CropLife hosts National Forum

CropLife Australia hosts National Forum

CropLife Australia recently hosted its annual National Members’ Forum in Canberra as part of Agriculture and Rural Focus week—a great opportunity to display the strength and diversity of Australia’s broad agriculture industry.

Attendees heard from the then Minister for Agriculture, Senator the Hon. Bridget McKenzie, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP and the heads of both the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.

Lee Constable, host of Scope, Network 10’s science and tech show for the young and young-at-heart, and new author of ‘How to Save the Whole Stinkin’ Planet’ presented a keynote address urging the attendees consider their audience, message and method of delivery to be most effective in communicating science. Fighting chemophobia, food security and glyphosate and the future of farming in South Australia were also on the agenda.

Following the Forum, CropLife hosted its annual agriculture industry reception where three individuals were honoured with CropLife President’s Awards. Tony May, former ANZ Company Head for Monsanto and now Head of Customer Marketing, ANZ for Bayer CropScience, Greg Mitchell, Regulatory and Policy Manager with Corteva Agriscence, and Osman Mewett,

Host of Network 10’s Scope, Lee Constable.

General Manager of the Australian Seed Federation and former Director of Crop Biotechnology Policy with CropLife were recognised for their outstanding personal contribution to the plant science industry.

“These three individuals have almost seventy years’ experience in the plant science industry between them. They have extensive knowledge and experience across regulatory and legislative reform, agricultural production and biotechnology innovation. Our industry is certainly richer for their contributions and they are very deserving of this accolade,” said CropLife Australia President, Mr Paul Luxton.

CropLife Australia 2020 Board The CropLife Board has re-elected Mr Paul Luxton, General Manager ANZ for Syngenta, as President of Australia’s peak industry organisation for the plant science sector in 2020. Mr Luxton will be joined on CropLife’s Executive by highlyregarded industry leaders with a vast wealth of knowledge and expertise: Mr Damien Ryan, Managing Director, Sipcam Pacific Australia, Vice President (Crop Protection); Mr Joerg Ellmanns, Chairman and Managing Director Bayer Group ANZ, Vice President (Crop Biotechnology); and Mr Gavin Jackson, Head of Agriculture Solutions—Australia & New Zealand, BASF Australia, Chair of Corporate Governance Committee. CropLife Australia Board of Directors will be: Mr Tony Brookes, Managing Director, Sumitomo Chemical Australia; Ms Kristina Hermanson, Country Manager, FMC Australasia; Mr Darrin Hines, Managing Director ANZ, Adama Australia; Mr Rob Kaan,

CropLife Australia President, Paul Luxton.

Managing Director—Australia/New Zealand/Japan/Korea, Corteva Agriscience (Agricultural Division of DowDuPont); and Mr Peter O’Keeffe, ANZ Regional General Manager, Nufarm Australia.

Members' update

New CropLife members

Elders, owner of the Titan AG crop protection brand, and Autopak Formulators have joined CropLife Australia. Like all CropLife members, Elders is committed to the safety, stewardship and quality of their products. Elders is a leading brand recognised throughout the agricultural sector whose historic association with Australian farming dates back to 1839. Autopak Formulators is a manufacturer of crop protection, industrial chemical and speciality formulations with a commitment to quality control and assurance across their formulations. With Elders and Autopak Formulators joining the national peak industry body it reinforces that CropLife represents the best of the plant science industry.

Corteva has partnered with TradeMutt to kickstart conversations about mental health in agriculture. Bright and loud, TradeMutt shirts are designed to get people talking positively about mental health.

Bayer and Active Farmers have announced a new partnership to support the delivery of fitness programs across rural Australia, aimed at improving the physical and mental wellbeing of farming communities in remote areas and drought affected communities.

Bayer, Active Farmers, National Farmers’ Federation and Members of Parliament at the launch of the Bayer–Active Farmers partnership (above). Nutrien Ag Solutions has put its support behind the national campaign to tell the story of Australian farmers. Nutrien Ag Solutions—the new name for the combined Landmark and Ruralco business—contributed $500,000 to support the National Farmers’ Federation’s ‘We Are Australian Farmers’ campaign.

Adama Australia continues its strong stewardship focus through the launch of its ReefAware app, a unique tool which helps sugarcane growers and agronomists maximise herbicide efficacy whilst minimising run-off and its potential impact on the environment. ReefAware assesses the suitability and timing of herbicide applications by taking recent, current and short-term forecast weather conditions into account, along with site soil type and moisture, topography and proximity to water courses. It supports growers to ensure the essential water they use does not damage the reef. The tool is proving popular with a growing number of growers and agronomists across Queensland.

Anashka Farms— a family run, intergenerational estate with a diverse mix of cropping—is the recent recipient of the Nufarm National Grain Innovation Award for demonstrating innovative on-farm practices.

Syngenta operates a number of programs that aim to improve the sustainability of agriculture. Operation Pollinator, an international initiative, was developed to boost the number of pollinating insects, such as bees, on farms and golf courses. Syngenta works with farmers and golf course managers to create wild habitats around cultivated areas. The program will enhance biodiversity on more than five million hectares globally.

CROPLIFE MEMBERS

CropLife Australia is the national peak organisation representing the best of the plant science industry in Australia. CropLife’s members are the world-leading innovators, developers, manufacturers and formulators of crop protection and crop biotechnology products.

CropLife ensures the responsible use of these products through its mandatory industry code of conduct and has set a benchmark for industry stewardship through programs such as its Pollinator Protection Initiative, including the world-first BeeConnected app, and successful Agsafe programs, drumMUSTER and ChemClear®.

The plant science industry, worth more than $20 billion a year to Australian agricultural production, provides products to protect crops against pests, weeds and diseases, as well as developing crop biotechnologies key to the nation’s agricultural productivity, profitability and sustainability. CropLife is part of the plant science industry’s 91 country international federation.

representing the best of the plant science industry

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