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919 list grows
One of the Riverland's most successful boutique wineries has celebrated the release of two new varieties at a recent event.
Around 30 people attended 919 Wines Hot August Night where they sampled the estates new Fino Sherry and Classic Muscat.
To accompany the new varieties attendees were treated to a five-course dinner featuring some of the Riverland's finest produce.
They were also shown art works by local artists Kylie Goldsack and Yvette Frahn.
919 Wines manager Eric Semmler said the event was an opportunity to showcase the range of food, wine, art and music that is emerging from the region.
"These are functions which give the public access to the quality that is being produced in the Riverland," he said.
"The night was a real success in matching regional food with our estate wines."
919 Wines was recently awarded best fortified port at the national Winewise Small Vignerons Awards in Canberra.
The estate will be participating in the Riverland Food and Wine Festival on October 18. 
AWB exclusion labelled 'wheat export blackmail'
The Federal Government is "sabotaging family farms and Australian food security" by denying the wheat grower-controlled AWB Limited a wheat export license, according to the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia (CEC).
CEC Western Australia state chairman Brian McCarthy claims the government is attempting to force farmers to give control of the nation's wheat industry to multinational food cartels.
"The timing of Wheat Export Australia's decision is calculated to force reluctant family farmers to accede to the demands of bankers, and vote in favour of scrapping AWB's two-tier share structure, which keeps control of the company with growers," he said.
"Although AWB was stripped of its single desk export monopoly in June…up to 80 percent of the growers have mounted a rear-guard resistance by sticking with AWB, in the hope of using its relative size to win favourable terms in a world trade dominated by cartels like Cargill, Bunge and Glencore International.
"Independent wheat growers have repeatedly voted to keep the share structure; during the latest vote on August 21, when it became evident that despite the enormous pressure growers had again voted no, the ballot was adjourned.
"Then, on August 26, WEA, which is run out of Agriculture Minister Tony Burke's office, pointedly excluded AWB when it announced the first five export licenses, but included the giant multinational Cargill, which has been preying on AWB's business for years."
Mr McCarthy said WEA's intervention amounts to "blackmail", designed to push family farmers into the clutches of the very cartels the wheat board was originally established to protect them from.
Pink lady export boost
The pink lady apple industry in South Australia has joined forces with Western Australia and Victoria in a $115,000 national project aimed at boosting exports.
Primary Resources and Industries SA, the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food, Horticulture Australia Limited and Pink lady Australia will fund the joint project.
Agriculture Food and Fisheries Minister, Rory McEwen, said the project would focus on the delivery of apples to the United Kingdom market at reduced supply chain costs.
"Australia's pink lady apple exports to the United Kingdom dropped to less than 50,000 cartons last year from a previous peak of 280,000 cartons, so this new project is aimed at revitalising exports," he said.
Mr McEwen said the project would look at the benefits of sending export bulk shipments in 400kg bins for packing in-market rather than the traditional palletised 12kg and 18kg cartons.
"This allows for less handling of the apples, more effective quality control of rot and hopefully increased flexibility for marketing in the United Kingdom through shipping a higher proportion of fruit in bulk form," he said.
Bulk shipment trials began in May this year, with two containers of fruit shipped to the UK.
"We're hopeful the results will be positive and assist in rebuilding confidence in the Australian export program, and encourage more growers to commit to the UK export market," Mr McEwen added. "Unless we find way to be more price competitive, our growers could lose...export deals..."
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