October 14th, 2010 nola
Sunday 17th October, 2010
10am – 4pm
One of the best food festivals of the region is the “Tastes of the Tablelands” and it’s on again this Sunday (17th October) from 10am – 4pm. This Festival won an Australia Day Award for the best community Event in the Tableland region in 2008, an award the Rotary Club of Atherton is very proud of. Last year 4,000 people attended the festival and this year the numbers are expected to increase significantly.
This great community event is held in the serene grounds of the Chinese Temple on Herberton Road, Atherton, and will once again be a showcase of the very best that the Tablelands has to offer. The day will be filled with cooking demonstrations, music, entertainment, a fashion parade, a vintage car & motorbike display, ice carving displays and children’s activities. The Chinese Temple Museum and the Art Gallery will also be open. All funds raised on the day will go towards community projects organized by the Rotary Club of Atherton.
Images contributed by DEEDI
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October 12th, 2010 nola
Every food producer should experience this event.
November 5-7th 2010.
Brisbane Convention Centre
Come and discover thousands of tastes, flavours, products and techniques from hundreds of exhibitors at the Good Food & Wine Show.
Food producers can gain gret ideas from other products as well as seeking distribution contacts.
It’s like Australia’s biggest gourmet deli, most fascinating kitchen shops and delicious restaurants – and it’s all waiting for you to discover!
Imagine the delights of:
• Seeing your favourite celebrity chef appearing live in the Celebrity Theatre with demonstrations and book signings throughout the show
• Tasting new dishes designed by our celebrity chefs including Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Manu Fieldel in the Show Restaurant in Brisbane.
• Satisfing your tastebuds in the Cheese Matters Masterclass or the delicious recipes in the Gourmet Garden Cooking School, as well as exciting wine sessions in the Riedel Decanter Bar.
If you would like your product displayed at Good Food & Wine Show, contact Belinda Down at DEEDI on 4048 1119
For more information go to http://www.goodfoodshow.com.au
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October 12th, 2010 nola
Australian Year of the Farmer
In 2012, we celebrate the Australian Year of the Farmer. It recognises what farmers do for all Australians. It’s about what we eat; about fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy, grains, fish, meat and about wool, cotton, timber and wine – all the fine quality products that our farmers grow and harvest in large and small businesses.
Australia’s farmers should be recognised and celebrated: for feeding the nation, for leading the world in farming techniques and innovation, and for sustaining the vital agribusinesses that underpin our economy. Farmers are the providers of our nation.
The Australian Year of the Farmer reaches out to a broad audience – indeed to every Australian. It aims to involve and bring together rural and urban communities, schools, farming organisations, all the suppliers and the consumers of Australia’s fine produce in a year-long program of events across the nation.
The Australian Year of the Farmer will raise the profile of farming, highlighting the importance of food security and our dependence on the Australian farmer. Especially, it will remind city folk of the importance of our farmers, fostering greater connection and understanding, encouraging all of us to look for, to purchase and to appreciate
Australian produce. And it will demonstrate how farmers respect and value the relationship they have with consumers and urban communities.
The Australian Year of the Farmer will also focus on the future and the sustainability of our farming industries. As the Australian population grows, so does our dependence on our farmers. Our trading partners around the world also require us to keep pace with growing need and with increasing pressure on food security…
… It’s an ever-growing need.
For all of us, farming is Australia’s Life Support System … it feeds, supports, and sustains life.
Australian Farmers. Our Farmers. Our Future
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October 12th, 2010 nola
Global movement towards sourcing food locally creates opportunity for farmers and producers
08/10/2010
Tropical North Queensland farmers and food producers are being offered the chance to learn more about how to take advantage of the growing international trend for locally-produced food products.
In response to growing consumer demand for fresh seasonal food and a reduced distance between where food is produced and distributed throughout the world, Southern Cross University, in partnership with Advance Cairns, will be showcasing a regional food system designed to enable local farmers and producers to diversify and add value to their products.
Next month the regional bodies will host two ‘Food and Agritourism’ field days, one at Mena Creek and the other at Walkamin and two ‘Regional Food System’ producer forums, one at Mourilyan and the other at Walkami.
Rose Wright, industry extension manager at Southern Cross University’s Australian Regional Tourism Research Centre said the regional food system concept and development of links to food tourism could allow farmers to diversify their income and therefore become more financially resilient.
“Farmers watching their margins fall in the traditional central market system, while consumer prices increase and retail food profits continue to grow, are pausing for thought and wondering ‘is there a better way to earn a living from my hard work?’ – and these forums will provide some answers and options,” Ms Wright said.
“In order to give locals and visitors a real ‘taste of paradise’, we need to work with the farmers to ensure that local, fresh seasonal food is available for sale at food retailers and on restaurant and hotel menus throughout the region.
“We need to be able to tell the difference between local produce and food that comes from outside the region so that consumers, both locals and visitors, can easily make the choice to buy authentic local food.
“The field days are an excellent opportunity for farmers to find out how to value-add to what they are already producing in a way that links them with local consumers, visitors and commercial users and promotes their produce in a totally new market.”
The ‘Regional Food System’ producer forums will provide information to local producers and manufacturers about opportunities for selling produce within the region and will also promote discussion around the establishment of a regional food supply chain.
The ‘Food and Agritourism’ field days will provide information to farmers and rural land holders about developing ‘on-farm’ tourism opportunities.
The upcoming events follow the success of the recently completed Tropical North Queensland Tourism Development Program, an initiative of Southern Cross University, Advance Cairns and the Federal Government aimed at broadening the range of tourism products and experiences in the region.
Key outcomes of the program were the development of a strategy to link agriculture, food and tourism sectors and a business development program to support farmers to diversify, beginning with activities like the food forums and the agritourism field days.
The ‘Food and Agritourism’ field days will be held at Mena Creek on Wednesday, November 10 and at Walkamin on Thursday November, 11 from 9am to 3pm. The cost is $27.50 per person including lunch and morning tea.
The ‘Regional Food System’ producer forums will be held at Mourilyan on Tuesday, November 9 and at Walkamin on Thursday, November 11 from 3.30pm to 5.30pm and the forums are free.
Southern Cross University and Advance Cairns are encouraging anyone interested to attend. Please note that spaces are limited at the forums and people wanting to attend are requested to RSVP to Shene Kemp, Advance Cairns on 07 4080 2900 or email admin@advancecairns.com . For further information contact Sue Fairley, Project Officer, Advance Cairns on 0417 735 724 or po@advancecairns.com.
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October 8th, 2010 nola
Brisbane – Friday, 29 October, 2010
Research, Development, Engineering and Innovation are key fundamentals to a prosperous and vibrant Queensland Food Industry. Join us in hearing from Government and research providers about how the food industry in Queensland is currently supported. Find out about product and packaging innovation methods and understand why a good stage gated innovation process is critical to your company’s efforts to deliver new products & services into the Australia Food Supply.
For more information: state-conference-flyer-final
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October 8th, 2010 nola
Thursday October 21 2010
This one-day workshop will show you how to optimise your people, time, materials and energy usage to ensure your business is sustainable in the long term. Discover tools that will ultimately contribute to cost reduction and increase efficiency, and allow your business to become more environmentally friendly.
Venue: Rydges Esplanade Resort
Cnr The Esplanade & Kerwin St, Cairns
Cost: $220.00
Time: 8:30:00 AM to 5:00:00 PM
event-details-qmi-solutions
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