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Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
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A regular newsletter produced
by NSW Agriculture reporting research findings and activities which underpin
the development of internationally acceptable accreditation systems for
sustainable agricultural production, environment management and new agriindustry
systems. Contributions are welcome. Contact: The Editor,Gavin
Tinning, EMS in Agriculture Workshop Secretariat Ph (02) 66261139 Fax (02)
66283264 Email gavin.tinning@agric.nsw.gov.au
or
Genevieve Carruthers: Ph: (02)
66261237 Fax (02) 66283264 Email genevieve.carruthers@agric.nsw.gov.au
or
Environmental Management Systems in Agriculture Workshop Goals
1. Define roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders for:
2. Increased understanding of:
3. Begin the process to develop
a national strategy for the adoption and implementation of Environmental Management
Systems in Australia
Keynote Speakers Confirmed
Two of the key players in the development of the Environmental Farm Plan in Canada, Ontario farmer Jeff Wilson and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs representative Craig Hunter, will give keynote addresses at the workshop. Among other topics, they will examine the reasons the plan was developed, the proactive role of farmers in its development and their partnership with a provincial government agency. Turn to page 3 for more information.
Richard Riddiford from Palliser Estate Winery in Martinborough, New Zealand, will give a presentation on the group approach taken by the Living Wine group to develop an EMS and achieve certification to ISO 14001. More information can be found in the Spotlight on EMS article on page 3.
Ian Finlayson, Technical Manager of Primary Agriculture for Sainsbury’s Supermarkets has been overseeing the introduction of integrated crop management, a program now expanding to include biodiversity. He will present a retail perspective on EMS, and the development of relationships with suppliers, in the case of Sainsbury’s not solely from within the UK.
Philip Ashton, from Aubourn
Farming Ltd in the United Kingdom, is one of the demonstration farmers in
the Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) program. Philip will be presenting
a farmer’s perspective on the approach and management of the LEAF Audit.
Provisional Program
Environmental Management Systems
in Agriculture Workshop
, BallinaRSL 26- 28 May 1999
Wednesday 26 May
AM Chair GEORGE WILSON (RIRDC)
9.00 Welcome Address
9.30 Opening Plenary Session “What
are your expectations of an EMS? “
10.30 Morning tea 11.00 Jason Alexandra
- EMS for Australian Agriculture
11.30 Jeff Wilson, AgCare, Canada
- Environment Farm Plan, Farmers driving the process
12.00 Craig Hunter, OMAFRA, Canada
- EFP, Government supporting the process
12.30 Lunch
PM Chair CHRISTINE FORSTER (LWRRDC)
1.30 Pat Crook, SGS - What is an
EMS? - basic principles.
2.00 Bill Spencer, ACCB - Certification
and Auditing - do you really need them?
2.30 Afternoon tea 3.00 Workshop
Session - Groups 7.30 Workshop Dinner
Thursday 27 May
AM Chair NEIL GUNNINGHAM (ANU)
8.30 Review of previous day’s sessions
8.45 Jan Denham, NASAA - Organic farming standards
9.15 Alan Williams, CRDC - BMP
approach in the cotton industry
9.45 Morning tea 10.15 Richard
Riddiford, Living Wine Group - A group approach to ISO14001
10.45 Ron Watkins, LMS - Implementing
whole farm planning
11.15 David Chambers, LMS - Whole
Farm Monitoring Kit
11.45 Graham Moore, DLWC - Indigenous
land management 12.15 Lunch
PM Chair BILL SPENCER (ACCB)
1.15 Peter Butcher, GMW - A corporation
approach to EMS
1.45 Grant Pearce, Southcorp Wines
- Implementing an EMS from farm to product
2.15 Afternoon tea 2.45 Workshop
Session - Groups
Friday 28 May
AM Chair JOHN WILLIAMS (NSW Agriculture)
8.30 Review of previous days session
8.45 Neil Gunningham, ANU - Environmental partnerships and EMS
9.15 Labelling
9.45 Jim Murison, AgSell NSW Agriculture
- What do our customers want?
10.15 Ian Finlayson, Sainsbury’s
Supermarkets - Environmental stewardship from a retail perspective
10.45 Morning tea 11.15 Di Dibley,
Tirra Lirra Environmental Projects - Perceptions of EMS within the financial
sector, and how this will affect farm financing.
11.45 Carl Binning, CSIRO - Incentives
and Taxation
12.15 Philip Ashton, Aubourn Farming
Ltd - the LEAF Audit. 12.30 Lunch
PM
1.30 Final Plenary Session - Acknowledgement
and agreement 3.00 Afternoon tea 3.30 Plenary Session continues
Spotlight on EMS in practice
Group certification cuts costs
Four small companies on the north island of New Zealand have cooperated to achieve group implementation of an environmental management system and become possibly the first wineries in the world to be certified to ISO 14001.
A group approach is more practical for small businesses, states John Kavanagh, Manager of Palliser Estate Wines, reducing costs and streamlining the implementation process. The Living Wine group comprising Palliser Estate, Martinborough Vineyards, CJ Pask Winery and Vidal Estate Winery, have used an environmental management system titled "Living Planet System". This system uses ISO 14001 as a base, and incorporates quality management and Life Cycle Analysis, targeting the needs of small businesses.
The key to the Living Planet System is the requirement of ISO 14001 for continual improvement in environmental performance. However, the EMS does aim to exceed the minimum criteria of the standard, and be compatible with quality assurance programs already in place. The Living Wine group can demonstrate their environmental integrity, based on scientific analysis of the growth and production processes involved in making the wine. This is crucial to the success of the New Zealand wine industry and particularly its export markets.
The four companies involved in the group have in common a desire to improve their environmental performance, and have found the sharing of information and systems within the group to have provided them with a market advantage. Instead of the envisaged barrier of competing companies being unable to fully cooperate, the group approach has led to each company driving the others forward.
The major benefits received from their involvement in the EMS process have been
Farmers drive the system in
Environmental Farm Plan – Ontario Canada
The push from farmers for ownership of farm management programs, combined with incentives for farm management has led to a successful establishment of a farm- based environmental management program. In Ontario, Canada, 14000 farm families (a total of 3.7 million acres) have become involved with The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP). The initiative, a proactive response by farmers to the threat of regulation from outside agencies, has led to their promotion of the use of sustainable agricultural practices in the province.
Farmers receive a $1,500 incentive to undertake projects on their farms as well as participation in workshops run by other farmers. Award schemes have also been established to promote the adoption of the EFP, which is to continue into 1999 having received $2.9 million in Federal funding.
UK stores can’t meet demand for organic produce
Major United Kingdom supermarket chains are having difficulty in accessing sufficient organic produce to meet the growing demand from consumers. Whilst organic produce represents only 1% of Sainsbury’s business, it has made inroads into particular markets with 40% of the baby food market, 5% of the egg market and a growing percentage of the dairy market. Supermarkets expect the levels of demand to continue increasing for at least the next five years.
Tesco has reported a 100% increase in organic produce during 1998, making it one of the fastest growing sectors of their business. To help support the need for more produce Tesco is sponsoring research to help farmers convert to organics.
Another retailer, Waitrose, claims 600 organic product lines, and believes that organics can no longer be referred to as a niche market in the UK. The lack of interest from government however, is not helping the conversion of farmers and the promotion of clean produce.
Sponsorship secured
In addition to the major funding provided by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation (LWRRDC), and NSW Agriculture, the following sponsors have confirmed their commitment to fund the participation of overseas speakers and additional workshop costs.
Gold Sponsorship
Silver Sponsorship
Bronze Sponsorship
Mailing List
If you would like to be placed on a mailing list to recieve future editions of the newsletter and updates on the outcomes of the workshop, please contact the workshop secretariat.
Feedback
Do you have any comments on the issues raised in this newsletter ? Are there other issues that need to be addressed ?
After Dinner Speaker Confirmed
Mike Logan, featured in Issue 1 of this newsletter, is confirmed as the after dinner speaker for the workshop dinner. The dinner will be held on the 26 May, and all delegates are encouraged to attend. Mike will talk about what not to do in developing an EMS - “Mistakes I Made Along the Way”. This promises to be an entertaining evening. Cost for the dinner is $50.00.
Further information
Further enquiries regarding the workshop program and sponsorship, can be made to either:
Genevieve Carruthers: Ph: (02) 66261237 Fax (02) 66283264 Email: genevieve.carruthers@ agric.nsw.gov.au
or:
Gavin
Tinning, EMS in Agriculture Workshop Secretariat
Ph (02) 66261139 Fax (02) 66283264
Email gavin.tinning@agric.nsw.gov.au
Postal Address: Wollongbar Agricultural
Institute Bruxner Highway Wollongbar NSW 2477
© State of New South Wales— NSW Agriculture ISSN 1441– 8649
Produced by NSW Agriculture— Wollongbar March 1999 Edited by Gavin Tinning
Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing in March 1999. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the cuurency of the information with the appropriate offficer of New South Wales Department of Agriculture or the user’s independant advisor.
Recognising that some of the information in this document is provided by third parties, the State of New South Wales, the author and the publisher take no responsibility for the accuracy, currency, reliability and correctness of any information included in the document provided by third parties.
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