This century we are witnessing a growing demand for healthy, safe and nutritious foods.

We also face the constant challenge of maintaining the viability of businesses in a rapidly changing business environment. Where can we start making a difference to ensure survival and growth?

Rural Solutions SA plays a key role here, helping producers adopt innovative and change management practices which focus on more efficient use of resources – natural and human.

Services are geared towards tackling rate limiters in industry sectors, on the ground in practical ways. Activities include training programs to increase efficiencies in farm production; assisting the development of new products; introducing food safety programs and encouraging strategic alliances across industry and community groups.

This is supported by work in land use and enterprise planning, competitor analysis, technical upskilling and logistics.

Specific work in industry sectors include:

Wine:

• Improving water quality and water re-use
• Irrigation efficiency – using market based instruments
• Collaborating for scale
• Salinity management
• Better land use planning
• Responding to climate change
• Filling skills gaps with training

Grains:

• Developing effective food safety and traceability programs
• Managing environmental sustainability in grain production systems
• Developing sustainable food production systems for specific purpose grains

Livestock:

• Efficient land and water use plans
• Planning waste disposal
• Promoting organic waste utilization and water re-use
• Value adding through partnerships (eg grain and fodder for feedlots)
• Improving producer co-ordination
• Addressing issues of competition for land from other value-adding sectors

Food:

• Introducing consistent QA procedures and traceability
• Improving security and management of water resources
• Being clever with market intelligence
• Improving quality benchmarking
• Compliance and product specifications
• Meeting cost challenges of new environmental protection technologies

Smarter irrigation for wine grapes

The SaltSmartTM team has helped the Eyre Creek Catchment Group improve access to irrigation supplies for their crop, while also ensuring protection of the environment.

A procedure was introduced for offsetting imported salt in River Murray water by reducing local groundwater and stream extraction. Combined with one-on-one advice, EM mapping and soil sampling, the SaltSmartTM team enabled growers to successfully meet licensing and environmental management requirements.

Contact: Trevor Dooley.

Changing to meet consumer needs

Commercially focused workshops are helping the apple and pear industries sharpen their competitive position internationally.

Building on a model developed for the cherry and olive industries, the workshops tackle topics such as: ‘Producing the produce the consumer wants’, ‘On time, On specification – from paddock to plate’ and ‘Co-operating to compete’.

Contact: Karen Shepherd.

Strategic plan to boost sheep sector

Rural Solutions SA is driving Statewide implementation of this plan – designed to boost value, build capacity and enhance integration and industry relationships.

Weekly teleconferences connect team members with PIRSA’s communications and principal industry consultant fibre and meat.

Contact: Jennifer Repper.

Easing the squeeze on citrus and wine

In the face of a current grapes glut, many growers are suffering from reduced prices and, in many cases, no market.

Rural Solutions SA is working with the Riverland Wine Industry Associations and Primary Industries and Resources South Australia to provide vital data and ‘future directions’ workshops.

It has also developed and run workshops on restructuring the citrus industry - using a review of global and national issues and trends, and current supply chain.

Contact: Duncan Tullett.