Vegalogue

At this year’s Annual Vegetable Industry Seminar, (Project Code VG24003), funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government, growers got an update on the VegMech project (Project Code VG 23003), which is working to boost the adoption of advanced mechanisation technology in the Australian vegetable industry, and is being run by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries.
 This year’s update was looking at the research into the automation of harvesting of crops which currently rely on manual labour, like lettuce and broccoli and the work being done in the USA, and the projects which are being led by the Western Growers Association’s Innovations Team.
The WGA is also heavily involved in the research and trialling of a range of automated and autonomous machinery, including spot sprayers and laser weeders which are utilising AI, and which are also being introduced in Australia and being used on some farms. They have also formed a partnership with Hort Innovation.
 In this two part Vegalogue episode we’ll hear from Ben Palone who’s the WGA’s Senior Commercialization Director, and Walt Duflock, who’s the WGA’s Senior Vice President of Innovation. 
In Part one we’ll hear about their research into autonomous harvesting technology and Reservoir Farms, where much of their research is now being done. In part Two we’ll talk about their work in targeted weed control and also how they are working with Hort Innovation.
You can find out more about the Western Growers Association here: https://www.wga.com/
To learn more about Reservoir Farms please follow this link: https://reservoir.co/
You can watch the VegMech presentation at AVIS here: https://ausveg.com.au/knowledge-hub/avis-2026-harvest-automation-where-its-at-and-where-its-going/
Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Earlier this year, an Australian vegetable grower-led delegation travelled to India to investigate opportunities to connect Australian growers with skilled and semi-skilled horticulture industry workers from the nation, as part of a pilot program supported by Hort Innovation.

During the week-long visit, the delegation met with key partners to get an in-depth understanding of Indian training pathways, and skill levels, and how they may translate into Australian conditions to help address skills and workforce shortages.

In this R&D edition of Vegalogue, we speak to two of the participating growers – Harvest Supervisor at Fragapane Farms in Victoria, Sammy Singh and Human Resources Manager for Zerella Fresh in South Australia Jessica Paterson about what they learned.

The Pilot program for recruiting and integrating skilled and semi-skilled workers into Australian horticultural enterprises (VG25003), is funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Every year lives are lost and families are changed forever by incidents on farm.
Felicity Richards, Chair of Farmsafe Australia and a beef farmer from Northern Tasmania, brings both lived experience and a national perspective to farm safety.
In this episode we dig into some key considerations around farm safety, major contributors to safety incidents, and look at some practical steps that can be taken to keep people safe.
Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

Earlier this year AUSVEG released it’s updated Biosecurity Handbook, which provides a guide to how vegetable growers can ensure they’re up to date with the latest industry standards.
The Farm Biosecurity Manual has been produced as part of the vegetable industry biosecurity and business continuity strategy, known as VegWatch. (Project code: VG22004) which is managed by AUSVEG. Support for it was also provided by Hort Innovation’s Vegetable Fund and Plant Health Australia.
You can download a digital copy of it at ausveg.com.au.
Guests:
Rose Daniel: Rose has had oversight of AUSVEG’s Biosecurity programs including the vegetable industry biosecurity and business continuity strategy, which is known as VegWatch.
Zara Burney: Zara is AUSVEG’s Farm Biosecurity Officer.
Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.

In February 2026 a group of 13 Australian vegetable growers spent a fortnight in Europe on the first study tour of the year.
Led by AUSVEG and supported by Hort Innovation the tour spent the first week in Berlin attending Fruit Logistica, widely regarded as the biggest horticulture trade show and conference in the world.
From there they moved onto Spain, attending a series of farm field days, and taking a special look at that country’s protected cropping operations.
Three of the tour group were, Lynley Van Latham, the Executive Officer for Marketing with Rugby Farm, headquartered in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley and a grower of a variety of vegetables; Bryce Lamb, the Process Engineer with Wickham Farms based in Killarney in Queensland where they grow Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes and Onions; and Andrew Braham from Braham Produce near Adelaide in South Australia a family run operation who are specialist capsicum growers.
Lynley, Bryce and Andrew joined the Vegalogue Podcast to talk about the tour.
Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.