Media

Research progress, technology advancements and opportunities to support a new truffle species which can be harvested in winter, spring and summer seasons was outlined last week. Academics, farmers, industry partners and representatives converged on the McHenry farm at Mt Lindesay recently to hear about these advancements in truffle cultivation. Local research initiative Silverplace which is…

Juicy new products are being developed as part of a new government initiative to help Western Australia’s Bravo apple growers add value and diversify — with the first two products developed being an apple juice and a long-life apple slice. These new product developments, which will be sold under the trademark Soluna, are the result…

Bravo apples bred in WA are being made into bottled juice for the first time under a new brand name — Soluna. Thanks to the results of new research, the apple juice is cold-pressed before undergoing high-pressure processing to extend its life to 90 days. The same process will also allow long-life slices to hit…

Two new valued-added products have been launched for the Bravo apple. One is a rosy, pink apple juice and the other is fresh, long-life apple slices.

A new $1.7 million mapping initiative is expected to change how fruit growers will soon respond to biosecurity threats. Drawing on citizen science by asking apricot, cherry, dried fruit, lychee, nectarine, peach and plum producers to log location data through an app, this technology could help protect Australian fruit from pests and disease. The aim…

Professor Cordelia Selomulya has been appointed as the Head of the School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Sydney. Prior to this appointment, Professor Selomulya served as the Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Engineering since 2022. Originally recruited to UNSW in 2019 to lead the Future Food Systems CRC as its Director of Research…

The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Hub (ARM Hub) has celebrated half a decade at the forefront of Australia’s tech manufacturing sector with an Industry Day. Queensland-based research institute welcomed leaders and researchers from across manufacturing, AI and robotics to their HQ in Northgate, Brisbane, for a series of talks and networking events designed to help…

Future Food Systems CEO Dr James Krahe, Research & Commercialisation Director Professor Cordelia Selomulya, and FOODiQ Global CEO Dr Flávia Fayet-Moore discuss the future of food, ecosystems, and value addition at For Food’s Sake in Coffs Harbour with ABC Reporter, Lauren Bohane`

ABC Mid and North Coast Rural Reporter, Lauren Bohane talks to CEO, Dr James Krahe about Future Food Systems initiatives and the future of food

Alison Paul covers the For Food’s Sake Summit for NBN Mid North News

$1.7 million Australian Tree Crop Map initiative uses mapping app to boost biosecurity for Australian fruit growers. The Australian Tree Crop Map project is delivered through Hort Innovation and led by an expert team at UNE’s Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre (AARSC) in collaboration with Future Food Systems.

Researchers from Murdoch University are trying to figure out if the burgundy colour of Bravo apples makes them healthier than other varieties.

The small Mt Lindesay farm in Denmark is providing some big insights into the health benefits of an ancient vegetable, the globe artichoke.

In this episode, Food & Drink Business editor Kim Berry talks to the CEO of Future Food Systems, Dr James Krahe, discussing the concept of clusters and ecosystems, their importance in the future of successful food systems and how Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre (FFS CRC) is fostering their creation.

A farmer from the Great Southern has partnered with Murdoch University and Future Food Systems to trial different varieties of artichokes.

It takes a bit of effort to get bananas from the farm to the fruit bowl, with growers relying on a significant workforce to pick and pack each harvest. Now, scientists are working with the industry to develop a prototype robot arm to separate the banana fruit from the stalk, a labour-intensive process known as de-handing.

The A$2m research programme will use computer vision and machine learning to find an automation solution Australian scientists are researching and developing new technology to build a robotic arm that will automate the repetitive and intensive parts of banana processing. The research will be delivered through Hort Innovation and led by the Queensland University of Technology…

A new $12.2 million food and beverage manufacturing centre in Western Australia will be open to all food and beverage businesses that are looking for low-risk environment to scale up production. The Sustainable Innovative Food Technologies Centre (SIFT) will offer common use of manufacturing equipment at a subsidised rate. SIFT is based at the Food…

Business owners are urged to enjoy a taste of the benefits of a new food and beverage manufacturing centre set to open in the Peel region this Friday. The Sustainable, Innovative Food Technologies (SIFT) Centre is opening in the Food Innovation Precinct of WA (FIPWA) at the Peel Business Park to give businesses without access…

A new innovative food manufacturing centre, which is set to open in Western Australia, will help boost local food and beverage manufacturing, as well as drive growth in the state’s value-added food production. The WA government has invested $12.2 million into the establishment of the Sustainable, Innovative Food Technologies (SIFT) Centre located within the Food…

It’s often top of the list of Australia’s most popular fruit, finding its way into lunch boxes and smoothies across the country every day. But it takes a bit of effort to get bananas from the farm to the fruit bowl, with growers relying on a significant workforce to pick and pack each harvest. Now…

NETWORKING opportunities and creating new connections were declared as two winning outcomes from the 60-plus stakeholders who attended the Coffs Agrifood Living Lab (CALL) launch at Yarrila Place on October 25. Facilitated by the CALL project team, Dr Ozgur Dedehayir and Jack Adams from Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the event provided a preview of…

The Queensland research team will focus on exotic and native mushroom cultivation. Researchers at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology (QUT) are rounding out the year with good news. They’ve been awarded $2.1 million to advance technologies aimed at expanding the country’s controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) exotic and native mushroom production. Driven in part by Australia’s burgeoning domestic demand…

ark McHenry is a physicist, an innovator and an explorer of clean energy solutions. He’s worked on research projects in America, the Philippines and Mozambique and is an Associate Professor at Murdoch Uni’s Harry Butler Institute. He is also an avid organic veggie grower who loves sharing his passion for all things “geeky”. “The way…

Did you know that light can be engineered to be more photosynthetically active, less heat energy intense and used to modify plant behaviour? Enormous gains have been made in the past few decades in plant production though modification of climate, nutrition, water supply and temperasture of protected crops. Now the last piece of the puzzle,…

Today’s protected cropping systems have become astonishingly effective at extracting optimum potential from nutrients, water and plant genetics, while minimising harm from farming’s ancient adversaries, like insect pests. There is a variable still to be fully optimised, though: light and energy from the sun. Australian researchers are developing films that can be fitted to greenhouses…

This journal is the official publication of the Australian berry industries; Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries & Blackberries. This publication has been funded by Hort Innovation using the Blueberry, Strawberry and Raspberry and Blackberry R&D levy and contributions from the Australian Government.

As anyone in the industry knows, root pathogens are a common issue in greenhouse production, in systems that use soil but also in hydroponics. But if it happens that hydroponic systems are contaminated with one or more pathogens, as Dr. Gal Winter at the University of New England (UNE) in Australia explains, the resultant disease…

Scientists are investigating whether root systems packed with certain combinations of tiny living things – or microbiomes – result in a more productive plant with the aim of developing new products to increase yield. The $1.4M, four-year project is being delivered through Hort Innovation and led by Murdoch University with co-investment from the CRC for…

Murdoch scientists are leading a project that explores how particular combinations of microbes can boost the growth of some of the country’s most valuable fruit and vegetable crops. The $1.4 million project, led by Associate Professor Kirsty Bayliss, aims to identify the microbes that influence the growth of potatoes, tomatoes and avocadoes and harness them…

As the world regularly faces a shortage of one of its most important food staples, scientists in the Northern Territory are looking take advantage of the rice that grows naturally across Northern Australia’s wetlands.

How the merino sheep breed kick-started Australia’s wool industry; Using mules to move livestock in feedlots; Port Stephens oyster growers face devastating QX disease; plus the world’s tiniest tomatoes.

Lynsey Jackson was looking for a change when she quit her corporate finance job to assess her career options, before settling on a direction that would shock many. She sees her future in blockchain technology, beginning with a diploma of applied blockchain from TAFE Queensland. Most commonly known as the platform that hosts cryptocurrencies, blockchain is…

Technological innovations benefitting agriculture and the environment. Planting trees from the sky; Fighting unlawful water use; Using native fungi to combat weeds; Colourful light boosting technology helping to grow crops.

The potential for a native rice industry in Australia’s far north has been talked about for decades. Researchers say a significant milestone has now been reached, with demonstration plots of flooded and unflooded wild rice being grown on a research farm near Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory. (12:50 min in)

Australian chemical company EcoMag is working to turn Australia’s carbon footprint into homes and office buildings, with scientists producing plasterboard from waste. EcoMag utilises the waste from the Pilbara’s salt industry to extract magnesium for use in industrial, environmental and pharmaceutical applications. The company is now working with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) School of…

Researchers say a significant milestone has now been reached, with demonstration plots of flooded and unflooded wild rice being grown on a research farm near Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory. ABC Rural went to see the trial and spoke to Dr Penny Wurm from Charles Darwin University.

In this series we’ll celebrate the outstanding tech talent in Australia and recognise the innovators, disruptors, leaders and superstars of tomorrow, who are making a difference and shaping our future.

It may be one of Australia’s most sought-after foods, but the art of rice production isn’t always at the forefront of shoppers’ minds. Now, a team of researchers in Darwin are taking a new approach to growing the ancient grain – and yielding unexpected results.

The Australian government recently revealed that $68 million will be invested into a national agricultural traceability program which will help Australian farmers increase their export value. Agriculture traceability, to put in simple terms, is the journey of produce from paddock to plate. NewsCop talked to Dr Shoufeng Cao, an expert in blockchain agriculture traceability and…

QUT Design Lab and Smart Trade Networks are set to launch and demonstrate the world’s first fully blockchain-enabled credential led marketplace. The Smart Trade Networks marketplace is an eCommerce 3.0 platform allowing traders and investors of all sizes to track, trace and trade. The launch will also reveal a ‘Global Portfolio’, with more than 30…

WORLD first Australian research is looking to better understand microbial colonies in the root zones of hydroponically grown greenhouse tomato crops.

WORLD first Australian research is looking to better understand microbial colonies in the root zones of hydroponically grown greenhouse tomato crops.

WORLD first Australian research is looking to better understand microbial colonies in the root zones of hydroponically grown greenhouse tomato crops.

A world-first study using DNA samples from hydroponic tomatoes is being undertaken through a collaboration between Costa and University of New England (UNE). The ‘tomato rhizobiome’ project’ – which will be part of the Future Food Systems Co-operative Research Centre (CRC) – is designed to further the understanding of microbial colonies in the root zones…

There’s an old African saying: When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. And when elephants make love, it is the grass that suffers. Libertine innuendo aside, what happens when three elephants rub elbows? That is the as-yet unanswered question that insiders are asking about data privacy regimes, especially those involving biometrics collected…

Imagine a world where you can purchase a house directly from the seller, without needing to go through banks, lawyers and real estate agents. That idea sounds like heaven for some people. It might be possible to cut out all those middlemen one day, thanks to an idea called de-centralised finance (“DeFi”) — which runs on blockchain (a technology…

Widespread weekend rainfall reached most of the state’s grain growing regions and even got into parts of the state’s northern and eastern areas. Aggie Forrester, from Winning Station, 250 kilometres north of Carnarvon, poured 66 millimetres out of the gauge said the rain is fantastic. Demand for some canola seed varieties has increased by as…

At a Tamworth press conference on Wed 7 April 2021, The Hon Kevin Anderson, Minister for Better Regulation and Member for Tamworth, announced that NSW’s Namoi will be one of the state’s four Regional Jobs Precincts.

Research on native rice found near Katherine has received $1.4 million in cash funding…

The project led by CDU, is funded through the Future Food Systems Cooperative Research Centre, and has attracted commercial partners in Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tours (NT), Olive Vale Pastoral Pty Ltd (QLD) and Myera Group (Canada). ABC Rural went to see the trials and spoke with senior lecturer Dr Sean Bellairs.

Henry Liu is one person investing heavily in South Australia’s food future. Mr Liu had one of the first greenhouses in Virginia north of Adelaide 18 years ago. Now he has eight hectares of hydroponic vegetables growing in state-of-the-art, climate-controlled glasshouses. That number will rise to 12 hectares when his new glasshouse starts production early…