FANMail April

FANMail April

This post is part of our monthly FANMail newsletter for everything Sunshine Coast Food & Agribusiness.

Join for free and stay up to date with the industry!

Our Member Meet Ups across our regions are our FAN ecosystem at its best – where our members host on their farms and in their manufacturing facilities, sharing their stories and knowledge to inspire and help others. 

Thanks to this month’s hosts – Adele and Scott Frew (Belli Beef), Nick and Brydie Holliday (Belvedere Farm) and Mick Dan (Good Harvest Organic Farm) and the Sunshine and Sons team. If you’d like to host a future meet up we’d love to hear from you. 

Yours in collaboration,
Emma Greenhatch

Table of Contents

Upcoming Events

There’s lots going on in May – as part of Queensland Small Business Month!

In our special #QSBM Insights and Innovation from our Industry Sessions – we’re inviting industry trailblazers to share what success looks like for them and how an innovation mindset has helped to unlock new opportunities.

Tuesday 4 May
Krista Watkins Natural Evolution and #eatqld Champion 

Krista, a banana farmer from Walkamin, North Queensland has won international recognition for her innovative banana flour product that tackles food waste at its source – the farm gate. Her business, Natural Evolution, takes fresh bananas grown on her plantation and turns the fruit into flour for consumer goods like pasta. In the eight years since, what started as a hobby for use by the family, Natural Evolution, has become the first company in the world to commercially produce this rare gluten-free flour.

Tuesday 25 May
Joel Kuperholz Vimantech and Purple Hive Project


Joel is the Founder of Vimanatech, an Australian tech company creating and assembling technology to benefit those in rural Australia, with a focus on agriculture. Joel has a track record in autonomous field robotics, co-founding the first Mars Rover team to compete at NASA’s Mars Desert Research Centre in Utah, USA. Vimantech is the lead developer behind the  groundbreaking Purple Hive Project, a solar-powered, artificial intelligence-based device trained to detect the Varroa mite in real-time. 
BOOK HERE

Feedback, input and tips welcome!

Got suggestions, input, tips on what you’d like in FANMail – email us.

 

FAN News

FAN would like to announce the appointment of Mick Hay and Mark Peters to the FAN Board. We would also like to thank retiring Director Craig Agnew from The Happy Snack Company, who has helped FAN to navigate a period of significant change over the past 12 months.

Meet Mick Hay
Rimfire Resources

Meet Mark Peters
Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre

Upcoming Grants

Sunshine Coast Business Awards
The Sunshine Coast Business Awards are back in 2021, a fantastic opportunity for FAN members to be recognised for their achievements and to celebrate at the Gala event on 13 November. Entries open on 20 May and details of upcoming information sessions will be available shortly.
READ MORE HERE

Grant writing workshops
Join Jenny Lawson from Successful Grants at an upcoming Grant Workshop – hosted at a Sunshine Coast  Council Library near you. In these workshops, discover ways to find grants that match your initiative, learn how to understand the fine print for guidelines and eligibility, and get tips on how to appropriately respond to criteria. FIND OUT MORE HERE

Made in Queensland Grant
The $15.5 million 4th round of the Made in Queensland (MIQ) program is now open. Eligible manufacturers can apply for grants $50,000 – $2.5million with matched funding to become more internationally competitive and adopt innovative processes and technologies. Regional manufacturers may also be eligible to receive up to 75% of project funding in this round for projects up to $500,000. READ MORE HERE. For more details contact FAN’s Grant Writing Partner Jenny Lawson at Successful Grants.

QLD Govt Preferred Supplier
Current tender opportunity with the Queensland Government to join the Preferred Supplier Panel (PSP) for the provision of Groceries, Dairy and Beverages. Closing 4 May. FULL DETAILS HERE

Member Opportunities/Resources

Gluten-Free Expo Special Offer for FAN Members
The Gluten-Free Expo invites FAN members to participate in the Brisbane Gluten Free Expo in a dedicated space for $600. To register email [email protected] or  FIND OUT MORE HERE

Farmers2Plate Exchange Subsidy
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, under their (Agribusiness Diversification, Agritourism Program), is providing a limited number of event tickets (excl. masterclass, travel & accomm) for Queensland farmers located outside the Scenic Rim, Gold Coast, Logan and Brisbane regions, to attend the Farm2Plate Exchange being held in Scenic Rim (Beaudesert) from 18-19 May. Tickets are available on a first come first serve basis. MORE DETAILS HERE

R&D Opportunity
Quantal Bioscience, a unique small science business, would like to speak with growers and about their experiences, problems and successes in monitoring and diagnosing microbial pathogens and diseases in a range of systems, including protected cropping, aquaponic and nursery, and post-harvest operations. READ MORE HERE

FAN Member Landcare workshop
Thursday 27 May
Are you interested in understanding and valuing the natural capital on your property and learning more about how you as a producer can benefit from participating in the emerging environmental markets? Submit your EOI here or for more info contact [email protected].

Alternative Plant-based Proteins
Based on research performed by FIAL, as part of Capturing the Prize, the plant-based and alternative proteins category is set to grow to $A5 billion by 2030, creating an additional 6,000 new jobs to the Australian economy if opportunities are realised. READ MORE

The Future of Food
The healthy food market is growing and evolving fast. The interest in healthier food coincides with many factors in our society, from our desire to look and feel good, nutritional needs, food intolerances, sustainability and, of course, the impact of COVID-19. But how does this affect the attitudes, behaviours, consumption and buying habits of Australian consumers? Read a recent report from Davidson Branding.
READ HERE

Member News

ABC Landline sharing the love
Another great FAN-member story on ABC Landline from Jen Nichols – this time on Little White Goat Cheese (iview 18 April). Keep an eye out for an upcoming story on FAN Ambassador Martin Duncan aka Sunshine Coast Foodie on his growing Sconetime movement!

QLD Strawberries Campaign
Have you seen QLD Strawberries recent campaign? Check out the innovative initiative and share, share, share.

My Dilly Bag workshops
Aunty Dale Chapman from My Dilly Bag has some Bush food tasting workshops coming up that are a great idea for Mother’s Day. FIND OUT MORE HERE

Delicious Produce Awards 2021
And the State Winners are in for this year’s Delicious Produce Awards – another great showing from FAN members! Congratulations go to
Big Heart BambooWalker SeafoodsBunya Red Farm and Green Valley Fingerlimes.

Send us your news to share with our FAN community.

Our Partners

Special thanks to FAN’s Partners and Sponsors who provide significant resources towards the ongoing sustainability of FAN and the growth and resilience of our regions’ food and agribusiness industry.

AQ-QG
MoretonBay
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EPIC
Fishbowl
HOT91
KBI
NoosaCouncil
RDAMBSC
SRJWW
Sunshine-Coast-Council
Turbine

This post is part of our monthly FANMail newsletter for everything Sunshine Coast Food & Agribusiness.

Join for free and stay up to date with the industry!

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