Australian horticultural growers headed to Europe and the UK earlier this year to bring global innovation back to home soil. Supported by Hort Innovation, the tour got to see some of the latest biologically-derived crop solutions in action.

Delivered in partnership with Elders Rural Services with co-investment from Bayer, UPL and Corteva, the tour was aimed at helping growers navigate emerging technologies, regulatory trends and adoption pathways that can strengthen productivity, resilience and long‑term competitiveness.

Mila Bristow, General Manager of Trade and Biosecurity R&D at Hort Innovation, said a key priority for Hort Innovation is giving Australian growers the tools and technologies they need to farm productively, sustainably and safely. 

“This initiative was designed to expose leading horticultural producers to global biological crop solutions, a key area of interest for Australian growers as we transition to a future requiring diversified crop protection approaches.”

The study tour included meetings and field tours with leading crop solution companies Corteva and Bayer, as well as meeting corporate and family growers. Crops covered were citrus and vegetables with a key focus on strategies to meet supermarket maximum residue limit requirements and integrated pest management strategies. 

South Australian onion grower Brett Dolling from Dolling Produce attended the study tour and said the trip was eye-opening.

“In Europe, it seems biologicals are a mainstay in most farming operations. Due to supermarket and regulatory pressures, growers are losing chemistry faster than new products can be registered. Seeing how our peers across the other side of the world are working with their farm input suppliers and agronomy service providers to adapt under that pressure was eye opening.” 

“Keeping ahead of the curve and exploring new ways to manage pests and disease and optimise crop nutrition frontiers such as biologicals will be an important part of farming in the future. Ensuring that we have access to leading global technologies that can be adapted to Australian production conditions is becoming more important each year in changing global environment.”

Findings from the study tour will be shared with Australian growers and advisors in the coming months through targeted reports, presentations and industry forums, ensuring the benefits extend well beyond the participating delegation.

This project (AS25006) is funded through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from Elders Rural Services and contributions from the Australian Government.