If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that you never really know what’s waiting around the corner, Richard Boyce* writes.
From a global pandemic (the first in over 100 years since the Spanish flu) that saw the world change the way we work, shop, live and learn – to pressures on the economy and a war in Europe, the world has had some major surprises in store for us recently.
What we do know, at least here at Agsafe, is that 2023 is going to be a very big year for the organisation. Agsafe turns thirty next year! Not only that, but drumMUSTER turns 25 and sister program ChemClear, turns 20.
To celebrate these milestones of Agsafe’s stewardship programs, Agsafe is holding a Stewardship Conference and Awards in Queensland (location to be determined) in late July.
The conference is a fantastic opportunity for the industry to gather and discuss agricultural stewardship activities in Australia and internationally, key elements within the transport, storage and handling of agvet chemicals, new regulatory requirements for the safe management of chemicals, hear from guest speakers and enjoy the company of our industry colleagues.
2023 will also see an expansion of training offered by Agsafe. Launching in the new year is the AgVet Chemical Manufacturers Course, the AgVet Chemical Masterclass, as well as webinars including Transport Dangerous Goods, Storage Essentials, and Licensing and Sale of AgVet chemicals.
The past twelve months has also seen the continual increase in online learning by Agsafe members. The AgBytes online learning platform – its numbers boosted by the pandemic due to lockdowns, has continued to grow in both offerings and enrolments, even after restrictions were eased. This calendar there were 7041 training modules undertaken via the AgBytes online learning platform by Agsafe members.
With the opening up of travel throughout 2022, Agsafe facilitators from around the country were able to travel throughout their respective states to conduct premises assessments again.
There were 433 premises assessments conducted by Agsafe facilitators across the country for the 2022 calendar year. This is a fantastic result and displays the real commitment Agsafe members have toward driving safety in the agchem industry.
The drumMUSTER container recycling program also reached a milestone of collecting and recycling over 40 million containers. This represents 45,000 tonnes of plastic waste that has been saved from landfill, not to mention the actual dollar savings for councils in landfill costs.
It has also been a big year for the ChemClear program. Due to flooding events in both Southeast Queensland and various parts of New South Wales, ChemClear conducted extraordinary collections of flood-affected agvet chemicals in these regions. The next collection begins in Victoria in February 2023.
After another big year for Agsafe staff, facilitators and trainers as well as the drumMUSTER regional consultants, it is time to look forward to a break with friends and family.
We hope you all enjoy time with your nearest and dearest over the break and return in 2023 refreshed and ready for another big year in the industry. Thank you for your continued support of Agsafe’s stewardship programs. Stay safe and we will see you all again next year.
*Richard Boyce is marketing and communications officer at Agsafe.
