A start attraction in a wide-ranging agenda, Horticulture NZ’s Jerf van Beek will discuss the New Zealand experience of seasonal harvest labour and the Pacific labour.

New Zealand is way ahead of Australia in that it is already using Pacific guest workers in orchards and vineyards.

Conference spokesperson, Griffith citrus grower, Frank Battistel says, “Griffith is renowned for its cosmopolitan nature and its hospitality, and we are planning to put on a grand showcase of citrus and the region for all our visitors.”

Hosted by the Australian Citrus Growers (ACG) and local growers, the conference, with the theme “Working in Partnership for Production, Profit & Power”, is expected to draw up to 300 growers, commercial providers, researchers, exporters, packers, and marketers from all sectors of the industry.

This year’s conference boasts international speakers as well as local and national industry experts.

Headlining the program is Professor Tom Spreen, from the University of Florida, US, who will discuss the economics behind citrus production and promotion.

Also, world-renowned plant nutritionist, Jerry Stoller of Stoller (USA) will share his vast experience in citrus agronomy and plant phenology.

An exciting drawcard in this year’s program is a presentation from Chris Russell, well known to ABC TV viewers as a judge on The New Inventors. Mr Russell is an agricultural scientist and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.

The conference will also include field walks and demonstrations, research project updates, social events and an official conference dinner which will celebrate 60 years of Australian Citrus Growers (ACG).

A timely feature of this year’s conference is an information session on irrigation allocations within the Murray Darling Basin.

Mr Battistel said, “Given that there will be growers at the conference from all around Australia, it is the ideal opportunity to bring together representatives from NSW, South Australia and Victoria to discuss the sometimes controversial issue of how the water is allocated across the states.

Mr Battistel added that the session will be open to the public and they hope to attract irrigators from other irrigation industries as well as citrus.

* More information: www.australiancitrusgrowers.com.