A new wine recovery program is helping Australian grape growers and winemakers manage adverse events and market disruptions. That is according to Julie Collins, Australia’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, who is now working with the South Australian government, the South Australian Wine Industry Association (SAWIA), and the Wine Grape Council of South Australia to improve the grape market.
Starting in March, the first of three streams focuses on improving the management of vineyard waste, including the million-plus stockpile of CCA-treated timber posts currently stockpiled in vineyards. Whilst the second and final streams of the program focus on growing demand for South Australian wine, especially on the east coast (which accounts for 80% of all Australian wine consumption), as well as expanding domestic and overseas supply agreements.
“This investment (by the Albanese government) demonstrates its commitment to support the Australian grape and wine sector to address challenges and ensure the industry’s long-term sustainability,” Minister Collins said. “The three streams will address immediate challenges facing our industry, while also backing the people and places at its heart,” said Lisa Bennier, the CEO of Winegrape Council SA.
Wood Central understands that the streams will also strengthen the governance capabilities of regional producers, industry leaders and representative organisations, assisting them in tackling sector-wide challenges. “This program represents a valuable investment by the state and federal governments in our growers and winemakers at a time when the industry is working through significant adjustments and disruptions,” according to Inca Lee, the CEO of the SA Wine Industry Association.
The wine industry wants to find new homes for CCA-treated posts.
In April, Wood Central reported that more than 1 million broken posts need to be replaced in Australian vineyards every year – with Wine Australia (the peak body for growers in Australia) warning that the figure could be much, much higher, as high as 3.3 million, with the vast majority of posts stockpiled on site, sold or given away, or sent off to landfill.
“About 80 million timber posts are installed in vineyards across Australia, of which 78% are treated with CCA (Copper chrome arsenate) – and most of the other timber posts are treated with creosote,” Wine Australia said, revealing that cracked poles result in 12,000 and 30,000 tonnes of wasted wood every year.
Part of the Australian Timber Circularity Project, Wine Australia is partneing with researchers that are now mapping over 27 million CCA posts stockpiled across the country, including a high concentration in the wine-rich South Australian region: “Examples include CCA-treated timber posts (which) can be reused as agricultural fence products,” according to Martin Strandgard, project member, who is now pushing for a “repost-style” reuse of broken posts.
“There is an NZ-based business that already does this—they collect the posts, reuse them, and sell them through hardware stores.” And there is no reason why this model could not work in South Australia—a region where five regions account for 60% of post-removals every year. “We can use the map to divide the resource by region, including Murray Bridge.”
- To learn more about the Australian Timber Circularity Project, including the role of CCA-treated timber in the circular economy, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
