge all stakeholders to take the time to 

respond to this important regulatory piece 

of work. 

Water will continue to be a decisive issue, 

but with strong leadership NT Farmers 

will continue to engage in an honest and 

transparent manner, speak in fact and 

support strong water legislation and policy. 

Our responsibility as an industry is to 

ensure that the environment is protected, 

that industry abides by the decisions of 

the umpire and always seeks to have a 

balanced and fair view of water planning. 

The Northern Territory Government has 

long stated that water charging will be 

introduced for some industries over the 

coming years, we as an industry need to 

start to understand what this means and 

how it will be implemented. There is little 

point arguing that agriculture should be 

immune from water charging, the reality is 

that it is coming, and we need your ideas 

and support to ensure it does not have a 

major affect on our industry. Early 2023 

(January) NT Farmers will be circulating a 

response to water charging debate and will 

be keen to hear your views. 

To the staff of NT Farmers, thank you 

for your efforts and commitment shown 

throughout 2022. You are all wonderful and 

make my job enjoyable every day. To the 

Board of NT Farmers who give so much 

time freely to direct the ship - thank you.

To our many stakeholders - stay engaged, 

remember we are stronger together, and 

I look forward to seeing you all at Food 

Futures in May 2023. 

Merry Christmas. Have a relaxing time over 

the holidays and make sure you look after 

yourselves. NT Farmers are proud to serve 

such an awesome group of farmers. 

Cheers, 

Paul Burke 

CEO NT Farmers Association 


Northern Myths, 

Opportunities and Realities 

2023 Food Futures Conference 

theme announced 


The Northern Australia Food Futures 

Conference is Australia’s leading conference 

on agricultural development in the North 

and will take place in Darwin next year, 

22-25 May 2023, with the theme Northern 

Myths, Opportunities and Realities. 

The conference is integral in driving 

expansion in the north and places northern 

agriculture on the national agenda 

attracting investors, politicians, industry 

and community stakeholders from 

around Australia and the world, to explore 

agricultural opportunities in the north. 

The biennial Northern Australia Food 

Futures Conference, organised by NT 

Farmers Association, is now in its 5th year 

and plays an important role in showcasing 

the opportunities of the north, influencing 

policy creation and attracting investment to 

the area. 

Registrations are open and early bird 

tickets are available until 31 January 2023, 

so register now to secure your ticket at the 

best value price! 

You can register online at 

www.foodfuturesntfarmers.org.au 

The three-day conference held at the Darwin Convention Centre will feature: 

• Over 50 speakers from industry, research, government and private sector, including 

successful farmers from WA, NT and Qld 

• Workshops, keynote and plenary sessions 

• Ag Tech Forum 

• Exhibition and displays 

• Incredible social program showcasing the very best of Darwin and surrounds

Bella McBean awarded the 

Kenneth Rayner Scholarship 

NT Farmers, in partnership with Entegra, 

are pleased to provide the Kenneth Rayner 

Agriculture Scholarship for a second year! 

The Kenneth Rayner Scholarship included: 

• Financial support for the final year of 

study up to $12,000 inc. GST. 

• Registration to the 2023 Northern 

Australia Food Futures Conference 

valued at ($1,350) 

• Networking opportunities at NT Farmers 

events and board meetings 

• Mentoring from Entegra Signature 

Structures and industry leaders 

• Work placement at Entegra Signature 

Structures 

• Professional development opportunities 

The 2022 recipient, Bella McBean, was born 

and raised in the Katherine district and has 

always had a keen interest in agriculture. 

After finishing school she had a gap year 

working on the family property. She then 

went Armidale to study a Bachelor and 

Agriculture and Business at the University of 

New England and will be in her final year of 

study in 2023. 

NT Farmers wishes Bella the best of luck 

with her studies, and looks forward to 

having her grow her agricultural career in 

the Territory after graduation. 

Bella McBean, visiting the Katherine Cotton Gin site, which 

is being constructed in part by the scholarship sponsor, 

Entegra 


Unearthing Resilient 

Landscapes across the 

Northern Territory 

Simone Cameron 

DIRECTOR OF REGIONS AND PROJECTS, NT FARMERS 


In an exciting development this year, NT 

Farmers negotiated with LiDAR providers 

to secure a preferential rate for data 

capture and managed administration for a 

large-scale capture across the NT. ‘Gather 

data once use many times’, LiDAR is the 

tool for land management practices. 24 

properties across the NT in the regions of 

the Douglas Daly, Katherine, Sturt Plateau, 

and the VRD committed to capturing of 

LiDAR, a total area of close to 300,000 

hectares, one of the largest ever captures 

in Australia. The scope of this work 

will provide the necessary insight into 

best practice management techniques 

uniquely positioned for northern cropping 

development and to promote sustainable 

farming practices within this emerging 

northern cropping industry. NT Farmers 

believes this is a foundational tool for the 

future potential of our agricultural industries. 

It will enable the balance between 

agriculture and the environment to be 

realised. 

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a 

powerful tool that provides high-resolution, 

three-dimensional, spatial information 

about the land. This data enables farm 

management plans to be developed 

by giving adequate information for field 

cropping layout plans. Farming with 

the landscape will enable outcomes of 

improved land management and potential 

production yields from agricultural 

enterprises, including cropping, horticulture, 

and livestock grazing. It will also mitigate 

the risks associated with erosion concerns. 

The use of such technology is now widely 

adopted across agricultural landscapes but 

is yet to be considered a mainstay practice 

for the Northern Territory. 

Much of the NT is retained under native 

vegetation, with a significant proportion 

of future agricultural developments 

involving ‘green field’ sites. This provides a 

unique opportunity to develop sustainable 

agricultural areas in such a manner as to 

avoid many of the environmental problems 

faced in other parts of Australia and avoid 

unnecessary land clearing. Quality baseline 

data on soils, vegetation, biodiversity, and 

topography is needed to facilitate this 

development. 

In northern Australia, monitoring soil and 

landscape characteristics over large 

agricultural areas can be challenging due 

to vast distances, limited accessibility, and 

opportunities to deliver capacity at scale. 

To move beyond the local to the landscape 

scale, it is necessary to understand and 

model the eco-hydrology of the landscape.


To accurately represent land surface 

morphology to model hydrological 

and erosion processes, accurate, highresolution 

digital elevation models (DEMs) 

are required. The current widely available 

DEMs (based on 30m SRTM pixel data) 

are far too coarse and inaccurate for this 

process. 

Processed LiDAR provides a range of 

other products including an accurate 

digital surface model (DSM), an array of 

data regarding the vegetation community 

including tree height, tree canopy density, 

vegetation structure, ground cover density, 

fire fuel estimates, above-ground biomass 

(important for carbon accounting) plus 

others. Importantly, LiDAR is repeatable 

and comparable meaning multitemporal 

LiDAR data can be used to monitor 

changes in vegetation communities such 

as condition, response to fire and/or 

landscape rehydration works, etc. 

Uses for LiDAR in Agriculture 

• 3D Elevation Map 

• Soil Insight Analysis 

• Improving Irrigation 

• Minimising Erosion 

• Precision Agriculture 

• Forecasting Crop Yields and Output 

• Determining Crop Damage 

• Land Mapping 

• Productions Zones 

• Crop Analysis 

Specialist consultants will deliver two 

online workshops in early 2023, to educate 

participants on how to utilise the extensive 

LiDAR data collected in 2022 and to 

promote productive and efficient farming 

ecosystems in the Northern Territory. The 

workshops will focus on learning more 

about LiDAR data, the software systems to 

use, how to interpret it, and how to apply 

it to their land management strategies. 

In addition, the specialist consultants will 

attend the 2023 Northern Australia Food 

Futures Conference for a face-to-face 

educational opportunity. 

If you are interested to know more, please 

contact our Director of Regions and 

Projects, Simone Cameron 

M: 0413 308 335 E: drp@ntfarmers.org.au 


Exchange program proves 

fruitful for Top End farmers 

Stephanie Coombes 

EXTENSION OFFICER, NT FARMERS 

An Australia-India Council grant to explore 

innovative economic opportunities through 

sharing sustainable farming systems under 

an exchange program has proven to be 

fruitful for Territory farmers. 

In December 2019 a delegation of nine 

Territory producers of rice, vegetable, fruit 

and fodder, boarded a flight to India, the 

fourth largest agricultural producer in the 

world. 

Over 10 days the group toured the subcontinent’s 

Punjab region, known as the 

“food bowl” of India. 

The group visited tropical vegetable, 

horticulture, and floriculture farms to see 

organic farming practices that increase 

soil organic matter and improve water use 

efficiency. The delegation learnt about 

practices Indian farmers are implementing 

such as understorey planting, row cropping 

and recycling cattle waste through custommade 

digesters (which is then added to 

irrigation water). 

Dr Kamaljit Sangha, the project leader from 

the Research Institute for the Environment 

and Livelihoods at Charles Darwin 

University, said that visiting some of the 

farms practising sustainable practices with 

little or zero external inputs in the Punjab 

region was an “eye-opener”. 

It would be almost three years before 

the Indian delegation was able to travel 

to Australia for the second part of the 

exchange program, due to the COVID-19 

pandemic. 

After much anticipation, 6 Punjab farmers 

arrived in Australia on September 23 for 

a 10-day tour of farms in the Northern 

Territory and Queensland. The delegation 

consisted of wheat, rice, potato, mint, citrus 

and dairy farmers. The visiting farmers were 

taken to farms in the Northern Territory and 

north Queensland, and NT Government’s 

DITT research stations. The visiting farmers 

gained a first-hand insight of, mango, 

papaya and coffee farms and cattle stations 

and dairy farms. The Indian team was 

impressed with the progress industry and 

NT Farmers have been making to improve 

water efficiency. NT Farmers showcased 

their water efficiency project which utilises 

soil moisture probes and other technology 

to reduce water consumption by farmers. 

Dr Sangha said, “the success of this AIC- 

DFAT funded program is a result of true 

collaborative efforts among the NTFA, FNQ 

Growers, DITT, CDU in Australia, and Punjab 

Agriculture University and Central University 

in Punjab, India. The benefits of this kind of 

program are much more than just learning 

about sustainable farming techniques 

which include enhancing cultural, social and 

economic understanding on both sides. We 

hope to develop a broader program for the 

next year, including north Queensland.” 



NT Farmers will continue to work closely 

with all farmers in the region to enhance 

production and economic outcomes 

through agriculture. 

An Australia-India Council grant to explore 

innovative economic opportunities through 

sharing sustainable farming systems under 

an exchange program has proven to be 

fruitful for Territory farmers. 

In December 2019 a delegation of nine 

Territory producers of rice, vegetable, fruit 

and fodder, boarded a flight to India, the 

fourth largest agricultural producer in the 

world. 

Over 10 days the group toured the subcontinent’s 

Punjab region, known as the 

“food bowl” of India. 

The group visited tropical vegetable, 

horticulture, and floriculture farms to see 

organic farming practices that increase 

soil organic matter and improve water use 

efficiency. The delegation learnt about 

practices Indian farmers are implementing 

such as understorey planting, row cropping 

and recycling cattle waste through custommade 

digesters (which is then added to 

irrigation water). 

Dr Kamaljit Sangha, the project leader from 

the Research Institute for the Environment 

and Livelihoods at Charles Darwin 

University, said that visiting some of the 

farms practising sustainable practices with 

little or zero external inputs in the Punjab 

region was an “eye-opener”. 

It would be almost three years before 

the Indian delegation was able to travel 

to Australia for the second part of the 

exchange program, due to the COVID-19 

pandemic. 

After much anticipation, 6 Punjab farmers 

arrived in Australia on September 23 for 

a 10-day tour of farms in the Northern 

Territory and Queensland. The delegation 

consisted of wheat, rice, potato, mint, citrus 

and dairy farmers. The visiting farmers were 

taken to farms in the Northern Territory and 

north Queensland, and NT Government’s 

DITT research stations. The visiting farmers 

gained a first-hand insight of, mango,

papaya and coffee farms and cattle stations 

and dairy farms. The Indian team was 

impressed with the progress industry and 

NT Farmers have been making to improve 

water efficiency. NT Farmers showcased 

their water efficiency project which utilises 

soil moisture probes and other technology 

to reduce water consumption by farmers. 

Dr Sangha said, “the success of this AIC- 

DFAT funded program is a result of true 

collaborative efforts among the NTFA, FNQ 

Growers, DITT, CDU in Australia, and Punjab 

Agriculture University and Central University 

in Punjab, India. The benefits of this kind of 

program are much more than just learning 

about sustainable farming techniques 

which include enhancing cultural, social and 

economic understanding on both sides. We 

hope to develop a broader program for the 

next year, including north Queensland.” 

NT Farmers will continue to work closely 

with all farmers in the region to enhance 

production and economic outcomes 

through agriculture. 


Stay cool: The importance of temperature 

to reduce waste in the fresh produce 

supply chain 

Case Study September 2022 

Introduction 

The supply of fresh produce to Australia’s domestic 

market, especially major retailers, was brought into sharp 

focus in the past 18 months following labour shortages, 

natural disasters and international supply chain issues for 

inputs such as fertilisers and chemicals. 

With demand routinely outstripping supply in recent 

months, greater emphasis is being placed on improving 

efficiencies and production gains for available fresh 

produce. 

Organic waste is an ongoing issue that all sectors 

of the industry want to avoid or minimise. However, 

growers ultimately pay the price for many supply chain 

breakdowns with produce being rejected or downgraded 

due to failures in the cold chain from farm gate to the 

retailer. 

While these rejections and downgrades can occur for a 

variety of reasons, the cold chain plays a significant role in 

protecting and prolonging the shelf life of produce. It also 

holds the potential to exponentially reduce the amount of 

organic waste produced in the supply chain. 

Waste not, want not 

All fresh produce has a limited shelf life. From the moment 

it is harvested, produce begins to degrade. This risk is 

continuously mitigated throughout the supply chain to 

ensure the produce is as fresh as possible when it reaches 

the consumer. 

As a nation we set very high food safety standards and 

retailers demand the best quality fresh produce to meet 

consumer expectations. Growers must ensure their 

produce is delivered to the required standards, one of 

which is the correct temperature when sampled upon 

arrival. 

A survey was recently conducted by VegNET Wide Bay 

Burnett across several industries in the agricultural sector. 

This survey focused on post harvest losses throughout 

the supply chain for growers, transporters, wholesalers, 

retailers and processors. 

Results across the agriculture industry showed that the 

cold chain plays an important role in the delivery of the 

final product to the consumer. However, the least reliable 

areas of the cold chain varied for each industry sector: 

the journey for some produce can be straightforward, 

travelling from grower to market to processor. Others 

can be more complex, travelling to a large metropolitan 

market, a distribution centre and finally a local 

supermarket. 

Any additional changeover creates potential cracks in 

the cold chain that need to be monitored and maintained 

throughout the journey of the fresh produce. 

Key messages 

X Failures in the fresh produce supply chain 

– particularly the cold chain – can result in 

rejection or downgrades of produce, leading to 

increased organic waste and lower profitability 

for growers. 

X Six vegetable growers are participating in a 

VegNET Wide Bay Burnett trial which provides 

live electronic monitoring of their transported 

produce from the farm gate to a metropolitan 

market or supermarket distribution centre. 

The high-tech trackers collect real time cold 

chain data, including temperature, humidity, 

movement and light exposure. 

X Initial trial findings have highlighted the 

importance of chilling fresh produce to the 

required temperature at the farm gate prior 

to loading for transport. At the conclusion of 

the trial, additional insights will be shared with 

the industry to ensure growers can overcome 

quality issues within the cold chain. 

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable 

research and development levy and funds from the Australian Government. 

For more information on the fund and strategic levy investment visit 

horticulture.com.au

Water Productivity, 

Efficiency and Sustainability 

Project 

Di Renfree 

WATER INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, NT FARMERS 

Project Update – End of the irrigation 

season 

During the irrigation season most of my 

time has been spent on maintenance of 

monitoring sites, verifying on the data 

collected, checking the crops at the sites, 

and collecting agronomic practices. While 

the irrigation season is nearly over, work 

is continuing for the Water Productivity, 

Efficiency and Sustainability Project. 

Data will continue to be collected over the 

wet season to monitor the rainfall patterns 

which could help to better understand the 

influence of the wet season at two mango 

soil moisture monitoring sites. 

The collection of grower irrigation surveys 

will continue as well as collecting current 

grower’s practices from all cooperator’s 

sites for the 2022 season. The aim is to 

gather data regarding current practices and 

moisture monitoring technology data, to 

establish baseline water use information. 

Coupled with moisture data and agronomic 

practices these results can lead to irrigation 

management recommendations for 

all crops and a resultant adaptation of 

changed practice, aiming to improve grower 

productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. 

Another exciting phase of the water project 

is organising irrigation management training 

and workshops for 2023. Keep posted on 

our website, Enews and on social media 

channels for field day updates in for your 

region for 2023. 

Irrigation Australia International 

Conference and Exhibition 

Irrigation Australia hosted the combined 

Irrigation Australia International Conference 

& Exhibition (IACE), 24th International 

Commission on Irrigation and Drainage 

(ICID) Congress and 73rd International 

Executive Committee (IEC) Meeting held 

in Adelaide between the 3rd-10th October 

2022. Tagged as the Greatest irrigation show 

on Earth, it surely didn’t disappoint. 

Attending for three days, I did my best to fit 

in numerous presentations. Some interesting 

sessions were from the National Water Grid 

Authority, and the Smarter Irrigation for profit 

Phase 2 projects. The Smarter irrigation 

for profit phase 2 projects involved several 

presentations in various sessions over the 

three days of the conference. This project 

(phase 1and 2) was originally designed 

to complete research in areas including 

irrigation system audits, irrigation scheduling 

research, investigation of new technology, 

evaluation of system design and water 

efficiency assessments in industries such as 


cotton, sugar, grains, rice and dairy. These 

presentations covered topics of interest 

such as irrigation automation, plant-based 

sensing, and soil moisture in plant root zone 

based on remote sensing data. 

The exhibition hall was enormous and was 

filled with almost every irrigation specialist 

in the country. Some great exhibitors with 

displays and information overload. 

Another highlight was attending the 

invitational ‘Women working in water’ 

breakfast and forum. I met some 

inspirational and hard-working women at 

this function and listened to their journeys 

and experiences in the water sector. 

The networking throughout the event was 

also fantastic, which I feel is one of the 

best outcomes of attending a conference 

of this size. Thanks to Irrigation Australia for 

organising such a great event. 


Okra with early wet season rains in the background.

Top: Snake bean moisture monitoring site 

Bottom: Women Working in Water event 


Education Program 

Update 

Aisla Connolly 

EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, NT FARMERS 

For the last couple of months I have been 

hosting primary students on various farms 

as part of the “Kids 2 Farms” project. Given 

the time of year, the most popular ‘agtech’ 

activity has been the “Flying mangoes” – 

using drones to capture data. 

laws and to demonstrate to buyers and the 

community that they treat workers in a fair, 

ethical, and responsible manner. The ‘Fair 

Farms’ program is open to all businesses 

and organisations in the Australian 

horticultural supply chain. 


Other activities included fertiliser rates 

to show waste and using QR codes for 

traceability of cotton. A QR code from a 

pair of jeans bought in Kmart advised that 

the cotton came from a farm in Katherine. 

A Year 1 student from Humpty Doo Primary 

School said their favourite part of the activity 

was “touching the cotton”, demonstrating 

the value of interactive, in-person 

agricultural experiences for young people. 

I’d like to extend a big “thank you” to our 

Farmers who have hosted these school 

excursions. 

NT Farmers also supported the CQU Project 

“Excited for Careers in Agriculture” with 

both in school activities and excursions 

to Coastal Plains Research Station during 

October. Thank you to the NT Government, 

Department of Industry Tourism & Trade, 

Agriculture Division for their support. 

The ‘Fair Farms’ program provides 

assurance through third party auditing that 

participants treat their workers fairly. This 

social compliance training and certification 

program is designed to help growers 

improve their compliance with workplace 

The ‘Imagine a Career in the Northern 

Forestry Industry’, supported by the 

Department of Agriculture, Forestry & 

Fisheries, and NT Government is designed 

to excite, attract future employees and retain 

current personnel in the rapidly growing 

industry in the North. 

The aim of the project is to ensure that 

industry: sustainably grows its workforce; 

improves employment outcomes in the 

forestry sector of northern Australia; and 

that, local communities share in the social 

and economic benefits of employment 

within the forestry sector. 

The project will take place over 30 months, 

concluding at the end of 2024. 

Project activities consist of: 

• High School excursions to showcase 

operations and various career 

opportunities 

• Think Tank Forums with school and 

university students 

• Pre-employment training program 

• A training needs analysis across the NT 

and Northern WA forestry industry

• Upskilling current personnel with 

nationally recognised training for career 

progression opportunities 

Engagement to date has included 

consultation with industry, registered 

training organisations and schools. The 

Career Educators Association of the NT 

hosted a workshop to provide knowledge 

on how the project could fit into the various 

levels of high school subjects, programs 

and what is required to be successful. If you 

would like more information on this project 

please contact me. 

Top: Students visiting a mango farm in Katherine 

Bottom: Students visiting a mango farm in Katherine 


Diversification Officer 

Update 

Dominic Calder 

DIVERSIFICATION DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, NT FARMERS 


2022 has been full of opportunities. 

Investment interest into NT farming is 

strong with many interstate farmers looking 

to expand into the North. Nuts, cotton, 

mangoes, melons, spices, legumes, peanuts 

and hemp are among the potential crops 

that are looking for a home in the NT. 

Where the strongest growth has come 

from is the pastoral sector diversifying 

and strengthening their existing cattle 

operations. Cattlemen are taking the steps 

towards sustainably developing their 

suitable land to drought proof and build 

their herds. 

Cotton is the most responsible crop for 

Top End dryland farming country. The low 

reliance on chemicals, strong industry 

support, low start up infrastructure costs 

and good returns has shown that growing 

a cotton for fodder and fibre is a perfect fit 

for the NT. The NT cotton industry is looking 

to grow in the future, which will bring other 

crops into the rotation providing even more 

options for broadacre farming. The other 

shining stars are the pivot irrigated crops 

of Lucerne and Rhodes hay. This can be a 

lucrative standalone operation but also a 

very beneficial fodder supplement for the 

cattle herd. 

Tropical fruit is powering along in the Top 

End with export markets being developed 

across commodities to a range of countries. 

Alternatives for out of spec fruit, like 

shelf stable products, are being explored 

to provide a home for otherwise unmarketable 

fruit. 

Primary producers have a responsibility 

to the land they farm. The cotton industry 

has taken the lead on developing 

sustainability frameworks and remnant 

vegetation targets. The NT by legislative 

default has shown itself to be far and 

away more environmentally responsible 

than other parts of the world, including 

Europe. Consumers are beginning to 

demand sustainably grown products, this is 

something NT primary producers could use 

to their advantage.


Water Efficiency project 

kicks off across NT & WA 

Steph Coombes 



A project designed to improve drought 

resilience in irrigated horticulture by 

focusing on soil moisture monitoring kicked 

off across the NT and WA in October. 

Facing a drying and more variable climate, 

the horticulture sector is looking at how 

it can adapt how it uses existing water 

allocations measures to become more 

water efficient, resilient to drought, and to 

maintain crop production. 

Di Renfree, Steph Coombes (both NT 

Farmers) and James de Barro (Alpha Group) 

hit the road on to install soil moisture 

monitoring probes and weather stations at 

6 sites across the greater Darwin, Katherine, 

and Kununurra regions. 

“It was great to see so many farms 

interested in soil moisture technology. The 

data collected from the probes we installed 

on their property will help take the guess 

work out of irrigation scheduling”, said Di 

Renfree, Water Irrigation Development 

Officer for NT Farmers. 

The project will provide growers with the 

training and confidence to utilise the remote 

monitoring capability of soil moisture 

probes and the associated software to 

allow for rapid decision making and risk 

management. Most importantly, the growers 

will be supported and coached by the 

project team through regular meetings to 

interpret the data and decide how to use it. 

“The number one barrier to best-practice 

adoption that we keep coming across is a 

lack of confidence and/or ability among 

growers to interpret data effectively and 

then apply these insights to their irrigation 

management practices”, said Steph 

Coombes, Extension Officer for NT Farmers. 

“Growers hold an enormous skill set across 

a wide range of areas from plant production, 

marketing, HR etc, so sometimes it can be 

difficult to keep up to date with the latest 

tech advances”. 

A number of field days and workshops 

are scheduled for 2023, to share grower 

experiences and learnings from the project 

with other growers who may be interested in 

adopting the technology. 

Additional properties in southern WA and 

Victoria are also involved in the project, 

which is a cross-sector collaborative 

approach involving farmers, researchers, 

service providers from the Northern, 

Southwest WA and Victorian Hubs, 

supported by the Future Drought Fund.

Top Left: Steph Coombes and Di Renfree with first weather station installed in the greater Darwin area 

Top Right: Steph Coombes and James De Barro installing a soil moisture probe in a Paw Paw crop 

Bottom Left: James De Barro drilling a hole for a soil moisture probe 

Bottom Right: A soil moisture probe and antenna under Paw Paws 



Top Left: Di Renfree and James De Barro check connectivity on a soil probe in Kununurra 

Top Right: James De Barro checking connectivity under a mango tree 

Bottom Left: James De Barro and Di Renfree looking at probe data under the shade of Paw Paw trees 

Bottom Right: James De Barro demonstrating how the functions of a weather station

Supporting Landholder 

Capacity for Quality 

Development Applications 

Across Northern Australia 

Project 

Tahna Jackson 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT OFFICER, NT FARMERS 

As 2022 is about to wrap up, I’d like to thank 

everyone who participated in the project 

to date, it is muchly appreciated. Having 

started with NT Farmers back in mid- 

April, it has been a pleasure to meet many 

members and stakeholders along the way. 

• Trail and evaluate the delivery of this 

capacity-building approach. 

• This approach aims to achieve a longterm 

focus on lifting the capacity of 

industry bodies, landholders and their 

service providers across this space. 

Agricultural development relates to a variety 

of agricultural and aquacultural processes 

and practices that either expand new 

production or increase the value of current 

production. Such developments might 

involve public or private sector investment, 

and traverse a range of planning, 

assessment, and approval processes. 

This project seeks to: 

• Research the capacity development 

needs of landholders and their service 

providers in developing and progressing 

quality development applications; 

• Building the partnerships required 

to co-design the development of an 

appropriate short-course and microcredential 

approach to lifting that 

capacity; and 

The project is now in Phase 2, Capacity 

Building Options. Activities will include the 

following. 

Identifying capacity development options 

for different groups in line with identified 

needs; 

• Developing options for delivery, 

including existing programs, tailored 

short courses, micro-credentialled 

courses, etc; 

• Evaluating options and deciding the best 

model for potential landowners, sectors 

and geographies; 

• Exploring delivery options and potential 

partnerships with educational and 

professional institutions; 

• Considering participant contribution/ 

other co-investors; and 


• Finalising the framework to evaluate 

capacity building program. 

If you would like to find out more about 

this project, please send your details to 

Tahna on epo@ntfarmers.org.au or phone 

0409357211 

If you would like to participate in the 

amended survey, please click on link 


Looking back at the 

VegNET 3.0 Project 

Mariah Maughan 

VEGETABLE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT OFFICER, NT FARMERS 

VegNET 3.0 is a 5-year national extension 

program led by AUSVEG, with the aim to 

boost productivity and deliver the latest 

research and development on-farm. 

There are VegNET officers in every state 

with the NT VegNET officer being myself, 

Mariah Maughan, sitting under NT Farmers. 

Over the next 5 years, field trails, case 

studies, workshops and one on one support 

will be delivered across Australia with a 

focus on local industry needs in each state. 

This season has been a productive one 

for the project, seeing a lot of the initial 

planning and preparation come to fruition. 

The season started off with grower 

meetings in two regions of the top end. 

These had a focus of building relationships 

between growers and industry providers as 

well as providing an opportunity to provide 

project updates and gain valuable insights 

and feedback from the growers. 

From here the focus went to producing 

and delivering the 2022 Integrated Pest 

Management (IPM) field trial in partnership 

with the Department of Industry Tourism 

and Trade (DITT). This trial showcased 

two plots which grew common industry 

vegetables, one plot had conventional pest 

control methods and the other used IPM 

techniques. The trial was monitored by 

DITT Entomologists, and the findings were 

presented at two industry field walks and a 

case study published in the previous GROW 

magazine. The trial was also used to host 

two school excursions as an introduction 

to horticulture and pest management for 

students. 

Soil Health is another focus area for the 

VegNET3.0 project. In June this year, we 

helped facilitate a field walk at a soil health 

demonstration site in Katherine alongside 

Soil Wealth ICP. The field walk showcased 

a sight where a grower implemented 

practices to improve his soil health over 

a one-year period. The event was a great 

opportunity for other growers and industry 

people to see how certain management 

practices have significantly improved the 

grower’s soils in a reasonably short time and 

the follow-on benefits he has encountered. 

The project has also gained considerable 

ground in the water efficiency space work 

alongside my NT Farmers Colleague – 

Di Renfree and her Water Productivity, 

Efficiency and Sustainability project with 

moisture probe sites going in on several 

farms. We look forward to seeing what data 

we get by the end on the season and into 

the next season. 

In the field of biosecurity, we had a 

representative from AUSVEG visiting 

in September to engage with industry 

regarding American Serpentine Leafminer. 

A workshop tailored to agronomists and 


industry was run in Darwin and in Kununurra 

with speakers from AUSVEG, DITT and the 

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries 

Queensland. 

As the season wraps up it is also an 

ideal time to work on finalising extension 

material that has come from the IPM 

field trial findings. We look forward to 

providing pest wheel charts that showcase 

what pest’s commonly impact certain 

vegetable and different stages of growth 

and what beneficials can help manage the 

pests. These wheel charts will be a tool 

to use alongside the Northern Territory 

Governments Field Guide, to Pests, 

Beneficials, Diseases and Disorders of 

Vegetables in northern Australia. 

Looking to 2023, we can predict a jampacked 

season for the project with 

particular focus on hydroponic systems. 

VegNET 3.0 also hopes to have a soil health 

trial in the Darwin region where the impacts 

of on rows of Asian vegetables is monitored. 

In the meantime, I look forward to wrapping 

up the busy year and working towards 

another successful year in 2023. 


Top: Local growers and Industry stakeholders attend a soil health field walk in Katherine. 

Bottom: NT Farmers/ VegNET 3.0 and DITT’s IPM field walk at Coastal Plains Research Station to showcase the new findings of the IPM trial.

Top Right: Vegetable Development Officer Mariah Maughan putting in a GDot soil moisture probe with local Berry Springs grower Jimmy Phan. 

Top Left: Relevant directors and officers from the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry visit to undertake industry consultation on the import of 

Okra from India. 

Bottom: NT Farmers/ VegNET 3.0 welcomed Hermidale School Students from NSW by providing the opportunity to learn about NT grown vegetables and pests at 

GROW MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 33 

the IPM field trial site.

Farewell, 

Greg! 

This year, NT Farmers Association 

celebrated the retirement of Greg Owens 

who is one of our longest serving and most 

valued staff members. Greg has made an 

enormous contribution to the development 

of agriculture in the NT and in the Katherine 

region. 


For over three decades, Greg has been 

actively involved in the agricultural industry 

in the Territory. During his time in the 

industry, he has taught agriculture subjects 

at Taminmin College, he was a horticulture 

extension officer with the Department of 

Primary Industries and Fisheries, he grew 

rambutans commercially and has had 

several roles within NT Farmers Association. 

In the early 2000s, Greg joined the NT 

Agriculture Association, the predecessor 

of NT Farmers Association, as a part 

time project officer to assist growers with 

irrigation and land management practices. 

In this role, he delivered invaluable 

assistance to growers. His natural talent for 

teaching and extension combined with his 

knowledge and experience in agriculture 

enabled him to help grow the industry. 

In 2013, Greg left his part time teaching 

role to commence a full time job as a 

Vegetable Grower Extension Officer with the 

newly established NT Farmers Association. 

He raised considerable awareness 

with vegetable growers regarding the 

importance of Integrated Pest Management 

(IPM). Greg’s extension work with IPM was 

largely focused on using less pesticides on 

plants and encouraging beneficial insects 

to kill pests. IPM results in healthier plant 

systems and reduced costs for farmers 

from not having to purchase large quantities 

of expensive pesticides. 

In 2017, Greg was appointed as CEO of NT 

Farmers. During his tenure, he successfully 

grew the organisation and solidified its role 

as the peak industry body for the plant 

based agricultural sector. 

Throughout Greg’s time at NT Farmers, 

he has played a critical role in supporting 

industry to respond to multiple potentially 

devastating biosecurity outbreaks such as 

banana freckle and citrus canker. He worked 

closely with government and industry to 

deliver responses to manage the threats 

while supporting growers. 

Greg has been a strong advocate for 

growers in Katherine; he has campaigned 

for comprehensive research and 

development for growers and has been 

active in equitably securing water for 

Katherine growers. 

On behalf of the NT agricultural industry, I 

would like to thank Greg for his tireless work 

to develop the agricultural industry in the 

Territory. Thanks to him we can enjoy some 

of the fruits of the industry!

Northern Territory Ord 

Valley Forestry Hub Update 

Mark McGrath 

NORTHERN TERRITORY ORD VALLEY FORESTRY HUB 

The Northern Territory Ord Valley Forestry 

Hub (NTOVFH) has now been up and 

running just on a year now and has got off to 

a flying start. 

To recap a few achievements in its first 

year; 

• Steering Committee assembled of 

Industry experts from within NT and 

interstate 

• Website developed & launched 

www.ntovfh.com.au/ 

• 70+ stakeholder engagements (as 

many face-to-face as possible) in 

conjunction with numerous workshop / 

forum attendances & presentations to 

introduce / promote NTOVFH to whole 

of industry 

• Hub represented at numerous National 

Manager meetings (including two inperson; 

Brisbane & Melbourne) 

• Three projects commissioned; 

• Export Infrastructure, Supply 

Chain, and Skills Gap / Training 

Needs Analysis 

• Emerging Forestry Opportunities 

for Northern Australia using GIS 

Hotspot Analysis 

• Northern Australia Forestry 

Literature Review 

• Two other projects which we may 

commission in the near future; 

• Indigenous Engagement Strategy 

& Platform 

• Imagine a Career in Northern 

Forestry 

• As a sign of confidence in the 

National Forestry Hub program, which 

encompasses 11 regional forestry Hubs 

throughout Australia, a two-year funding 

extension was recently announced 

by the Commonwealth along with an 

expansion of its role into the extension 

space. 

There is still plenty left to achieve in the 

ensuing few years. We’ll look to build upon 

the learnings / outcomes of the above 

projects and spark projects in our other 

Industry identified priority areas which 

include; 

• Manufacturing and Value Adding 

• Land Access & Tenure 

• Carbon Opportunities 

• Other areas of interest - Silvopastoral 

model, Forest Health & Biosecurity, etc. 

The Hub is always looking for entities to 

collaborate with in the information gathering 

/ data analysis space which will feed back 

to the Commonwealth to help inform 

strategic direction and future investment 

to improve both productivity & expand the 

industry. 

Feel free to contact Mark McGrath at 

director@ntovfh.com.au 



Loading African Mahogany out of Wyndham Port, WA

Mango Season in Full Swing 

It has been a busy few months for the 

Australian Mango Industry, with the season 

in full swing but the Darwin region now 

winding down (at the time of writing). 

Leading up to the season, a series of preseason 

roadshows hosted by the Australian 

Mango Industry Association (AMIA) took 

place in the NT and northern WA, then later 

in Queensland. These roadshows were 

an opportunity for growers and industry 

to meet face-to-face after the pandemic 

limited this ability over the last couple of 

years. Brett Kelly, CEO of the Australian 

Mango Industry Association, said “It has 

been a great experience for growers and 

industry to be able to get together to share 

their passion, discuss the challenges and 

make genuine connections”. 

Pertinent issues and upcoming projects 

were discussed at the events in Darwin, 

Katherine and Kununurra, with further 

events following in North, South-East 

Queensland and WA. With the securing of 

project funding of $2.7m in May to continue 

the extension and communication projects 

until 2027, AMIA was able to give marketing, 

communication and extension projects 

updates. 

The roadshows also featured Research & 

Development updates on topics such as 

the Resin Canal Discolouration project, the 

Hot Water Dipping Trial and the Mango 

Fruit Drop project. Pest and disease and 

other biosecurity matters were discussed, 

including AMIA updates on the upcoming 

MRL app and the now completed chemical 

posters “Handy Guide for the Major Mango 

Pests and Diseases”. The AMIA roadshows 

cover all the growing regions with the later 

harvest regions in South East Queensland 

(Rockhampton and Bundaberg) and WA 

(Carnarvon and Gingin) to be hosted in 

November and December. 

As part of the Multi-scale monitoring tools 

for managing Australian tree crops project, a 

video featuring Martina Matzner discussing 

crop forecasting technologies was 

launched. The video encourages growers 

to look at all the technologies available to 

them and provides an insight on how they 

will contribute to the exciting future of the 

mango industry. Technologies featured 

include the online Heat Sum platform and 

temperature loggers, the machine vision 

rig, the NIR technology and how all of them 

can, together, support mango growers to 

better predict their yields and timings. 

The mango season was officially launched 

at the Brisbane Markets on September 

29, where Sam Etri from Skippy’s Fresh 

Frootz in Victoria Point was named as the 

Mango King after his $20,000 winning bid 

for the symbolic first tray of mangoes. The 

$20,000 was distributed between Redkite, a 

childhood cancer support charity, and The 

Lady Musgrave Trust which aids women 

and children who suffer homelessness. 

After a heavy flowering across the country, 

the crop forecast this season predicted 

stronger volumes than the previous two 

years with some estimates predicting 10 

million trays. The season predictions have 

been disrupted by Mother Nature which 

through La Nina has brought additional 

wet to the north, affecting picking and fruit 

quality. The NT was also hit with storms in 

some areas, leading to fruit drop and crop 

losses. The season overall has seen some 

delays, with the Darwin region peaking late 

October, which is about three to four weeks 

later than last year, and Katherine seeing 


good quality fruit but initially with slower 

fruit development, delaying the start of the 

season in the region as well. 

The QLD season has also seen some delays 

with the significant volumes being predicted 

for harvest beginning in late November. Rain 

has also been present in some QLD regions, 

with the effects yet unknown, and with the 

weather continuing to remain unpredictable. 

Hort Innovation have continued the 

successful Taste the Sunshine mango 

campaign for the 2022/2023 season with 

a focus on the mango hedgehog cut to 

help overcome consumer perceptions of 

mangoes as a ‘messy’ fruit. Throughout the 

season, over 1,200 advertising panels have 

been deployed to shopping centres and 

positioned outside of supermarkets as a 

reminder to indulge in an Aussie mango. 

As the season was ramping up in the 

Northern Territory, an exciting field day 

was held at Niceforo Farms in Katherine 

on October 6 to reveal the advances in 

automated picking technologies, with 

Professor Kerry Walsh (Central Queensland 

University) demonstrating the new 

prototype of the auto-harvester’s mango 

picking abilities. 

is a bright one, with the emergence of new 

technologies and exciting plans to continue 

to grow and improve the industry through a 

range of projects. 

AMIA’s Industry Development Officer, Celine Jordens, 

conducting dry matter testing in Kununurra 


Export has been a prominent topic since the 

winding down of restrictions and opening 

of the world to more trade and travel. The 

Northern Territory sent its first flight of 

mangoes to Korea after the development 

of the Pak Fresh vapour heat facility. 

The AMIA submitted market access and 

improvement applications for irradiation into 

India and the US respectively which were 

both supported by the International Market 

Access Assessment Panel (IMAAP). Both 

applications will now enter the countryspecific 

pool and await the Department of 

Agriculture, Water and the Environment’s 

potential escalation to future international 

trade negotiation. 

Coming out of a period of COVID, the 

long-term outlook for the mango industry 

Kensington Pride in Katherine

Top: Belinda Van Schaik from Hort Innovation presenting on this season’s mango marketing strategy at the AMIA roadshow in Kununurra 

Middle: Auto-Harvester demonstration at Niceforo Farms in Katherine presented by Professor Kerry Walsh from CQU 

Bottom: Kensington Pride crop in Darwin 


Melons Australia end-ofyear 

wrap up! 


Melons Australia is the peak industry body 

representing the interests of the Australian 

Melon industry. Melon growers in NT 

produce approximately 20% of total national 

production, over $70mil farm-gate value of 

melons. 

At Melons Australia, we engage with 

growers, supply network partners, strategic 

partners, researchers, government, and 

other stakeholders across Australia on 

behalf of the Australia melon industry. We 

are currently engaged in fields including, 

Advocacy, Biosecurity, Food Safety, Melon 

Quality Improvement, Export Growth, 

Communications and Roadshows/ 

Conference programs, to name a few! 

This year has seen the Melons Australia 

team take to the road around northern 

Australia to start our extremely successful 

series of regional Roadshows in Ayr, Tully, 

Katherine, and Kununurra. And what a 

fantastic turn out we had for each event! 

We are now considering how we further 

develop and continue these events in future 

years – and will be contacting attendees 

to gather direct industry feedback on this 

soon. 

2023 will see the Roadshow Series visit 

grower towns in Western Australia, Victoria, 

and southern QLD. Our 2023 roadshow 

series dates will be released in January, 

please ensure to follow our social media 

channels for updates. 

Johnathon Davey Executive Officer, 

Melons Australia 

Export project and updates 

For the last two weeks of October, I was 

overseas in Japan and Thailand working on 

export development and market analysis 

activities. In Japan we undertook an 'on 

arrival quality assessment' as a requirement 

of the Melons Australia managed Export 

project funded by the Federal Government 

under their PASE program. This saw 

two growers who had contributed to 

the project and Queensland DAF (grant 

sub-contractors) visit Japan to meet with 

importers, supermarkets and other supply 

chain partners to discuss import quality and 

opportunities for Australian melons. 

Following this I represented the Australian 

melon industry, in partnership with AUSVEG, 

to buyers and melon interested parties from 

across the globe at Asia Fruit Logistica in 

Bangkok. We have also been working in 

recent months with consultants McKinna 

et al in developing our new draft five-year 

Melon Export Strategy – which is due to be 

finalised by the end of 2022. 

Quality Improvement Project 

The Australian Melon industry Quality 

Improvement Project is well underway, 

and the project team have appreciated the 

insight and engagement of growers in some 

difficult growing conditions this winter/ 

spring. The feedback from growers on the 

quality improvement project during the 

roadshows and the level of engagement 

and desire to be involved has been greatly 

appreciated and largely positive. 

To date we have held successful rockmelon, 

honeydew, and watermelon consumer taste 

panel sessions in Brisbane through late

October and November 2022. The results of 

this preliminary work will become available 

to industry in the near future. 

Scan the QR code to review these now: 

Membership Renewals 

Membership renewals are being sent out to 

all existing and potential members. If you’re 

not a current member and would like to join 

Australia's peak melon industry association, 

please contact me on the details provided 

below. 

Thank you all for your ongoing support and 

engagement, and please feel free to reach 

out if there is anything you wish to know 

more about. Contact me - Melons Australia 

Executive Officer, Johnathon Davey via 

execofficer@melonsaustralia.org.au or give 

me a call on 0407 032 023. 

Biosecurity Update 

Working with Plant Health Australia and 

sitting on several panels engaged with Hort 

Innovation our Biosecurity representative, 

Joanna works with several stakeholders 

to ensure she is bringing Melon growers 

the latest and most up-to-date Biosecurity 

information and resources. The past 12 

months has seen Joanna lead the review of 

the Australian Melon Industry Biosecurity 

Plan and the CGMNV National Management 

Plan review. Jonna has also developed a 

Biosecurity owner reimbursement costs 

framework and provided free workshops for 

our growers. 

Most recently, Joanna has been spending 

time on farms around Australia delivering 

Biosecurity kits, including Biosecurity 

signs, and providing training on some tools 

and templates that help to streamline 

compliance processes, making these 

efficient as possible. 

Food safety is still a priority for our industry, 

and we are proactively working with the 

industry to grow the food safety culture. 

We are working to ensure this remains an 

industry-led process and are continuing 

to promote food safety toolkits and best 

practice implementation guides on our 

website. 

New Website Coming Soon! 

We are excited to announce that we will be 

launching the new Melons Australia website 

in early 2023. The website launch will involve 

all growers receiving personal login details 

to access the grower platform that will not 

be available to the public. 

Some of the new features that we are 

excited to present in 2023 include: 

• Discussion Forums: this will provide 

growers with the ability to communicate 

easily with other growers across 

Australia sharing their tips, concerns, 

and on-farm experiences. We hope that 

this will open a two-way discussion for 

growers to share their concerns, tips, 

and experiences. 

• Webinars and Podcasts: we hope to 

bring regular relevant webinars and 

podcasts from trusted industry partners 

to the platform. 

• Melon Health Information: a place 

for the latest nutrition and health 

information on all varieties of Melons will 

sit here. 

• Grower-only platform: we will provide 

all growers with unique logins to access 

more information than ever before. 

Growers can register for events, create 

discussion groups plus so much more! 

In 2023, we hope to bring you more training 

and educational opportunities in a range 

of areas of business and farming. We 

encourage all growers to let us know their 

areas of interest and we can work to bring 

these opportunities to you. 

Sign-up to our monthly e-News to keep 

up to date with everything Melons 

Australia! 



Top: Melons Australia Roadshow Series in NT 

Bottom Left: Melon Quality Improvement Project with Delytics 

Bottom Right: Biosecurity Kits delivered by Melons Australia Biosecurity Officer

Land stewardship draws the 

focus of new NT Farmers 

Northern Hub projects 

Steph Coombes 


NT Farmers have launched three new 

projects after successfully applying for 

funding from the Northern Hub. The 

Northern Hub is one of eight national 

Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation 

Hubs created as an initiative of the Future 

Drought Fund. 

The projects focus on land management 

and best practice stewardship in both 

horticultural and broadacre contexts. 

Executive summaries below: 

Forage Champions 

The hay industry in northern Australia 

is expanding rapidly, despite being in 

its infancy. A gap exists in co-authored 

sustainable best management practice 

(BMP) resources which pertain to local 

conditions. 

BMPs for fodder production are the 

strategies used by successful growers 

to produce high yields of high-quality 

fodder, resulting in a profitable, sustainable 

business. 

Unlike southern producers, the northern 

fodder industry does not have decades of 

knowledge and research to draw upon and 

inform their practices. 

Fodder production in Northern Australia can 

be either dryland or irrigation, with some 

work undertaken over in recent years in 

both areas. However, the development of 

fodder production standards has yet to be 

achieved. Improving the standard of fodder 

production in northern Australia will increase 

market access for growers, reduce the risk 

of financial penalties at time of sale, and 

improve the end-users experience with the 

product. 

This project will provide BMPs derived from 

decades of research as well as the lived 

experiences of fodder growers. 

Soil Pits for Sustainability 

The ‘Soil Pits for Sustainability’ project is 

a multi-stakeholder, collaborative project 

aimed at upskilling and supporting land 

managers to understand soil science, the 

impact of different irrigation systems, and 

how their management decisions affect 

their soil. 

In response to changing climatic conditions 

and maximizing water efficiencies, 

supporting growers to increase their 

understanding soil horizons and the 

wetting patterns of irrigation systems will 

aid in improving grower return, community 

resilience and drought preparedness 

through improved natural resource 

management. 

This project addresses the following goals 



from the Commonwealth Interim Action Plan 

- National Soil Strategy (2021, Department of 

Agriculture, Water and the Environment): 

Goal 2: Empower soil innovation and 

stewards 

• 2a: Promote soil stewardship 

• 2b: Optimise soil productivity, 

sustainability and resilience 

• 2c: Help protect and enhance Australia’s 

environment through effective soil 

management 

Goal 3: Strengthen soil knowledge and 

capability 

• 3a: Increase soil knowledge for better 

decisions 

• 3c: Make Australian soil information and 

data available 

• 3d: Build and retain diverse soil expertise 

This practical project will be delivered in 

12 months and strives to provide growers 

across three regions in the NT access to 

soil and irrigation experts as well as visual 

demonstrations of the soil structures 

and how it reacts to differing irrigating 

systems and watering schedules. This will 

be achieved by three one-day on-farm 

field days, whereby soil pits will be dug in 

existing crops with established irrigation 

systems as an extension tool to observe 

moisture depth and dispersal. The sites will 

be selected in the Mataranka, Douglas Daly, 

and Katherine regions; all production areas, 

but with differing soil types, crop rotations, 

and irrigation systems – such as sprinklers, 

center pivots, and irrigation tape. 

Moisture probes will be installed prior to the 

field days to capture data at the site, which 

will be presented and discussed at the onsite 

field day. 

Pits will be dug to show the existing soil 

horizons, with onsite soil experts to examine 

each horizon, it’s associated structure and 

profile, and share this knowledge to growers. 

The moisture and wetting profile will also be 

explored, with the potential for dyes to be 

added to illustrate water penetration. 

Best practice management suggestions, 

based on soil science, will be discussed to 

enable improved watering practices for the 

benefit of both the plant, the water resource, 

the soil type and grower return. 

The project will have the overarching 

principal of improving water use efficiency, 

building capacity in precision agricultural 

practices and use of appropriate soil 

moisture monitoring, crop needs and 

cutting-edge irrigation technology and 

scheduling programs. 

Climate Smart Agriculture 

Developed in consultation with the 

Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, 

and soil health experts, this project builds on 

current interests and grass root initiatives for 

improving soil health to ensure sustainable 

agricultural production. 

This project aims to raise awareness and 

adoption of Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) 

practices such as: conservation tillage, 

green manure cover crops, agro-ecology, 

integrated pest management, organic mulch 

and composting, climate smart irrigation 

censors, and nutrient efficiency. 

This project will consider the key elements 

of CSA that are usually studied and 

promoted independent of each other to 

develop integrated horticultural systems 

with a focus on building soil organic matter. 

Four demonstration sites (2 in Central 

Australia and 2 in the Top End) will be 

established to undertake trials and host field 

days. 

To learn more about these projects, please 

contact Stephanie Coombes, NT Farmers 

General Extension Officer and Northern 

Hub Katherine node Adoption Officer at 

katherine@ntfarmers.org.au 

These projects are funded by the Northern 

Hub. The consortium of regional partners,

including Charles Darwin University and 

the NT Farmers Association, is committed 

to building the resilience and sustainable 

prosperity of rural industries and 

communities across the region. 


Congratulations, Simone! 

Simone Cameron, Director of Regions and 

Projects at NT Farmers, recently graduated 

from the 2022 National Farmers Federation 

Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program. 

Simone left the Top End build up for a 

much cooler climate at Parliament House in 

Canberra for the graduation celebration! 

The Diversity in Agriculture Leadership 

Program is a flagship program of the NFF. It 

is designed to increase the representation of 

women in the leadership ranks of Australian 

agriculture. The program was developed 

from the NFF’s goal to double the number 

of women in agriculture’s leadership ranks 

by 2030. 

have joined with the NFF in committing to 

make meaningful change towards gender 

diversity in our sector. Partners report 

annually on their progress on gender 

equality. 

The team at NT Farmers congratulations 

Simone on her achievement, and 

acknowledges how lucky we are to have her 

as a part of our team. 

The Program matches successful applicants 

with a mentor to explore leadership goals 

and strategies. 

Mentees come together for a two-day 

retreat in Canberra at the start of the 

Program and again at the completion 

of the Program for graduation. Mentees 

meet regularly with their mentor and take 

part in online inspiring speakers webinars 

throughout the program. 


In its fifth year in 2022, the Diversity in 

Agriculture Leadership Program, boasts 

an alumni of 41 graduates, who have gone 

on to pursue high profile and impactful 

leadership positions and to be changemakers 

within their community. 

The Program is supported by leading 

agriculture-focused organisations who 

NFF President Fiona Simpson with Simone Cameron at the 

program graduation in Canberra, November 2022.

Update from Forestry 

Industry Association 

Northern Territory (FIANT) 

Fiona Evans 

POLICY MANAGER, FIANT 

It’s been a busy time for forestry in the NT 

and this year in particular has seen some 

great achievements. 

Until two years ago, the local forestry 

industry didn’t have a representative body 

to advocate on its behalf or to promote 

its continued development. So, in 2020 

the industry formed the Forestry Industry 

Association of the Northern Territory (FIANT) 

to be a community minded, innovative, and 

professional voice of forestry in the NT. 

In the beginning, the association didn’t 

employ any dedicated staff members – it 

was all the work of hard-working volunteers! 

But this year in June, among many exciting 

things, FIANT achieved a significant 

milestone and employed its first staff 

member! 

I’m Fiona Evans, and I was thrilled to come 

on board as the policy manager and first 

employee, at this exciting time. It’s a real 

privilege and while the scope of work 

required is large, my work is primarily 

focused on identifying pathways and 

opportunities for the industry to grow. First 

off, collaboratively with industry and other 

stakeholders, we’re examining the supply 

chain infrastructure, current and emerging 

workforce requirements, and the role 

governments play, to identify gaps and 

areas of opportunity for this growth to occur. 

It’s essential work for the industry and we’re 

excited for its potential to provide benefit for 

all Territorians. 

That’s not all though. We’ve also been 

busy in other areas too. Looking to grow 

connectivity and capacity to meaningful 

share knowledge and showcase our 

resources, the FIANT website under 

construction. Currently we’re working 

through the final draft edits to ensure highquality 

content and relevant information 

before officially launching the site (coming 

soon!). It’s part of a wider plan to build 

capacity and a platform for us to engage 

consistently and relevantly with our 

audience and members. Also, that provides 

timely access to a calendar of content and 

opportunity throughout the year. It’s an 

integral part of our vision—along with taking 

practical action like developing models and 

tools to assist decision making and forest 

management—to positively contribute 

to our community and enterprise and 

environments, and the achievement of our 

goals and mission. 

Believing strongly in the value of 

community, FIANT continues to maintain its 

commitment to sustainability, stewardship, 


and shared knowledge. We aim to ensure 

best practice in all areas of our industry 

and work and are iterative in our approach, 

continuing to grow and develop ourselves 

too. 

We nurture collaborative, high-quality 

relationships with all stakeholders, industry, 

and government sectors. We learn 

continuously from our own challenges and 

successes, also from those around us. 

We’ve achieved some significant milestones 

this year and we’re proud of how far we’ve 

come in a short amount of time. We’re also 

excited for the year ahead and to have you 

with us—bring on 2023! 


A national citrus 

biosecurity program 

The Australian citrus industry is a large and vibrant 

horticultural industry, with production regions 

located in most states and territories. 

The growing and harvesting of oranges, mandarins, 

lemons, limes, grapefruit and tangelos makes up an 

annual national crop worth over $900 million. 

In recognition of global biosecurity threats to citrus, 

the Australian citrus industry invests in a national 

program: CitrusWatch (2021 - 2026). 

A changing, 

global 

biosecurity 

context. 

The global spread of crop pests is increasing 

the risk to Australian production industries. Key 

threats to citrus include insect pests, such as 

exotic citrus psyllids, the glassy-winged 

sharpshooter, and diseases, such as 

huánglóngbìng, citrus variegated chlorosis, 

and citrus canker. 

Program overview 

CitrusWatch is a collaborative, national program 

aimed at protecting Australian citrus by 

improving industry preparedness for key exotic 

pest threats. 

From commercial citrus production zones to highdensity 

urban landscapes, the program links 

government agencies, research programs, 

community groups, and citrus businesses through 

surveillance, research, training and education. 

20-40% 

global crop 

production lost to 

pests each year 

The Asian citrus psyllid 

Diaphorina citri 

$220b 

annual cost of plant 

diseases to the global 

economy 

Huánglóngbìng disease 

Candidatus liberibacter 

asiaticus / africanus 

$70b 

annual cost of plant 

insect pests to the 

global economy 

Citrus canker disease 

Xanthomonas citri 

>30K 

GROW MAGAZINE - DECEMBER 49 

pests interceptions at 

Australian ports of 

entry in 2021 

Glassy-winged sharpshooter 

Homalodisca vitripennis 

Data sources: A Dodd et al. (2020), Valuing Australia’s Biosecurity System, CEBRA; Food and Agriculture Organisation, fao.org [accessed Jan 2022]. Dollar values are in USD.

Information for citrus growers 

Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) 

A number of exotic citrus pests have the potential to significantly impact Australia’s industry. 

One of the most concerning pests is the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), a vector for the devastating 

citrus disease huánglóngbìng (HLB). 

In recognition of the biosecurity threats to Australian citrus, the citrus industry has invested in the 

national program: CitrusWatch (2021 - 2026). As project partners, the Department of Industry, 

Tourism and Trade is conducting targeted surveillance for exotic pest species in the Northern 

Territory and areas of north Western Australia and Queensland. 

Citrus surveillance in northern Australia: 

Commercial citrus growers are invited to register for both visual 

inspections and sticky trapping at your orchards. Over the next 

5 years, this targeted surveillance will take place twice a year. 

Visual surveillance at commercial orchards: 

• Plant Biosecurity Officers will conduct tree inspections at 

participating orchards. 

• Plant and insect samples will be diagnosed by lab staff at 

Berrimah Farm, with results reported back to the grower. 

• Target pests include: Asian citrus psyllid, African citrus psyllid; 

glassy winged sharpshooter, HLB, citrus canker and Xylella. 

Sticky trapping: 

Sticky trap with ACP scent lure 

Credit: Citrus Australia 

• Trapping kits containing everything required (including reply-paid envelopes to make trap 

return easy) will be delivered to participants. 

• Sticky traps are accompanied by a scent lure that is attractive to ACP. They are left in place 

for 2 weeks, and replaced with a second one. 

For more information or to register 

Contact Ben Burchett, Department of Industry, 

Tourism and Trade, plantbiosecurity@nt.gov.au 

CitrusWatch has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the 

citrus research and development levy and contributions from 

the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower 

owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for 

Australian horticulture. Funding is also supplied by Plant Health 

Australia using the citrus plant health levy.

Tel: (08) 8983 3233 

admin@ntfarmers.org.au 

www.ntfarmers.org.au

Grow NT Magazine - December 2022

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