Category Archives: Harvest Trail Talk

Trail Talk

Regional Profile – Stanthorpe & Granite Belt

The cool, high country of the Stanthorpe region is located on Queensland’s southern border and the northernmost part of the New England Tablelands. The region is known as the Granite Belt due to the spectacular granite rocks found in the area. At 811m above sea level, the Granite Belt delivers four seasons a year where […]

Renmark Harvest Trail Service Office – Profile

The South East South Australia Region Harvest Office is located in Renmark in the main hub of the SA Riverland.  Renmark is located 254 km northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town. Apart from the Riverland, the Harvest Office also services the dryland farming areas to the south in areas such […]

Coffs Harbour

Where blue is the new black Most Australians will know of the Big Banana sitting prominently beside the Pacific Highway at Coffs Harbour on the Northern NSW coast.  Built in 1964 to attract attention to a grower’s roadside stall, it lays claim to being Australia’s first ‘big thing’ and was indicative of the dominance of […]

Fair Work Commision – Wage Increase

Fair Work Commission – 1.75% increase to minimum wages The Fair Work Commission recently announced a 1.75% increase to minimum wages. This applies to all award wages. Increases to awards start on 3 different dates for different groups of awards. Essential services workers were the first to receive the increase, however, the Commission has staged […]

Grower Profile – Ryan & Hugh (Dicky Bill Australia)

Ryan McLeod & Hugh Reardon (Dicky Bill Australia) How did you get into the horticultural industry? From the humble beginnings of a small 40 acre market garden in Stanthorpe in the mid 1990’s, Dicky Bill Australia has enjoyed consistent stewardship from the current two families that own and operate the salad production company now for […]

Heat Related Illness

With summer coming, have you checked your WHS around heat-related illness? Working in hot and/or humid environments can cause heat-related illness and in some cases this can be fatal1. There is no recommended temperature limit at which work should cease. Setting a safe or unsafe limit just based on the air temperature is not adequate […]

Induction Process

Is your Induction Process robust enough? Does your on-boarding process with new workers meet the Fair Work standard?  Does it provide your employees with the information they require to work on your farm?  And conversely, have you collected the necessary information to ensure you are complying with laws and regulations? A robust induction process is […]

Lychees

The luscious summer fruit you never knew you needed In Australia in the ‘early days’, lychees were purchased in cans and were considered a most exotic fruit, if they were even heard of.   Nowadays, 12% of Australian households regularly purchase lychees from the supply chain. Total production in Australia is just over 2,700 tonnes. […]

Piecework Rates

Image Source: Flickr / Alex Proimos There is a lot of negative media around pay and conditions for horticulture workers. Special attention is paid to the use of the piece-work provisions of the Horticulture Award.  It is important to state upfront that paying wages based on productivity has been a part of horticulture since Eve […]

Finding workers in a COVID world – planning is the key

It is now about five months since the COVID-19 pandemic started to have a significant impact in Australia, with the first national movement restrictions commencing on Wednesday 18th March. Much has happened since that time with restrictions becoming more stringent, then easing, before being reinstated in Victoria. Likewise border restrictions have changed from open to […]