Ausveg gives extra volume to Voice of Hort

The original 21 member list has grown to 28 in the course of its 18-month existence, according to the Voice of Horticulture (VoH) website.

Perhaps most significant among the new partners is national vegetable representative group, Ausveg.

It's a change of mind for Ausveg which declared in February last year that it would not be joining the group, suggesting it was preoccupied with progressing its own issues and had "no plans to seek involvement with other industry bodies at this time".

Ausveg joined the VoH in May with little fanfare or major announcement.   

An Ausveg spokesperson told Good Fruit & Vegetables the Ausveg board made the decision to become a VoH member to further unite and strengthen Australia’s horticulture industry.

"While Ausveg maintains our own capabilities we saw potential in cooperating with other groups to further Australia’s horticulture industry," the spokesperson said.

"The Voice of Horticulture has been active in representing the interests of Australia’s booming horticulture industry and Ausveg wanted to become a member and help add strength to that representation as well as help further unite the Australian horticulture industry."

VoH chair Tania Chapman welcomed Ausveg onboard and said with the vegetable and potato industries now involved, VoH truly represents horticulture.

Auveg chair, Geoff Moar also welcomed the news.

"If we are going to take horticulture in Australia to a unified place we all need to be in it together, and the way to do this is through the Voice of Horticulture," he said.

Other members to have joined since the group was established include the Australian Asparagus Council, the Australian Blueberry Growers Council, Cherry Growers Australia, Chestnuts Australia, Hazelnut Growers of Australia, Onions Australia, the Pistachio Growers Association, Dried Fruits Australia and Strawberries Australia.

VoH continues to rise to prominence by linking in with key players in the sector as well.

At the Produce Marketing Association Australia New Zealand (PMA A-NZ)'s Fresh Connections event in May, VoH announced it had formed a closer working relationship with PMA A-NZ.

“This partnership means that the whole horticulture supply chain is now under the one banner of the Voice of Horticulture, which effectively represents almost all commodities and industries that belong to Horticulture Innovation Australia’s research development corporation,” Ms Chapman said.

"It is important that we connect effectively with the rest of the value chain through to consumers here and overseas – and this is where PMA comes in, with its broad membership, global networks and expertise.

"As we start developing a whole-of-industry long-term strategic plan, we can be much more effective by working together."

PMA A-NZ chair John Said said the organisation saw the value to the industry-at-large of both organisations working closer together on a whole range of issues.

"Our industry can do so much more and through collaborations such as this, we can really make a difference,” he said.

The Voice of Horticulture also upped its social media presence by joining Facebook and Twitter this week.

While Ausveg may have joined VoH, it says it has no plans to join the National Farmers Federation.

An Ausveg spokesperson said because Australia has a large and diverse horticulture industry, the group sees its interests as being unique within agriculture due to aspects such as the sector's direct trading relationship with the supermarkets and seasonal nature of the workforce.

"Although at this stage the Ausveg board has not considered joining the NFF, we will continue to cooperate with them and other agricultural bodies on cross sectoral issues that also affect vegetable growers and the broader horticulture industry," the spokesperson said.

"Ausveg's focus to date has been working to strengthen our organisation to provide representation for vegetable growers and working with Voice of Horticulture to have a strong, consistent voice for Australian horticulture producers."  

Voice of Horticulture Members