What was it all about?

This project supported the USA Industry Leadership and Development Mission in February 2018. A group of nine vegetable industry members were given the opportunity to visit innovative growing operations, research facilities, agribusinesses and to attend the World Ag Expo in the United States.

The project helps strengthen relationships between Australian growers and international colleagues, adds knowledge and value to the industry through communication activities, and plays a role in identifying and developing future leaders for Australian horticulture.

During the two-week tour, the group travelled to California and Florida – the two biggest vegetable growing regions in the United States – as well as to Arizona, a key vegetable production area in winter.

The mission involved visits to growers including the two largest carrot producers in the United States. They watched processes at packing houses and other enterprises along the supply chain including a salad processing facility.

They examined differences and similarities among a range of horticultural crops, providing an opportunity to see how other industries are tackling ongoing challenges.

The group was also brought up to date on cutting edge horticultural research, by scientists at:

• University of California Desert Research and Extension Centre
• University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Extension Centre
• The Salinas Agriculture Research Station
• Bayer’s Biologics facility
• The Western Growers Centre for Innovation and Technology, where they met with startup agtech companies.

The World Ag Expo is a three-day event held in California that is considered to be the world’s largest annual agricultural expo. Featuring 1,480 exhibitors and around 2.6 million square feet of exhibitor space, the group benefited from seeing a huge selection of innovative farm equipment, technology and on-farm resources.

Upon their return to Australia, attendees planned to review the strategic direction of their businesses and incorporate new ideas and technologies into their growing operations.

ACT NOW

• Read the levy-funded article ‘Growers return from USA mission with memories and motivation’ on the AUSVEG website
• Read the article, ‘Aussie growers get a taste of the States, from east to west’ on page 22 of the May/June 2018 edition of the levy-funded Vegetables Australia magazine