General Manager of Green Camel Organic Produce and up-and-coming leader, Andrew McIlwain, is on a mission to change perceptions around organic produce and promote its wide-ranging benefits to more consumers.
Andrew’s clear leadership potential and commitment to the industry was recognised on Friday 25 November when he was named Young Organic Leader of the Year at the 2022 Australian Organic Industry Awards.
A focus on diversity, sustainability and technology has earned Georgia Beattie the title of Organic Woman of the Year at the 2022 Australian Organic Industry Awards.
Georgia is CEO and Managing Director of Australia’s largest organic mushroom farm, Bulla Park, and received the title at the ceremony hosted by peak industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL) at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley on 25 November.
AgBiTech has been serving the Australian farming community for over 20 years as a supplier of innovative and environmentally safe products for pest control. The company utilises biological control methods, such as baculoviruses, to target specific pests without impacting other species, damaging soil health, mitigating crops or imposing otherwise limiting withholding periods on harvested produce.
Growing the sweetest berries is an art and a science according to Brendon Hoyle, who has been named as the organic industry’s Farmer of the Year for 2022.
Brendon, who is co-owner and operator of Ashbern Farms in Queensland, received the title at the Australian Organic Industry Awards at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley on Friday, hosted by peak industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL).
THE winners of two of the most prestigious honours in the Australian organic industry have been unveiled at the 2022 Australian Organic Industry Awards.
Australian Organic Limited Chairman, Martin Meek, said it was a privilege to select the inductee into the AOL Hall of Fame and the recipient of the Chairman’s Award.
“This year’s honourees, Alister Ferguson and Kane Busch, were chosen because one is aspirational and the other is inspirational, and both speak to the risk and the love of organics,” Mr Meek said.
A Queensland strawberry farmer, the head of Australia’s largest organic mushroom producer, and a Victorian dairy company were among 10 award winners at the 8th Australian Organic Industry Awards on Friday night.
Held at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley in Lovedale, NSW, peak industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL) announced the night’s honourees, who collectively span an impressive and diverse range of certified organic products from fresh produce, dairy and meat, to pantry items and pharmaceutical ingredients.
Growing hardy, high-quality organic strawberries can be a challenge, but Queensland’s Ashbern Farms have been working hard to meet this market need since first growing organic varieties in 2008.
The business operates from farms in Stanthorpe and the Glass House Mountains, with organic strawberries grown at the latter location across 4.2 hectares of land.
Growers looking to serve organic consumers are well catered for by Boomaroo Nurseries, a world-class wholesale provider of vegetable seedlings who added certified organic options to their product range in 2020. Boomaroo Nurseries operate from facilities in Lara, Victoria, with a state-of-the-art site also opened in Southbrook, Queensland, three years ago.
As we enter a third la Nina season, many organic operators and farming communities have been heavily impacted by the recent flooding and extreme weather conditions along the East coast. On behalf of AOL, our thoughts go out to all affected farmers and operators.
A range of state and federal assistance and resources are now available for affected primary producers, businesses and individuals. These include grants and financial support, disaster recovery resources and mental health services.