Upcoming events.
Webinar: Food Safety in Focus | Live Q&A
Melisa Cavallaro and Clare Hamilton-Bate will build on the topics covered in the first two webinars, answering questions and exploring what the recent food safety changes mean in practice for mushroom growers.
Bring your questions, join the conversation and hear practical insights from the experts. You can submit questions when you register or ask them live on the day.
Register now and join us for the conversation.
About the speakers
Melisa Cavallaro is a certified HACCP Practitioner with over 15 years’ experience in food safety consulting, specialising in fresh produce. She is passionate about safe guarding the Australian agricultural industry and is dedicated to bridging the gap between GFSI certifications and small family-operated farms.
Clare Hamilton-Bate is an experienced food safety and quality specialist with extensive knowledge of the Australian fresh produce industry. A former National Program Manager at Freshcare, Clare has expertise in food safety systems, HACCP, risk management and industry compliance, and has contributed to food safety guidance and projects within the Australian mushroom industry.
How to register
Please note this webinar is open to the Australian mushroom industry only. Please register at the link below as soon as possible prior to the day of the webinar. You will be notified once your access has been approved.
Webinar: Updates on alternative casing using Australian resources
Could alternative casing materials help shape the future of Australian mushroom production?
Join the team behind the levy-funded Alternate Mushroom Casings (MU24001) project as they explore alternative casing soils and blends identified through the Future of Casing Report (MU22009).
The project is testing the performance of casing inputs and additives that are Australian-grown or sourced, as well as blends incorporating sustainably imported materials.
Find out what’s being tested, what’s showing promise and what it could mean for the future of casing in Australia. About the speakers
About the speakers
Dr Geoff Martin has been involved in the international mushroom industry for over 40 years, managing composting and mushroom operations across the UK, South Africa, Botswana, New Zealand and Australia. He holds a PhD in Soil Science from the University of Reading and was General Manager of Mushroom Composters (NSW) from 2001 to 2018, before founding his own consultancy, Dr Mush Advisory. A former Chairman and Life Honorary Member of the Australian Mushroom Growers' Association, Geoff remains passionate about sharing his knowledge and advancing research and development in composting.
Dr Meghann Thai is a Post Doctoral Research Associate at The University of Sydney. Her current work involves researching local alternatives to peat soil for button mushroom production. Prior to this, Meghann completed her PhD at the University of Sydney, researching the bacterial dynamics in mushroom composting, and analysing nitrogen transformation in composting to help improve consistency in mushroom production.
How to register
Please note this webinar is open to the Australian mushroom industry only. Please register at the link below as soon as possible prior to the day of the webinar. You will be notified once your access has been approved.
From data to decisions: understanding the environmental impact of Australian mushrooms
How do you know where your farm really sits when it comes to environmental impact?
Until now, Australian mushroom growers have not had a reliable, industry-wide benchmark to answer that question. Without one, it has been difficult to see where emissions come from, which parts of the operation matter most and where effort and investment will deliver the greatest return.
That has now changed. A new life cycle assessment (LCA) of the Australian mushroom industry has been completed, measuring environmental impacts from raw material inputs through to the farm gate.
For the first time, growers have a clear, science-based industry benchmark they can use to understand performance and identify opportunities to improve.
Hort Innovation commissioned sustainability firm thinkstep-anz to deliver the LCA and develop an emissions calculator that allows growers to assess the carbon footprint of their own farm and compare it with the industry average.
In this webinar, Jeff Vickers, Technical Director at thinkstep-anz, will unpack how the study was done, what the results show and how growers can use them in practice.
About the speaker: Jeff Vickers is the Technical Director at thinkstep-anz. He has 15 years global experience in conducting and verifying complex product life cycle assessments ranging from buildings to packaging, agriculture to electronics. He is a Certified LCA Professional with the Australian and New Zealand LCA professional associations, and a registered consultant with the Australian Government’s Climate Active certification scheme.
Webinar: Mushroom Schools Education Program.
WATCH THE RECORDING HERE
Join us for a special MushroomLink webinar with Leah Bramich
In a MushroomLink first, we’re excited to welcome AMGA CEO Leah Bramich for an engaging webinar on 3 July, where she’ll introduce the newly launched Mushroom Schools Education Program.
Designed to spark curiosity and encourage healthy eating habits in young Australians, the program features a fun new look and the introduction of the Mushroom Family characters - making mushroom education more accessible and engaging for early learners.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Leah about the program’s goals, how early education can shift perceptions about food, and why winning over our littlest consumers can have a lasting impact on mushroom consumption.
About Leah Bramich
Leah Bramich needs no introduction to Australian mushroom growers. She has been at the AMGA since 2019 and led the association for the past three years with energy and vision.
But what many may not know is Leah’s deep passion for education, particularly when it comes to inspiring young children.
The Mushroom Schools Education Program is a project close to Leah’s heart. Conceived and championed by her from the very beginning, the program has grown through multiple iterations, shaped by Leah’s determination to find what truly resonates with young learners. Her commitment to making mushrooms fun, familiar, and accessible for the next generation is evident in every detail of the new look, tone, and characters.
Webinar: Food safety certification FAQs with Clare Hamilton-Bate
Click here to view the recording
Date: 19 January 2023
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm (AEDT)
Location: Online (zoom)
Presenter: Clare Hamilton-Bate
Confused about food safety certification? Bombarded with requirements that are not relevant to mushrooms?
Worried about the auditor coming?
Food safety expert Clare Hamilton-Bate will launch our 2023 webinar series to answer all your FAQs and bust some common myths. There will also be an opportunity to ask Clare questions at the end of the webinar.
Mushroom Conference
Registrations are now open!
This great event will feature a number of international speakers and the best in R&D from locally and around the world, 26 to 28 October 2022.
A riveting International Speaker session on Thursday, includes presentations on two front-of-mind issues, picking systems and casing sustainability. Roland van Doremale from Christiaens and Jack Lemmen from GTL will outline the development of more efficient harvesting systems, including advances in robotic picking. Dr Ralph Noble from the UK and Folkert Moll from BVB will discuss issues surrounding the sustainability of European Casing and possible adjuncts to this vital commodity, with many more international guest speakers who are experts in their fields.
Friday is the local speaker program, with Hort Innovation providing updates on the Mushroom Fund and Australian Mushrooms marketing, and Australian researchers will provide updates on the levy-funded research projects.