Focus Areas IN TASMANIA
Get in touch
Tayla Field
VegNET Tasmania Regional Development Officer
-
Get in touch with Tayla: taylaf@rmcg.com.au or 0429 391 538
-
B.Ag.Sci. (Hons), Dip.Hort.Bus.
Tayla is an agricultural scientist with experience across farming, manufacturing and FMCG account management. She has worked within a range of food supply chains in various management positions within the agriculture sector including working across fresh produce, dairy, meat and has a strong relationship with growers and producers nationally.
Prue Rothwell
VegNET Tasmania Regional Support Officer
-
Get in touch with Prue prudencer@rmcg.com.au or 0477 182 408
-
B.Env.(Env.Sci). MFSG
Community food systems, regenerative agriculture, short supply chains, direct marketing.
Project management, stakeholder engagement, workshop design and facilitation.
Check out the latest VegNET updates and sign up to the newsletter here
-
Biosecurity Tasmania - Potato Mop Top Virus webpage, covering:
Current Situation
What is Potato mop-top virus?
What can you do?
Resources
Wellbeing support
View Factsheet - published 8 August 2025
-
Biosecurity Car Kit Checklist for Service Providers - October 2025
This resource has a checklist of biosecurity kit items that service providers should have in their car, and use, when out visiting farms.
Print it out, put it up in the office and share it with your colleagues.
Farm Biosecurity have also got a webpage outlining the importance of having a vehicle biosecurity kit, and using it!
Biosecurity Template - 21 Jul 2022
This page shares resources for service providers to implement biosecurity plans and best practice in their business.
Case Study - 12 Jul 2022
This factsheet provides some lessons for service providers who are looking to implement or improve their biosecurity plans.
-
Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT)
Boost your biosecurity readiness with the Plant Health Australia has the Biosecurity Online Training (BOLT) platform which provides plant biosecurity related eLearning courses.
Access is FREE and available to anyone with an interest in biosecurity.
National Biosecurity Training Hub
The National Biosecurity Training Hub was established in response to rising pressures on Australia’s biosecurity system with concurrent responses to animal, aquatic, environmental, plant and natural disaster incidents across the country driving the need to build and support biosecurity preparedness and response capacity and capability.
Created to address the need for a centralised, coordinated approach to national biosecurity training, the Hub provides a national repository of online biosecurity training for industry, government and community, connecting biosecurity training providers across Australia.
-
30 Oct 2024
Devise a biosecurity plan that is tailored to your needs. Work through the risks and actions to take to minimise biosecurity risks using this tool from the Farm Biosecurity website.
29 Jan 2025
AUSVEG has put together a Back to Basics guide for the Potato Industry that outlines why an up to date on-farm Biosecurity Plan is essential for your business and risk mitigation.
-
29 Jan 2025
AUSVEG has partnered with Onside to invite vegetable growers to access Onside’s biosecurity and visitor management technology to improve biosecurity across the industry. This is available to vegetable growers through the levy funded VegWatch project.
Listen to Victorian vegetables growers on their experience of using technology for improved on-farm biosecurity and traceability:
Rick Butler, Butler Market Gardens
12 Jul 2022
This factsheet details some of the available options to utilise smart phones and other devices as part of your biosecurity program.
-
12 Jul 2022
Plant biosecurity is a series of measures that aid in protecting production areas from harmful insects, weeds, and various plant diseases. On-farm biosecurity best practices play a pivotal role in maintaining Australia’s reputation of producing high quality products.
-
Developed February 2025 by VegNET Tasmania
Biosecurity: Planning and Preparedness
-
Dr Chris Preston presented at the July 2025 VegNET Tasmania weeds workshop in Devonport, Tasmania to answer relevant questions and provide a refresher on pre-emergent herbicides.
Dr Chris Preston is professor of weed management at the University of Adelaide. He works on understanding and management of herbicide resistant weeds. -
WeedSmart are providing a free online course, Pre-emergent Herbicides 101. Want to understand pre-emergent herbicides in three hours? Join our experts Dr Chris Preston (University of Adelaide) and Mr Mark Congreve (ICAN) as they take you through all you need to know about getting the most out of pre-emergent herbicides.
-
This webinar includes:
Review of the resistance basics
Review of best-practice management for herbicide resistant ryegrass
Seasonal challenges, and their management
Peter Boutsalis has over two decades of experience in herbicide resistance. He completed his PhD in 1996 at The University of Adelaide in the field of herbicide resistance. He was previously employed overseas by an international chemical company for 8 years investigating herbicide discovery and herbicide resistance. Currently employed with The University of Adelaide, Peter is investigating methods to combat multiple resistant ryegrass and brome grass resistance. Director of 'Plant Science Consulting Pty. Ltd.- www.plantscienceconsulting.com' which conducts commercial herbicide resistance testing on plant samples and seed samples.
-
23 Jan 2023
This factsheet details strategies for minimising resistant weeds in high rainfall areas.
-
12 Jul 2022
Chemicals play an important role in vegetable production and are regularly used to control insect pests, diseases and weeds. Poor spray application techniques can result in reduced control of pests, yield reduction, wasted chemicals, and lower returns to the grower.
-
March 2024
Description: This webinar from VegNET Tasmania covers a range of topics relating to minor use permits for agrichemicals.
Including:
- A brief overview of minor use permits; what they are for, when they are appropriate, what would be considered minor use, minor crops vs major crops, and how APVMA treats them
- The process for submitting an application, the supporting information required & common pitfalls to avoid when applying.
- How regional differences and existing information is considered in reviewing the applications for Minor-use permits.
Herbicide Resistance & Weed Management
-
New tech on display at Tasmania's Ag Innovation Expo 2025
AUSVEG’s Campbell Cooney spoke with Ian Layden from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and the Gatton Smart Farm to talk about the new agtech on display at the event, and how vegetable growers are integrating it into their businesses.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Precision Agriculture & Ag-Tech
Soil & Nutrient Management
-
Julius Joel, Group Product Director for Celery at G's Fresh based in the United Kingdom, joined a group of growers and industry members in Ulverstone, Tasmania to share G's Fresh journey into regenerative agriculture and reducing inputs in large scale vegetable production.
In this presentation, Julius discusses accelerating G's journey into regenerative agriculture through building on a whole system approach with the use of Johnson Su, a low-cost biological inoculant.
-
April 2025
This factsheet on waterlogging examines the effect is has on soils, understanding the nitrogen cycle, and how to manage your waterlogged paddocks to bring back soil health. This resource was developed thanks to VegNET Queensland delivery partner, Bowen Gumlu Growers' Association Inc.
-
Watch industry leading researchers, practitioners and growers who tackle some of the most important questions about carbon management on vegetable farms during this webinar.
What is the importance of soil carbon in vegetable production systems?
Why should vegetable growers care about reducing carbon emissions?
How do you calculate an emissions profile for your vegetable farm?
What are the opportunities for vegetable growers under the Emissions Reduction Fund?
When could participating in the ERF be viable for annual horticulture?
This session is complemented by a range of useful podcasts and articles as part of the Soil Wealth ICP project team's global scan and review.
-
The Soil Wealth and Integrated Crop Protection (ICP) projects provide research and development (R&D) extension services, products and communication on improved soil management and plant health to the Australian vegetable industry.
Link
-
This factsheet from the Soilwealth project and VegNET Vic looks at how Precision Ag data can be utilised for on-farm decision making.
-
This document provides an update on the progress of the Cover Crop demo site at Hagley Farm School. This TAPG project is funded by a Smart Farms Small Grant and delivered with support from TIA & Serve-Ag.
-
Nitrogen is a key input in our farming systems. These resources assist growers and agronomists ensure they are using it efficiently
User Guides
Please download the user guide to assist you with using the calculator and understanding nitrogen use efficiency
NUE User Guide V1
NUE User Guide V1 - Print Friendly
tRAINING mATERIALS & oPPORTUNITIES
-
Do you or your staff need to update your ChemCert accreditation?
Perhaps you need to update 1 or 2 of the agricultural chemical skillset competencies required for your business or QA processes?
TasTAFE offer the Agricultural chemical skillset as one of their fee free courses to farmers across the state.There are only a limited number of fee-free spots available, so:
What’s involved:
Short course - 2 Day Course from 9am - 4pm. Course includes Theory and Practical components. Please wear workplace appropriate clothing.Apply now:
-
Do you need help to arrange training for forklifts or telehandlers?
Let us know and we can see what we can do to arrange training through a certified provider.
-
Do you have a farm safety plan in place?
If not, or it’s time for an update, we can connect you with Safe Farming for the development of a FREE farm visit and safety plan for your business.
Call Stu Beams, Senior Health And Safety Advisor to have a positive safe farming conversation:
0400 140 146
stuart.beams@safefarming.tas.gov.auAccess Farm Safe Tasmania resources: Induction handbook and videos, farm safely in Tasmania guide, farm safety videos and quad bike safety.
-
Request support at no cost
If you need help during one of life's harder seasons, or are concerned for someone you know, we encourage you to reach out to RAW.
No matter if you are out on the potato harvester, knee deep in mud or navigating rural living with a newborn, RAW is available.
Contact 1800 RAW TAS (1800 729 827)
How’s your temperature gauge look?
Rural Alive & Well have temperature gauge test that can help explain the impact of situational stressors on our mental health and well-being.
It's natural for your gauge to move up and down, but if you spend too much time between 250°C - 300°C, consider contacting RAW.
VEGNET RESOURCES
-
The Tasmanian VegNET project provides a monthly email update to the vegetable industry. The update provides relevant news, resources, information on upcoming events and training. To subscribe, head to this sign up sheet.
View and sign up to our newsletter here
-
-
Strip-till in Tasmania; A reduced till faming system - Watch
Integrated Pest Management of vegetable pests - a more sustainable approach (webinar recording) - Watch
Spray technology for vegetable growers: a guide to getting it right (webinar recording) - Watch
Future focus - robotics and intelligent systems in Australian vegetable production systems - Watch
Biosecurity lessons in planning and response for the vegetable industry (webinar recording) - Watch
Precision agriculture technology in vegetable production systems (webinar recording) - Watch
-
Food Safety Resource - Leafy Vegetables Contamination & Risk Management for STEC - Download
Fall armyworm - Download
Spinach Crown Mite - Download
Group A Herbicide Resistance - Download
Precision Agriculture - Download
Mechanisation in the
Vegetable Industry - Download
Fungicides and Fungicide
Resistance - Download
Sustaining Vegetable Production
with Subsoil Manuring - Download
Optimising soil health and
yield with biofumigants - Download
Strip till - Download
Pest and Disease Identification - Download
Pea Season Debrief - Download
-
Allison Clark - Where does the consumer fit?
Presented at the Women in Vegetable Businesses Lunch April 2018
Allison provides an overview of innovative product development, consumer insights, and data available.
DownloadVegNET Tasmania
Presented at Simplot Roberts Industry Forum July 2017
The presentation focuses on cover crops in vegetable production systems, including the risks, benefits and considerations.
Download
-
Industry RESOURCES
-
Hort Innovation - https://www.horticulture.com.au
AUSVEG - https://ausveg.com.au
Soil Wealth | ICP - https://soilwealth.com.au
Postharvest management of Vegetables - https://www.postharvest.net.au
-
Healthy soils for vegetable sustainable farms - Download
Soil Health For Farming In Tasmania - Download
Postharvest management of vegetables - Australian supply chain handbook - Download
Industry Biosecurity Plan for the Vegetable Industry - Download
Farm Biosecurity Action Planner The essentials - Download
-
Matthew Wilson: Innovative packaging for horticultural products - Watch
Water for Profit Overview | Sue Hinton - Watch
Bill Cotching | Diagnosing Soil Health | Water for Profit - Watch
Five Steps to Develop a Water Budget | Water for Profit - Watch
Will Bignell | The Drone Revolution | 2017 Water for Profit State-Wide Event - Watch
Vongai Dakwa 2017 - Improving the shelf life of baby leafy salad vegetables - Watch
Tomato Potato Psyllid Surveillance and Training Program | Raylea Rowbottom - Watch
Forthside Open Day 2017 - Tim Neale, Data Farming - Watch
-
Final reports of the following research and development projects can be found at http://www.ausveg.com.au/infoveg/index.htm. You will need to log in or create a free account before searching for each project using the 'VG' code or project title. Other resources such as fact sheets and handbooks will be uploaded to this website and can be found by clicking the links under each project title.
PRODUCTION / POSTHARVEST
PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT
MARKETING / SUPPLY CHAIN
FOOD SAFETY, HEALTH & NUTRITION
EXPORT FOCUS
ENVIRONMENT
COMMUNICATIONS
BIOSECURITY
Irrigation Resources
-
The weatherwise email sends you a weekly forecast daily to your inbox to help plan your potential irrigation requirements.
-
As the weather begins to warm up and we look towards the summer growing season, it’s a good time to prepare for your upcoming irrigation requirements. In this article, SWAN Systems shares some key considerations to get the best results from irrigation scheduling software over summer, as well as insights from a trial at Harvest Farms in Richmond, Tasmania.
-
While checking on the precision agriculture trial at our Koo Wee Rup demonstration site, team member Carl Larsen recorded a short video to share how a remote weather station and attached soil moisture probe are providing practical insights to inform irrigation scheduling decisions.
Watch
-
A program to help Tasmanian farmers maximise their return on investment in irrigation Funded by the Tasmanian Government, the Water for Profit Program was designed to ensure farmers are equipped with the right skills and information to increase profits and sustainability from their investment in water. The project concluded in 2018. There are some great resources here to ensure you’re getting the most from your irrigation set up.
VegNET, is the national vegetable industry extension program that is run by growers, for growers.
The VegNET program will be led and coordinated by AUSVEG, with on-the-ground extension to be undertaken by trained and experienced regional development officers in organisations with strong grower networks in vegetable producing regions.
VegNET is funded by Hort Innovation, using the vegetable research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.
The VegNET 3.0 project will run for five years and involves AUSVEG working closely with regional development officers who have strong grassroots connections with local growers. These officers will increase industry’s awareness of and engagement with best practices in high priority areas, and will help growers adopt practice changes to improve the productivity, profitability and competitiveness of their businesses. For more information on the national project head to their website here.
In Tasmania, VegNET will be delivered RM Consulting Group.
ABOUT vegnet
