What was it all about?

This project, which ran from 2012 to 2015, was established to continue the extension of R&D outcomes from local, national and international research to the Victorian strawberry industry through the ongoing employment of an industry development officer.

Part of the project’s value was its ability to quickly help growers become profitable and sustainable, while it also kept the broader Victorian strawberry industry up-to-date with key R&D findings and emerging trends in production.

Throughout the project, the officer facilitated state-based and international study tours, farm walks and field days, conferences, and industry training courses.

The officer also managed the data collection and analysis of on-farm variety trials and enabled this data to become available to the wider grower community in a timely fashion.

Major tasks undertaken throughout the project included…

• Providing the technical component of the Victorian Strawberry Growers Association Annual General Meeting (2012/13/14/15)
• Ladies Dinner (2013/14/15)
• Newsletter and industry publications
• Development of industry insecticide guide
• Horticulture Industry Network, a Victorian Department of Primary Industries initiative
• On-farm evaluation trials
• BerryQuest conference 2013.