About AUSVEG

AUSVEG

Overview

AUSVEG is the national peak industry body for Australia's vegetable, potato and onion growers, and through its website, magazines, newsletters and media work it operates one of the most active trade news services in Australian horticulture. Based in Melbourne, AUSVEG is a nationally federated, grower-owned organisation whose members are the state and territory industry associations for the vegetable, onion and potato sectors.

The organisation's communications operation is the subject of this profile. Through ausveg.com.au, AUSVEG publishes news articles, media releases, industry statements, research updates and event coverage on a near-daily basis; it produces the quarterly Australian Grower magazine and the AUSVEG Weekly Update e-newsletter; it delivers the industry communications program that also supports the Vegetables Australia magazine; and its staff act as the industry's public voice in national media on issues from biosecurity to supermarket pricing.

History

AUSVEG has represented vegetable growers nationally for decades, and the public record traces its modern development through its leadership and expanding remit. In 2013 the organisation — then led by chief executive Richard Mulcahy — described itself as the national peak industry body representing Australia's 9,000 vegetable and potato growers, and was already running export development projects including an Australian produce stand at Asia Fruit Logistica and a reverse trade mission for Asian retailers. By 2020, under chief executive James Whiteside, AUSVEG was a founding member of the Fruit & Vegetable Consortium, a coalition of health, research and industry bodies campaigning to lift Australian fruit and vegetable consumption.

Michael Coote, who joined AUSVEG in 2014 as National Manager – Export Development and led its export strategy, was appointed chief executive officer in 2021. Under Coote the organisation's public output has continued to grow: AUSVEG delivers the Hort Innovation National Vegetable Industry Communications program, which funds the communication of levy-funded research through the Vegetables Australia magazine, the AUSVEG Weekly Update and its digital channels. In December 2024 AUSVEG announced a strategic alliance with the Australian Garlic Industry Association to consolidate advocacy for vegetable growers nationally.

On the publishing side, AUSVEG's magazine offering has evolved from its long-running industry titles to the quarterly Australian Grower, published in seasonal editions — Autumn, Winter and Spring editions all appeared through 2026, with the Spring 2026 edition released on 28 August 2026. Its flagship event, Hort Connections, was established in 2017 and has grown into the largest horticulture conference and trade show in the southern hemisphere, co-hosted by AUSVEG and the International Fresh Produce Association Australia–New Zealand (IFPA ANZ).

Content and Coverage

The news service on ausveg.com.au mixes advocacy, practical industry intelligence and event coverage. Policy and pricing pressures are a constant theme: an AUSVEG statement issued over Easter 2026, for example, argued that vegetable growers were "dealing with the immense responsibility of feeding the country while not knowing if they will be able to harvest a crop," and listed priorities for government including greater ACCC scrutiny of the retail sector and priority access to fuel and fertiliser for fresh food producers. Biosecurity is another standing beat, reflecting AUSVEG's role in the national plant biosecurity partnership, alongside agrichemical regulation, workforce, water, energy costs, export market access and consumer demand.

Australian Grower magazine carries the longer-form end of the operation: grower profiles and business case studies, research and development findings, industry award winners — the Spring 2026 edition featured the Grower of the Year announcement partnered by Syngenta — and seasonal production advice. The AUSVEG Weekly Update e-newsletter condenses the week's news, R&D outcomes and coming events for growers' inboxes, while AUSVEG's media releases place its positions before metropolitan and rural journalists, generating coverage across national print, radio and television outlets.

Events are both covered and created. AUSVEG co-hosts Hort Connections — held in Adelaide from 1 to 4 June 2026, following a 2025 Brisbane edition that attracted 3,900 delegates — and convenes specialist gatherings including the National Vegetable R&D Summit (October 2026) and the Australian Onion Conference (December 2026). It also delivers the Annual Vegetable Industry Seminar, which brings leading researchers and innovators together with growers, and the Hort Connections program concludes each year with the Horticulture Awards for Excellence, whose winners are then profiled across AUSVEG's magazine and news channels.

Audience and Reach

AUSVEG's primary audience is the grower base it represents, together with the wider vegetable supply chain: packers, processors, wholesalers, exporters, researchers, agronomists, input suppliers, retailers and government. In its current published boilerplate, AUSVEG describes itself as "the national peak industry body for Australia's over 3,600 vegetable, potato and onion producers, who account for 3.8 million tonnes of vegetable production worth $6 billion in farmgate value annually," accounting for one third of Australia's $18.4 billion horticulture industry. Those figures are the organisation's own published description of its constituency, presented here as such.

The reach of its events arm is independently visible: Hort Connections drew 3,900 delegates in Brisbane in 2025, and its 2026 Adelaide trade show was fully booked with a record number of booths, according to trade press reports. As the recognised voice of the vegetable industry, AUSVEG commentary is routinely quoted by national media on food prices, biosecurity incursions and farm policy, giving its news output an influence well beyond its grower readership.

Digital Presence

The AUSVEG website is the hub of the operation, publishing articles, media releases, publication downloads and event listings, with current stories and forthcoming events — including the October 2026 R&D Summit and the December 2026 Onion Conference — promoted from the homepage. Editions of Australian Grower magazine are posted to the site as downloadable PDFs, and the organisation distributes its Weekly Update by email to subscribed growers and industry stakeholders.

AUSVEG also maintains an active presence across social media and video channels, sharing news, campaign material and event coverage, and works with the VegNET regional extension network to deliver regionally tailored podcasts and videos for major growing regions — an acknowledgement that its audience is spread across every state and often better reached in the paddock than at a desk.

Ownership and Organisation

AUSVEG is a grower-owned, not-for-profit peak body — described by trade partners as "owned by growers, for growers" — and is structured as a federation of state and territory member associations for the vegetable, onion and potato industries. Its board is chaired by Victorian grower Bill Bulmer, who joined the board in 2014 and was elected chair in 2017, with South Australian packhouse general manager Renee Pye as deputy chair; grower directors from each producing state sit alongside skills-based directors.

Chief executive Michael Coote leads a Melbourne-based team whose leadership includes Lucy Gregg, General Manager – Public Affairs and Communications; Andrew MacDonald, National Manager – Communications, who oversees the organisation's industry communications activities and media relations; and national managers for biosecurity and extension, agrichemical issues, events and partnerships, and international trade. AUSVEG also performs a statutory role in overseeing the establishment of horticulture levies, whose research funds are managed by Hort Innovation and biosecurity funds by Plant Health Australia.

Contact and Availability

AUSVEG's news, publications and event information are available free through its website at https://www.ausveg.com.au/, where current and past editions of Australian Grower magazine can be downloaded and readers can subscribe to the AUSVEG Weekly Update. Media enquiries are directed to the National Manager – Communications, Andrew MacDonald, on (03) 9882 0277, with contact details also published on the website.

The organisation is based in Melbourne, Victoria, and its member associations provide state-level points of contact for growers in each producing region.