Potato News from Australia

The first consignments of potatoes to leave Victoria since the discovery of potato cyst nematode last year have been trucked to Canberra and Brisbane. Interstate trade was halted after the discovery of potato cyst nematode on a property at Thorpdale, t...

VICTORIA'S leading potato-growing district will not find itself locked out of interstate trade despite the discovery of a second property affected by a potato parasite. A massive testing effort since the original discovery had tested 550,000 soil sampl...

Western Australia's world class seed potato industry was in the spotlight during a recent a visit by Indonesian Government officials and industry specialists.The Indonesian visit was organised by the Department of Agriculture and Food.The department is...

Casual workers at McCain Foods Wendouree plant (Ballarat) will need to check with the company daily regarding shifts through to March, according to a union organiser. The AMWU's Angela McCarthy, who has responsibility for workers at the Ballarat food c...

A bid to synthetically produce a toxin that costs the Australian potato industry about $20 million annually might hold the key to beating the disease, Australian researchers say. Researcher Peter Molesworth, of the University of Tasmania's School of C...

A new, healthier variety of potato is set to take the Australian market by storm. Unlike most spuds, Almera is suitable for people who are diabetic or striving to maintain a healthy weight. Graham Liney, who lives about two hours from Canberra, in La...

A property at Thorpdale, in West Gippsland, has been found to have potato cyst nematode (PCN) and a freeze has been put on potato trade from the area.John Hodgkin from the Thorpdale branch of the Victorian Farmers Federation says the Government has to ...

A 20km quarantine zone in Thorpdale's potato region has been declared following the discovery of potato cyst nematode. The discovery, made during routine crop surveys required to meet standards for seed potato certification, could have a devastating ef...

Australia can now officially toast International Year of the Potato.A New South Wales winery best known for its fruit creations has just released the country's only commercial potato vodka.The potatoes used to make the vodka are sebago and harvested on...

Potato chips made to taste like Bourbon Whiskey have dismayed experts and parents, who say they send a dangerous message to young consumers.The new Jim Beam-branded potato chip packets advertise alcohol to anyone who buys them - including children - Dr...

Ballarat district potato growers have rejected a price offer from McCain Foods to buy this season's crop.While McCain buys most of the region's potatoes, escalating fertiliser and fuel costs mean growers want to see an increase per tonne in price to re...

Workers at the Department of Primary Industry’s (DPI) potato research facility at Toolangi have been told the facility is to close. The jobs of seven of the 11 staff members are to be relocated to Knoxfield while four have found themselves without job...

In an article entitled "Grocery report's disparities only small fry",  Paul Sheehan notes: "The figure you need to know is the price for a kilo of potatoes from the farm gate: 55 cents. That is the most common bulk price sold to wholesal...

The potato processor, Simplot Australia, and farmers have been negotiating prices for four months and have agreed to a 35 per cent price rise for the coming crop. Simplot's managing director, Terry O'Brien, says both sides have ended up in a good pla...

An attempt to make Ausveg into a grower-controlled organisation at a special general meeting in Sydney today has been torpedoed by a group of State executive officers. A draft new constitution was put to the Ausveg board - principally representatives o...

McCain Foods has confirmed a cleaning cloth was found in a bag of frozen chips in New Zealand earlier this month. A supermarket checkout operator made the discovery after the package felt unusual. The contamination was reported to McCain Foods and has...

Simplot spud growers say they could be forced to opt out of growing the crop after price negotiations on new contracts hit a stalemate this week. The farmers are seeking a record 33 per cent price rise due to skyrocketing fuel and fertiliser costs tha...

Braddon MHA Bryan Green says a new state-of-the-art storage facility on the North-West Coast builds on the region’s reputation as Australia’s premier potato-growing area.Mr Green today officially opened the $2 million development undertaken by long tim...