Industry News

Don’t forget to enter our great 2012 Quality is Clear Cut Subscriber Competition, generously sponsored by Eclipse Enterprises Australia. Just tell us about how you prune your grove and you’ll be in the running to win one of three great prizes, each valued at over $2,600. Entry forms are in the March-May and June-July (hitting letterboxes soon) editions of Olivegrower & Processor or via the competition link in the ad below. Entries close June 30 – don’t miss out on your chance to win the latest new pruning equipment from Campagnola.

Online store McLaren Vale Cellars are becoming a ‘one-stop shop’ for produce from the McLaren Vale region, and are looking for more products to list on their site. The website has been active for around two months and is quickly rising in website rankings: current traffic ranking is over 700,000 globally and 5000 in Australia, with a huge following in Adelaide. Orders are made via the website and producers are then contacted to supply the item, which MVC then deliver to the customer. There is currently no charge to be listed on the website and products are sold at your RRP. For more information contact Tom Curtis at: [email protected] and see the website https://www.mclarenvalecellars.com/

Wholesale trade enquiries are invited for unique Australian produce. All items must be *Australian made, *well presented, *not require refrigeration, *not found in a supermarket, *not derived from industrial scale production, *consumables packed and labelled according to regulations.
Enquiries are welcome to Tim Broster – [email protected] or 0413799091. Wholesale price lists can be forwarded to: PO Box 228, Barmera, SA 5345.

The AOA has recently created a Facebook page to help promote Australian Olive Oil and the Code of Practice symbol. AOA CEO is urging all Facebrook users to go to the page and hit the “like” button. When you’ve done that, copy and paste the link into your status and ask all of your friends to “like” it too. Access the page https://www.facebook.com/AussieOliveOil

Producers wanting to learn about organic farming can now do so for a fraction of the cost. Biological Farmers of Australia, BFA, is subsidising the cost of the Diploma in Agriculture (Organic Production) organic farming course for 55 students. The 18-month long curriculum is focused on developing plans to change or develop systems towards organic, and is offered through TAFE NSW Riverina Institute via correspondence. Students are linked with a mentor in their region to help them. A $400,000 grant from the National Workforce Development Fund means students only pay a third of course costs. For more information contact Rob Fenton on 0408 227 624 or [email protected].

The AOA is updating its database to ensure its efficiency and relevancy, and have enlisted the help of university student Georgia Walden to assist with the task. Georgia will be contacting every person on the database to ascertain whether they still wish to be on the list and to ensure that details are correct. Any comments are welcomed to Lisa Rowntree at [email protected] or the AOA office on (08) 8573 6545.

Social media use is increasing, and that could be good news for manufacturers of branded products, as frequent social media users tend to be more loyal to name brands, according to new research from the NPD Group.

FIG & OLIVE, one of New York’s premier restaurants with a location in Scarsdale, NY, has introduced its first kid’s menu. FIG & OLIVE boasts an exquisite selection of more than 30 extra virgin olive oils from throughout the Mediterranean. The kid’s menu was created under the restaurant’s philosophy that extra virgin olive oil better accentuates food’s natural flavor than butter and offers five kid’s meal classics with a gourmet twist.