Ask around in the horticulture industry about ESG, and you'll get mixed reactions. Some growers have never come across the term, while others are already knee-deep in reporting.

Coercive control and financial abuse are key topics for May’s “Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month” but while most public conversations and events will rightly focus on individual victims of this harm, advocates for fresh produce view this abuse through a different lens – one where we see systemic, systematic, and deeply damaging relationships within our own industry.

Fair Farms was launched in 2019 in direct response to the Harvest Trail Inquiry, which revealed that half of the 638 horticultural businesses investigated had breached workplace laws. 

Given Monday was Labour Day — and the day after the Labor Party's election win — we figured it was time to chime in to the workforce conversation. In that spirit, here’s our (starting) list of demands.

In recent days, NSW Farmers made headlines by walking away from the National Farmers’ Federation. It’s yet another sign that even the big players are feeling disillusioned with the state of advocacy. We’re being challenged—and that’s a good thing.

To adopt or not to adopt – that is the question. Or is it that simple? 

Workforce attraction gets plenty of airtime — but what happens after you get workers through the gate? For many growers, that’s where the real challenge starts. 

As an apolitical association, we don’t take sides, but we do champion ideas that can make a positive difference for our industry—no matter where they come from.

Queensland’s horticulture industry has been subject to a wide range of industrial relations and legislative changes over the past three years – the latest, which came into effect this week, ironically on April Fool's Day - being the C14 determination.

Last Friday, after a year of intense work, many in our industry received the validation they needed with the release of the ACCC’s final supermarket inquiry report.  

Earlier this month the annual ABARES Outlook Conference was held in Canberra. 

With Queensland in the throes of yet another natural disaster we thought we’d do something a little different this week.

In February, AgriFutures Australia’s flagship agrifood technology and innovation event – evokeAG - came to Brisbane for the first time.

Since commencing as Food Farmers’ Commissioner late last year, I’ve travelled across Queensland, listening to farmers in regions like Atherton, Bundaberg, Mareeba, Bowen, and Fassifern Valleys, the Scenic Rim and the Granite Belt.

One question that keeps coming up time and time again in our work is how do we make the invisible, visible?  

Let’s make something abundantly clear: growers are a tough bunch. Given the choice between asking for help and pushing through alone, they’ll almost always choose the latter.

For over a century, agricultural extension has been the invisible force ensuring that research and new technology makes its way into the hands of farmers working with them to adapt to an ever-changing landscape.

The relationship between growers and traders is more than just a transactional exchange; it is the foundation of livelihoods for many in the horticulture industry.

At QFVG we constantly measure industry outcomes. We work hard to understand what approaches work in horticulture and what approaches should be left alone and we think we’ve found the magic formula for achieving shared goals for individual growers and wider industry. It’s about doing it with purpose… or in this case ‘PURPPOCE’.

Turn on our listening ears – this was the key lesson from our time with international disaster recovery expert Elizabeth McNaughton.