During March, our team visited Lismore to connect with organics growers working to enhance their soil following the devastating flooding events of 2022. One person we paid a visit to was Dave Forrest, a long-term organic farmer and foundation member of the SoilCare organisation. Read on for some detailed insights and recommendations from Dave about organic soil health.

Queensland’s oldest organic processor and the nation’s leading producer of organic free-range chicken have expressed their frustration at the government’s “ill-informed” and “ridiculous” decision to abandon organic domestic regulation. Quentin Kennedy, Managing Director of Kialla Pure Foods, addressed media and industry leaders today in response to Agriculture Minister Murray Watt’s recent comments that regulation would be “too big a burden” for some organic operators.

As peak body for Australia’s organic industry, AOL has reacted with alarm and dismay at the move by Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt to place domestic regulation into the too-hard basket, despite his department’s own commissioned advice finding it will leave the industry and consumers worse off. Australia is the only developed nation in the world without a mandatory domestic standard for organic products, meaning there is no single legal definition of the term “organic”.

The many and diverse achievements of women in the organic industry are being highlighted this International Women’s Day by peak industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL). AOL Chief Executive, Niki Ford, said Australia’s $2 billion a year organic sector is filled with innovative, driven, and successful women.

The topic of mandatory domestic regulation for organics was raised in a Senate Estimates hearing on 14 February, where questions were put to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and its Minister Murray Watt. One of many requests from this hearing was for a long overdue final report to be released to members of the Organics Industry Advisory Group (OIAG), following a consultation RIS process which was completed in early 2022. The federal Department of Agriculture shared this report by PricewaterhouseCoopers to the OIAG yesterday on 6 March. AOL is currently reviewing this report, and will provide an update in the coming days.

Applications for the highly sought after 2023 Australian Organic Wine Awards Associate Scholarship are now open, presenting a unique opportunity for the next generation of female wine leaders. Supported by peak industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL), the scholarship is aimed at promoting female talent and leadership in the organic wine industry, as well as serving the Award’s purpose of raising the profile of organic and biodynamic wine.

Peak organic industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL) has announced the launch of solo advisory services to assist businesses and individuals looking to navigate the path to certified production. The new service will provide end-to-end guidance in becoming certified organic and assist those who are in-conversion or looking to maintain or reinstate certification status, as well as producers, processors and allowed input operators seeking more general advice on sustainable practices.

Peak representative body Australian Organic Limited (AOL) has taken its campaign for mandatory domestic regulation of the organic industry to Canberra, as organic producers and businesses grow increasingly frustrated by the protracted pathway to an urgently needed regulatory framework. AOL Chair and highly regarded organic wine producer, Mike Brown, along with AOL Chief Executive Officer, Niki Ford, met with almost 20 parliamentarians and stakeholders from across the country last week, to refocus decision makers’ attention on the issue that continues to unnecessarily impede Australia’s more than $2 billion organic industry.

A Queensland strawberry farmer, the head of Australia’s largest organic mushroom producer, and a Victorian dairy company were among 10 award winners at the 8th Australian Organic Industry Awards on Friday night. Held at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley in Lovedale, NSW, peak industry body Australian Organic Limited (AOL) announced the night’s honourees, who collectively span an impressive and diverse range of certified organic products from fresh produce, dairy and meat, to pantry items and pharmaceutical ingredients.