Issue 11, Sep/Oct/Nov 2012
A FOCUS ON WESTERN AUSTRALIA: The Kakadu plum industry moves aheadยบ
ISSN-6008
Algae blooms in the Pilbara Commercialisation of Western Australian Beauties Mining boom versus Dining room
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The magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 1 October 2010
2012 is Australian Year of the Farmer You can help us tell the exciting story of modern Australian agriculture
NRIA Conference and Expo 2010
ISSN 1838-6016
Producing a product successfully Tax and Primary Production Collective Marketing – what are the choices?
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The magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 4 June/July 2011
Global “Worming” Irrigation practices & systems Agritourism: Connecting communities
Join the celebration at: www.yearofthefarmer.com.au
Inside A word from the Editor
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NEWS
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Kakadu Plum industry moves ahead
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Standards for Table Olives
9
NRIA minor-use projects
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Algae blooms in the Pilbara
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Goat meat standards
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Bush foods influencing riverland brand
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Kangaroo exports
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Madura sells tea to China
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Fijian ginger imports being considered
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Expanded seasonal worker program
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Increase in illegal Sandalwood harvesting Commercialisation of Western Australian beauties
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The first finalised methodologies for earning carbon credits
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Using music to parody to market agriculture
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Mining boom versus dining room
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Rural women news
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PROFILES TRUFFLES
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Al Blakers of Five Acre Nursery and Manjimup Truffles
OLIVE OIL
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Brett Gaskin of Olio Bello
YABBIES
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Michael and Mary Nenke of Cambinata Yabbies
MARRON
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Jeff Proctor of Western Australian Marron
COLLABORATION
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The commercial reality of the alpaca meat industry
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Splendour in the grass: New approaches to cereal production
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contents
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Australian Native Radish
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 3
A word from the editor Welcome to our next issue of Passion to Profit magazine.
Step into the world of social media
In this issue, we have focused on Western Australia, a state with a vibrant agricultural sector, and with an international reputation as a diverse and reliable supplier of agricultural produce.
New Rural Industries Australia participates regularly in AgChatOz – a forum on Twitter, held between 8pm and 10pm every Tuesday night.
The WA industry places a high importance on exports, with more than 80% of agricultural production sent overseas. In many spheres, they are leading the charge in new and emerging industries and we have worked to feature a number of these in this magazine – including marron, yabbies, truffles, olives and of course Australian native foods. What is becoming more and more apparent as our magazine forges relationships across Australia, is that there are hundreds if not thousands of very passionate and dedicated individuals working in agribusiness across Australia. And most of these are not only willing to share their journey and lessons learned, but embrace newcomers and the growth of their respective industries. The number of co-operatives and grower groups that work to collaborate, share information/ resources and R&D is staggering and in my view, shows a very positive future for agriculture in this country. In case you were thinking you had missed an issue of Passion to Profit, you did not. There has been a slight change in the publishing schedule, so the magazine is now being issued every 3 months, and this issue is for Sept/Oct/Nov. Hope you enjoy the magazine. Feedback is always welcome.
AgChatOz was founded 2 years ago. It is a simple idea to engage the wider agribusiness community and to raise the profile of agriculture in Australia. There are primary producers, supply chain, industry representatives, government and media that are part of the weekly conversation each Tuesday night, and this number continues to grow. Each week there is a theme, and a series of questions on that topic. To participate, just search for #AgChatOz on Twitter, and take part in the conversation.
Passion to Profit
the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia ISSN 1838-6008
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia, is published online every three months, free of charge. It is sent directly to subscribers and members of New Rural Industries Australia as well as to new rural industry peak bodies and allied industries. Subscription
and Membership to NRIA available at www.nria.org.au. All rights reserved. New Rural Industries Australia Level 27, 101 Collins Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000, Australia.
Lana Mitchell Editor lana@nria.org.au
Advertising: For advertising rate card contact and all ad bookings, email advertising@nria.org.au. Editor: Lana Mitchell. lana@nria.org.au Editorial Contributions are welcome and should be emailed to the editor. Designer: Cheryl Zwart of Orphix Publisher: Get communicating Pty Ltd for New Rural Industries Australia ISSN 18380-6016 (On-line)
COVER Photo:
Farm Manager Fabio Deitos and Oak Valley Truffles Managing Director Wally Edwards inspecting a freshly dug truffle found by their truffle dog, Billy.
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Copyright: No material published in Passion to Profit may be reproduced in whole or in part without the written permission of the New Rural Industries Australia. Disclaimer: The publisher reserves the right to refuse any application considered inappropriate. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of New Rural Industries Australia. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within the magazine, the publisher, printer and their agents cannot accept responsibility for error or omission. Views held by contributors are their own and do not necessarily coincide with those of the publisher or editor.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
R&D for new rural industries adding value through the supply chain Southern Cross Plant Science provides expertise and facilities for crop science, horticulture and forestry: Agronomy • Plant nutrition • Plant and soil mineral analysis • Plant propagation – High quality growth and controlled environment facilities – AQIS registered plant importation – Partnerships for grow-out trials and data analysis Genetic selection and intervention • Molecular markers and genomics supporting breeding and selection • Identifying and introducing novel traits
Germplasm choice • Exploring and exploiting genetic diversity – Optimising quality – trait characterisation – Cultivar differentiation – matching cultivar to growing environment • Native crop characterisation End-use properties • Analytical phytochemistry – TGA licensed – Active compounds, authentication, stability testing • Physical testing of raw materials • Pilot scale extraction facility • Human and livestock nutrition
Working with you to improve plants and other natural products Southern Cross University is a regional university with campuses at Lismore, Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast. The University is active in teaching and research aimed at promoting the development of primary agricultural production, rural economies and agribusiness. This includes cultivated and native plants, forestry, fisheries and other marine products.
Contact us at W: scu.edu.au/scps E: research.scps@scu.edu.au and/or graham.king@scu.edu.au T: 02 6620 3356 SCU2024
The Native Radish The Australia native edible plant industry is expanding, but it is observable that there has been a distinct lack of native vegetable products available. Most native food products are fruit based products or spices/seasonings. A few years ago, a project was funded by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, that looked into the introduction of new native vegetable products into the Australian Food industry. The flora of Western Australia contains 153 species that form root tubers, and the project investigated and assessed these, narrowing down potential vegetable crops to three specific species as worthy contenders for more study. More recently, a new project has been launched that has the purpose of developing a small native vegetable industry based on Platysace deflexa, the Native Radish. This exciting new project holds potential for a species that is at this time generally unknown but was earmarked from the previous project as the most promising.
adding trials to evaluate potential end products for the market, using Native Radish. The project has strong support from the South Western region of Western Australia with financial and inkind contributions from the Great Southern Development Commission and South Coast Natural Resource Management. The project includes working with and encouraging Indigenous groups to become involved as a grower of the Native Radish, and the project is being overseen by the Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, at the University of Western Australia with Geoff Woodall as the principal researcher.
The new project aims to evaluate genetic diversity within the species for its performance as a root vegetable for the native food industry, and to also explore mechanical harvesting options for the developing new industry.
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A key part of the project will be to provide extension for new entrants into the industry, through the development of fact sheets and the holding of field days. The project aims to develop industry capacity in agronomic aspects of Native Radish production (focusing on propagation and cultivation).
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The overall aim by project end, is that there are 2 – 4 small production areas (approximately 0.25ha plots) established in the northern and/or eastern parts of the Great Southern Region of WA, and to have product available to market by the end of 2013. There are also plans to undertake value-
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Kakadu Plum industry moves ahead
In contemporary use, prior to commercialisation, the Kakadu Plum has been served in restaurants and the 1998 Australian Guide to Healthy Eating lists Kakadu plum in the fruit group as a good source of vitamins, including Vitamin C and folate. In fact, Kakadu plum, when tested, has shown to contain the world’s highest levels of vitamin C. It has as much as 10 times more Vitamin C when compared with other fruits. The fruit has a stewed apple and pear aroma, with a cooked citrus and a floral-musk note. It is used in products such as jams, preserves, sauces, relishes, juices, deserts and ice cream and is becoming ever increasingly popular. With this as the backdrop, there is a new project to develop the Kakadu Plum industry, funded by the Rural Research and Development Corporation. It has 4 simple objectives: 1. To engage Aboriginal communities in the further development of the Kakadu Plum industry, through their direct involvement in the research project. This will be done firstly with the collection of leaf and fruit material across the natural range of Kakadu Plum, and secondly, in the establishment of arboretums in Western Australia and Northern Territory. The project also aims to run training workshops involving indigenous communities interested in developing the industry.
2. 3.
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To understand the variation seen between the trees – doing a genetic study using leaf DNA and nutritional analysis of the fruit. To understand ripening effects on fruit quality. The project will research the way fruit chemistry changes as the fruit ripens, changing from green to yellow – and understanding how this change impacts on harvest quality. To establish enrichment plantings/genetic orchards in Western Australia and in the Northern Territory to provide an R&D reference and selection material for the future development of the industry. This will also capture the Kakadu Plum population for genetic conservation and protection of the species, while additionally providing a training venue for Aboriginal communities interested in developing similar plantings on their own country.
This project is ground breaking in many respects. Not only is it a genuinely cooperative endeavour to develop the potential of an existing resource of Kakadu Plum– the project also intends to combine traditional and scientific knowledge so that the new material that is developed can be managed in a way that benefits the rural Australians in these regions. All those participating in the project are acting respectfully in recognising different forms of knowledge brought to the project, and there is a consultative approach in making decisions around access to the intellectual property. The Kakadu Plum has a unique opportunity for indigenous Australians, for local farmers and potentially for larger corporate investment. Over the next several years, you will undoubtedly see the opportunities for this industry develop towards a range of high value markets through the nutraceutical, cosmetics, food and regional tourism sectors.
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The Kakadu Plum (Terminalia Ferdinandiana) is an Australian native tree that grows over a large area in the top end of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Indigenous Australians from these regions have used this plant and its fruit extensively for food, as a fresh fruit in season. The plum is also used for its healing properties and traditional medicine – as it serves as an antiseptic and a soothing balm for aching limbs and feet.
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Do you grow or sell wildflowers as cut-flowers? • Get connected. • Improve yield and returns. • Network with others. • Develop the market. • Stay informed. WildFlowers Australia Ltd is the industry body for wildflowers. We exist to build the industry and help all on the supply chain. www.wildflowersaustralia.com.au
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Standards for table olives The Australian Table Olive Standard (the Standard) has been developed by the National Table Olive Committee, of the Australian Olive Association Ltd (AOA). It is intended that the Standard apply to all table olive products whether from Australian or international sources, for wholesale or retail trade in Australia. Initially the Standard will be voluntary and incorporated into the Australian Olive Association Ltd (AOA) Code of Practice for olive oil, table olives and other olive products (Revised 2012 (the Code), that aims to guarantee the authenticity of Australian Table Olives and distinguish these from imported products by providing consumers with a recognisable quality seal – Certified Australian Table Olives™ logo; (similar to arrangements currently in place for olive oil.) AOA will undertake random market place testing against the Standard for both Code of Practice (CoP) accredited, and non CoP accredited table olive products, including imported table olive products. The draft Standard is now being widely circulated for industry and public comment prior to its publication by RIRDC and implementation by AOA later in 2012. If you need a copy of this, please contact the Australian Olive Association.
NRIA Minor Use Projects Many growers will have that uncomfortable feeling that comes with using an agricultural chemical outside of its label conditions. That is, using it on a crop for which it is not registered or on animals that are related to but not the same as those on the label. Under these circumstances the only legitimate way to use that chemical is through obtaining an industrywide Minor Use Permit from the Commonwealth government regulator, the APVMA. However getting one of those permits is difficult and time consuming. To help overcome this difficulty the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) sponsored two projects on the minor use of chemicals for the NRIA to conduct. One addressed herbicides for crops and the other dealt with the other chemicals for both the animal and plant industries under the NRIA banner. Considerable progress has been made in both projects. In the herbicides project, applications have been made to the APVMA for 11 different herbicides across a total of 10 different crop types. In the other pesticides project we have lodged applications for 3 insecticides and 2 fungicides across 8 crop types and 2 veterinary chemicals to be submitted soon. These applications are being evaluated, or will be evaluated, by the APVMA and we expect responses very soon. The APVMA has three options available to it: 1. Reject the application altogether 2. Approve a Minor use Permit with or without conditions on use and information to be provided over the life of the permit 3. Seek additional information on residue levels that are retained within the crop or animal.
More information will follow within the next issues of Passion to Profit.
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The latter condition is the most difficult and costly as it will imply the need for field testing of the chemical. Until we know the response of the APVMA to our applications we cannot proceed with any field testing or with advising industries of the outcomes.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 9
Algae blooms in the Pilbara The clear sunny days and ready access to water offered by Karratha in Western Australia make it an ideal place to grow algae. It’s such a good spot that Aurora Algae has just tripled the amount of money it wants to spend on a commercial algae bio-diesel plant in the town.
Matthew Caspari, says industry in the north-west of WA presents a willing market.
The company announced a $100 million commercial expansion of its demonstration facility at the start of the year, but because the site has been performing so well, investment plans have now been upped to $300 million.
The algae grown on the site feeds on carbon dioxide and the company hopes to pair up with local emitters to ensure a ready supply.
The development footprint has increased too, the company isn’t planning just 100 hectares of algae ponds now, it’s going for 400 hectares. Algae is grown in ponds on the site; it’s then skimmed off, dried and the bio-fuel is made by extracting oil from a dried algae powder. The facility expects to reach commercial production by mid-2014 and by the time the expansion is complete it should be capable of producing one million litres of bio-diesel a year. Founder and managing director of Aurora,
“We’ve tested the product with potential customers and there’s strong interest broadly from the mining sector here, from traditional oil companies and distributors.”
According to Mr Caspari, Aurora will be a beneficiary of the carbon tax. “We’re taking carbon into our process and actually creating useful products from carbon dioxide, which is quite unique. “The large carbon dioxide emitters that are in the area here are very interested in our project and the opportunities it can offer to them to potentially create some value from CO2, rather than looking at carbon dioxide just as something that causes a problem environmentally and (is) a tax burden for companies.” It’s not just bio-diesel being produced from the algae either, with omega 3 oils and protein separated out as it’s refined. Those by-products are put to good use, with the aquaculture industry keen to get its hands on the protein and, according to Mr Caspari, there’s strong demand for omega 3 oils. “In dietary supplements, traditionally omega 3 oils come from fish oil, people taking fish oil pills. “The demand for those products is rising rapidly, there’s very strong science behind the health benefits, and the supply of that oil is quite flat so we’re offering companies that are in that business to have a new source of omega 3 oils, which has had a very good response.”
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Source: ABC Rural
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Goat meat standards
COMMERCIAL
The rising popularity of Boer goat meat has breeders scrambling to keep up with demand. Known for its texture and taste, the Boer breed has put goat meat on the menus of restaurants across the country. But, breeders say, the industry will only see healthy growth when it develops effective quality controls. Ian Turpin, of the Boer Goat Breeders’ Association of Australia’s Victorian branch, said bushland goats were sometimes sold as Boers, with a nasty surprise in store for those caught unaware. “People buy them and realise as soon as the kids are on the ground that they’re not going to make meat goats,’’ Ian says. “The meat buyers look at their scores and weight and you’ll have to sell them at a discount, if at all.’’ BGAA Victoria will soon unveil an accreditation system that could make telling a top-notch Boer goat from its scrawnier cousin a whole lot simpler. Experienced judges will grade Boer goats and issue certificates, with buyers able to consult a database.
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“We’re trying to improve the quality of the meat by using pure Boer genetics,’’ Ian says. “We hope it will assist overseas buyers, so they know they are not getting rubbish.’’ First-time breeders and hobby farmers would also benefit, he says, adding to the list of benefits drawing newcomers to the industry. “Boer goats are low-maintenance animals,’’ Ian says. “People find they get attached to them - they’re much smarter than most other animals.’’ For more info visit www.bgbaavictoria.com.au
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 11
Bush foods influencing Riverland brand From saltbush to native mint and clove lilly pilly, Australian bush foods are increasingly being embraced by niche food producers in the Riverland. Waikerie-based boutique wine and foods producer Illilangi recently opened an interpretive bush tucker garden to the public. The garden has been a shared project with Riverland West Landcare and received State Government natural resources (NRM) funding. Owner Keryn Goreman said native Australian flavours were being introduced into a range of gourmet Riverland products, from beer to preserved fruits, flavoured oils, breads and dips. “There are a lot of Riverland businesses and foodies working with Australian herbs and spices or plants... we have some really strong brands here,” she said.
“I guess what I like is that these are plants that are ideally suited to our climate, so they grow well, they are not introduced and they make sense. “Many of these plants can be used not so much as a staple, but as an interesting thing to incorporate into modern Australian cuisine.” Source: ABC Radio
Kangaroo exports Prices equivalent to those for Tibetan yak and five times higher than for beef are on offer for Australian kangaroo meat in China. However, multiaward-winning Adelaide processor Macro Meats cannot gain government approval to access the Asian market.
By embracing emerging flavours such as wattle seed, saltbush and lemon myrtle the region has been shifting away from its traditional image as a producer of bulk wine and fruit.
Similarly, a failure to regain approval to export to Russia after being locked out of the market three years ago is severely curtailing the company. Macro owner Ray Borda said the twin problems had caused his company to lay off 100 people at its Dry Creek export plant in the past two months, while keeping its Athol Park plant open with 150 jobs.
“I think this bulk image is getting challenged, you hear that from consumers all the time, they are just blown away, and it is a point of difference for our region,” Mrs Goreman said.
Mr Borda, also president of the Kangaroo Industries Association of Australia, said the problem had seen the national industry shed 2000 jobs with the loss of more than $100 million a year in export income.
The bush tucker garden is growing on a small, terraced plot overlooking the River Murray behind the Goreman’s Sturt Highway food and wine outlet. Mrs Goreman said visitors were impressed by the variety and intensity of Australian bush herbs and spices.
“The take of roos is now less than half that of three years ago when we had the Russian market and all at a time when populations are rapidly increasing to record levels on the back of good seasons,” Mr Borda said.
“People are just amazed when they come in, they are impressed by the intensity of the aromas,” she said. Kara Watkinson shows daughter Ella, 3, some native mint growing at Illalangi’s interpretive bush walk overlooking the River Murray at Waikerie
plants into their own gardens and their own cooking,” Mrs Goreman said.
The bush walk aims to improve knowledge of edible native plants and provide home cooks to experiment with new flavours. “What we are trying to achieve is a place that is free for people to come and look at and get inspiration for how they may be able to incorporate native
“This is at a time when the State Government has targeted clean, green and sustainable food and we are all of that and unique to Australia.” Mr Borda said the benefits of exporting to China would be widespread but access to the market urgently needed to be negotiated by the two governments. He has pioneered the global kangaroo meat industry for more than two decades, helping elevate kangaroo meat from a pet food into a gourmet product for health conscious consumers. Mr Borda said the kangaroo harvesting industry provided benefits throughout the bush, keeping kangaroo populations at sustainable levels, avoiding over-grazing and helping people throughout country towns. “Governments don’t realise what gold there is in the Outback in the way of protein and we can help export it,” Mr Borda said. Continued on page 38
Madura sells tea to China
its green tea infused with locally-grown lemon
Not only have they come up trumps against formidable overseas competition in the taste stakes but northern NSW tea estate Madura have possibly bagged one of Australian agriculture’s best export coups – selling tea to China.
Harvesting is continuous through spring, summer
Owned by four local families, Madura has just collected a national award for best tea bag, presented by ratings company Canstar Blue as a result of a survey of 2500 consumers. Canstar Blue manager Rebecca Logan said 85 per cent of consumers surveyed were prepared to pay more for an item if it tasted good. Outperforming the likes of Twinings and Lipton was testament to Madura’s business philosophy of putting together styles based on taste and maintaining the consistency of that flavour profile regardless of input costs, said director Gary Davey. To that end, Madura has paid record prices on auction floors for its imported teas. “We are one of very few tea operations that grow, blend and package, rather than just market tea and that is important because we have complete control over the quality of our product and the sustainability of how it is farmed – both of which are becoming increasingly important to the consumer,” Mr Davey said. Madura was Australia’s first subtropical tea plantation, established in the late 1970s by the Cook family, who had looked after tea estates in India. It has continually pioneered production of Australian tea, and was the first to introduce an Australian green tea in the 1980s. Today, with 250,000 tea bushes in production, around 1500 kilograms of main tea per hectare is produced, 90pc of which is sold domestically through supermarkets, although the label is now making inroads in the restaurant and food service trade. The entire range, which includes traditional blends like English Breakfast and Earl Grey through to
said was a fast-growing market. Madura now exports to the US, Middle East and has just sent a shipment to China. and autumn – about 18 rounds per year – and all drying, processing and packaging happens onsite, with 50 people employed by the company. Madura is no stranger to awards, with a swag of medals from royal shows, fine food competitions and even excellence in business titles, but the Canstar win was extremely important, Mr Davey said. Source: The Land
Fijian ginger imports being considered Australian ginger growers have recently met to discuss a report recommending imports of fresh ginger rhizomes from Fiji. The federal Department of Agriculture provisional final import risk analysis report proposes a number of measures to prevent the ginger from carrying exotic pests or disease into Australia. They require that it be free from soil and trash, grown with infield management controls or undergo a post-harvest treatment for burrowing nematode, inspected and certified by the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji to ensure freedom from pests and inspected and cleared by DAFF. Australian Ginger Growers Association president Anthony Rehbein said about 40 growers, most located in the Bundaberg and Sunshine Coast regions, have taken part in a teleconference to decide if there are enough control measures to ensure the security of the Australian ginger growers. The deadline for an appeal against the report is September 10. Source: Weekly Times
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The Assam, or Indian variety, plantation, nestled amongst rainforest at Clothiers Creek, near Murwillumbah, NSW, turns off up to 17 tonnes of tea in a good year and blends with top-shelf imports to create more than 24 styles in loose leaf, tea bag and silk infuser.
myrtle, is also available online, which Mr Davey
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 13
Expanded seasonal worker program Australia’s permanent Seasonal Workers Program has recently been expanded to include 8 Pacific Island countries and East Timor, and a move beyond the horticulture sector.
training...the time and the effort and the expenses that are going there almost diminishes to nothing when we have got return workers coming back,” Ms Fuima’alo said.
East Timorese workers are playing a special role in trialling Australia’s Pacific Island Worker Scheme in new sectors. Under the program, 12,000 workers will be able to come to Australia over the next 4 years. Workers will come from Tonga, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Nauru, Samoa, Tuvalu and Solomon Islands.
“So overall in the business, it will greatly benefit us, because we don’t have to go round looking for workers, which we usually struggle with season after season.”
A regional meeting was held in Sydney to launch the Seasonal Workers Program, which has been broadened to include the cotton, sugar cane, aquaculture industries and accommodation. The Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles, told the conference that the program will bring Australia and the Pacific “closer together”.
Queensland citrus grower Susan Jenkin is an Australian employer who wants to spread the word. Ms Jenkins used to have to rely on travelling backpackers for the harvest season, but she says her workers from Tonga are more productive. “Very reliable. They are there for the whole season, there every day,” she said. Source: ABC Radio
“The permanent Seasonal Worker Program is a good thing for the Australian horticulture sector,” he said. “But we must not forget the fundamental reason the Australian Government established this program - to support the increased development of the Pacific Islands and East Timor.”
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Mr Marles says the first group of Pacific workers to take part in the pilot seasonal workers scheme arrived from Tonga in 2009. The group of 50 workers were recruited to fill a labour shortage in Victoria’s almond industry. Since then, 1,500 workers have come from Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati to work in Australia’s horticulture industry.
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“We would like to send as many workers as we can, because we do have that capacity at the moment. And especially when we did put out calls for people to come in so that we can refresh our database, we had thousands of people coming in to register,” he told Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat. Lisa Fuima’alo and her sister run a labour hire business that is now specialising in Pacific workers. They plan to bring more Tongans to Australia. “It will mean that we have a stable workforce. The reliability, the continuity and all that. We’ve got the people coming back every season and the Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Increase in illegal Sandalwood harvesting The black market for sandalwood is thought to be worth millions of dollars, and it seems more and more people are trying to cash in on this illegal activity. Since March last year the, the DEC with assistance from Police, has seized 17 consignments of illegally harvested sandalwood in Western Australia. Recently, more than 40 tonnes of illegally harvested sandalwood with a value of $600,000 was seized in two separate cases in the Goldfields. Charges are expected to be laid.
a tonne, so obviously the value of it makes it very attractive,” he says. “Most of it from our understanding ends up in the Asian market, that’s traditionally where it ends up, so it can either go out of Australia via just as sandalwood as in stems and roots or it can go out as oil, so it can be processed here and then sent off shore as an oil. “The harvesting practices employed by illegal operators damage natural bushland and are wasteful and unsustainable. They also threaten to undermine legitimate operators.”
Rick Dawson is the senior investigator at the Department of Environment and Conservation. He believes illegal harvesting is on rise due to the increasing value of the native tree, which grows across the WA’s rangelands.
“Anyone involved in the sale, transport or processing of illegally harvested sandalwood faces prosecution under State legislation and will be required to forfeit all machinery and equipment used.”
“You only have to go back 10 to 15 years ago and sandalwood was worth three to four thousand dollars a tonne, now it’s up to 15 thousand dollars
People are encouraged to report any suspicious activities with sandalwood to their nearest DEC office or WA Police.
Advertise in Passion to Profit All Full members of New Rural Industries Australia ($500 per annum) get a complimentary ¼ page full colour advertisement in each issue of Passion to Profit. Go to www.nria.org.au to sign up today. Otherwise, our advertising rates are: Full page–$1200 (plus loading for inside cover or back cover)
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There is a 10% discount for 3 concurrent magazines, and 15% discount for 6 concurrent magazines.
Contact lana@nria.org.au Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 15
Full Membership is open to producers and distributors of essential oils and plant extracts and to producers of plant material for the production of essential oils or plant extracts. Associate membership is for researchers, consultants, regulators and other interested parties.
www.eopaa.com.au
For more information please contact mohair@mohair.org.au
National Peak Body representing the
Olive Industry The Australian Tea Tree Industry Association (ATTIA) supports and promotes the responsible use of pure Australian tea tree oil. Formed in 1986, ATTIA is the peak body for the Australian tea tree oil industry. Stay informed about pure Australian tea tree oil. Phone: 02 6674 2925 Email:
secretary@attia.org.au
Web:
attia.org.au
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of Australia Stay informed about the Australian Olive Industry Visit our website to find out more
fresher tastes www.australianolives.com.au
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Commercialisation of Western Australian beauties The Geraldton Waxflower is a popular flower used by florists in cut-flower arrangements. Although it is widely available across the globe at this time, the plant is native to Western Australia where it grows as an evergreen shrub in gardens, and along roadsides. It is considered to be one of Australia’s most famous wildflowers, and this popularity has spurred the development of plants with many different colourations (white, yellow, pink, purple, lilac, and bicolours). Craig Musson and Adrian Parsons have been business partners for more than 20 years. With a business arm in Western Australia, and another in Victoria – Craig and Adrian’s company WAFEX is one of the largest exporters of Australian grown wildflowers, including the Geraldton Wax.
Secondly, WAFEX is jointly funding continued research into Somatic infusion with Waxflower. This project will be managed by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and will be carried out by the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Kings Park, Western Australia.
“Currently we have released 9 varieties onto the market. The new varieties of Waxflower have been selected based on such criteria as flowering time (early/late/mid), new and unique colours, larger buds, and flowers holding on the plant for an extended period (thus lengthening the harvest window for cuts and also providing a longer flowering period in a landscape environment). Stem length and apical flowering forms are also key criteria for cut flower selection criteria”, explained Adrian Parsons.
In a subsidiary company, called HELIX, Craig and Adrian have been working to license commercial growers and market Waxflower. Currently they have 9 varieties on the market but they own and are developing a number of new Waxflower varieties sourced from private and government agency breeding programmes to ensure there is steady pipeline of new releases over the next 5 to 10 years .
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In recent times WAFX has recently entered into two commercialisation and research projects with government bodies – both related to waxflower breeding and commercialisation. Firstly, WAFEX has been appointed by the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA) with regards
to the commercial development and management of Waxflower cut flower varieties from the DAFWA breeding program. WAFEX is the exclusive licensee for the production and marketing of three yet to be named Waxflower varieties, which will initially be offered to Western Australian growers, and then later, to the Eastern states.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 17
The first finalised methodologies for earning carbon credits Project applications can now be processed under three finalised CFI methodologies which have been made into law. They address the permanent environmental plantings of native tree species, the destruction of methane generated from manure in piggeries, and savanna fire management. A determination on a fourth methodology, the capture and combustion of landfill gas, will be made shortly by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, following the resolution of a number of final technical matters. Individual methodology determinations are published on ComLaw, the federal government’s website for approved legislation, and can be accessed via the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency’s website. Applications under the final, approved methodologies can now be lodged with the Clean Energy Regulator. There are also several new methodologies that have been released for public comment. They include methodologies for: • Native forest from managed regrowth • Quantifying carbon sequestration by permanent tree plantings on marginal agricultural land using sampling techniques • Avoided emissions from diverting legacy waste from landfill through a mechanical separation, autoclaving and composting alternative waste treatment facility
• Reduction of emissions of methane through the application of a feed supplement to dairy cows • Quantifying carbon sequestration by permanent environmental plantings of native species established through direct seeding, planting or application of Ecoblanket using the CFI reforestation modelling tool (and sample testing for soil carbon)
Using music parody to market agriculture A couple of pop song parodies focusing on farming have been getting lots of attention in the last few months. While song parodies aren’t new, the promotion of agriculture via this medium is certainly an innovation and it is becoming clear by the number of viewers, that they are catchy and spreading the word. Check them out for yourself on YouTube: “I’m Farming and I grow it” and “Farm it Maybe”, by Lil’ Fred If you have observed more such videos or have made one to promote your own agribusiness – send us the link and we will share it around.
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 19
Mining boom vs Dining room Plans to make Australian farms the food bowl for Asia’s burgeoning middle class shine a spotlight on foreign ownership, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. At Rossmar Park, a 5600-acre property at Caroona on northern NSW’s Liverpool Plains, Tim Duddy farms cereal crops and cotton, and runs cattle–the seventh generation of his family to work the region’s richly productive soil. “There is not a parcel of land in the country that can lap us in what we can produce,” he says of the Plains’ huge output of cereal crops. But the spectre of change is sweeping the region, as coal seam gas (CSG) and mining companies– including BHP, Santos and China’s state-owned Shenhua–move on the rich deposits that lie beneath. As spokesman for the Caroona Coal Action Group, Duddy was alarmed enough to stand as an independent candidate at last year’s NSW state election. Now he is angry the federal government’s National Food Plan green paper fails to address the link between mining and food production. “There should be 15 pages on mining, not five lines,” he says. “You need water to grow food. Well, mining and other extracting industries harm the water system. And that’s just the start.” In its 274 pages, the green paper details the need for farmers and food processors to double production in coming decades, to become the food bowl for Asia’s burgeoning middle class. “The value of world food demand is expected to rise by 77 per cent by 2050. Most of this growth will occur in Asia, where demand is expected to double,” it states.
The paper also supports biotechnology as a means to increase productivity–including through genetically modified crops–and, critically, warns that “any reduction in foreign investment in the agricultural sector would likely result in lower food production with potentially higher food prices, lower employment, lower incomes in the sector and lower government revenue”. Duddy is unconvinced. “I believe that in Australia we have everything we need to become a major, major player in international food production in the long-term,” he says of the tension between the mining boom and the “dining boom”. “While foreign investment gives comfort or expedites development in the short term, it would be unwise–to use a rural analogy–to sell the front paddock to pay for the dinner party. “We are quite capable of developing our agricultural land for ourselves.” National Farmers Federation (NFF) president Jock Laurie acknowledged foreign ownership is a live issue for his members, who are awaiting a national register of foreign owners. “Our members feel uncomfortable about what is going on. The national register–of retrospective and future purchases–is essential,” he said. “But that register has to have honesty and integrity. If you have foreign money or government money hiding behind Australian-owned companies, you need to find a way to overcome that problem.” The associate professor Bill Pritchard, an economic geographer and food security expert from Sydney University, says the emotion surrounding foreign ownership is “not particularly well hinged to any
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“This gives our food sector strong prospects over the long term, given our proximity to Asia and
strengths in key growth commodities such as beef, wheat, dairy products, sheep meat and sugar.”
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
substantive understanding of the way agricultural markets work and the food system works”. “There is a simplistic conflation in some people’s mind that suggests that if someone else owns the land, suddenly we don’t have the food any more that is grown on that land. “It is a crazy set of associations to make because you might well have a foreign investor owning the land but they are going to sell to the market that makes sense,” he said. “I am fairly cynical when people play the foreign ownership card, though I completely understand the cultural resonance it has. The example I give in lectures and workshops is Baz Luhrmann’s movie Australia. Nicole Kidman’s character was the Pommie, absentee landowner. “She was the hero in that movie yet she was a foreign owner.” Pritchard said in rural NSW and Victoria, a huge proportion of seasonal fruit and vegie pickers are Chinese, Indian, Filipino–not the itinerant Anglo Australians or Aborigines of a generations ago or the backpackers who followed them. “You go into a pub, as I do while doing fieldwork in rural Australia, and you’ll likely see a couple of Filipinos playing pool after a hard day’s work in the field,” he said. “This slightly racial intonation of foreign ownership is really problematic–these things are happening regardless of who owns the farm.”
Coles corporate affairs general manager Robert Hadler argues the biggest challenge facing the industry is not foreign investment but rising costs for producers. “Food processing in Australia has been dominated by the multinationals. And Inghams [poultry production] may go to an overseas firm,” he said. “I don’t think that is a fundamental problem as long as the produce is Australian, the jobs are Australian and the profits are re-invested back in Australia. “I think having options, domestic and overseas, is good for Australian farmers and food manufacturers,” he said. But the entrepreneur Dick Smith says until the government recognises that requiring perpetual economic growth is not sustainable, Australia will “not get anywhere”. “Everything is written by the fact you have to have growth. To have growth we basically have to sell everything off.” Source: Sydney Morning Herald
AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTION
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
$40.7 billion Farm, fish and food production
89% Agricultural land entirely Australian-owned
$82 billion Food and beverage processing (2009-10)
5.5% Agricultural land at least 50 per cent Australian-owned
$27.1 billion Food exports
99% Agricultural businesses, by number, entirely Australian-owned.
$10.6 billion Food imports 77% rise in world food demand by 2050 Source: Australian Food Statistics 2010-11, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics research (as of December 2010)
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The issue is a hot topic in Canberra, where country Liberals and the Nationals often decry the method of collecting foreign investment data. Liberal backbencher Dan Tehan, a senior adviser to the Howard government trade minister Mark Vaile, said the green paper fails to address the issue of trade agreements with Asia. He said New Zealand’s agreements with China are giving its dairy industry preferential treatment over Australia, while South Korea, an important beef market, is suffering because of the US free-trade agreement with Seoul.
Tehan said the government’s solution of greater foreign investment is “just poor, it’s lazy and it lacks intellectual rigour”.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 21
NRWC Conference Feb 2013 The National Rural Women’s Coalition will hold its first national conference in Canberra from the 19th to the 21st February 2013. Held in the national capital during the celebrations of Canberra’s 100th birthday, this event will showcase rural Australia and the women who live there. Stay tuned for more details and, SAVE THE DATE!
NSW Rural Women’s Gathering Parkes, 12 – 14 October There are three special aspects to the upcoming women’s gathering in Parkes this year.
rural women
Firstly, it will be a celebration of 2012 as the National Year of Reading.
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Secondly, it will be exploring the fact that 2012 is also the Australian Year of the Farmer – and there are many women farmers in a vast range of agricultural and horticultural industries. Lastly, 2012 is the 20th anniversary of the NSW Rural Women’s Gatherings – so the plan is for a celebration to be worthy of that 20 years. They are expecting some 350 – 400 visitors to Parkes and there is a Gathering Committee that is active in planning and pursuing some fabulous ideas for women – local and visiting.
efforts and together holding an annual conference in St George, Queensland, in early September, 2012. The conference is intended to promote contemporary best practice and encourage dynamic thinking and is based around the themes of • Agricultural Innovation and the Environment • Self Development and Education • Communication, Business and Community Development • Health and Wellbeing (including Arts and Culture) This is a highly recommended event to attend. Details are at the AWiA and QRRRWN websites: http://www.awia.org.au/ http://www.qrrrwn.org.au/
CWAA’s 34th Triennial Conference The Country Women’s Association of Australia is having its premier event as this magazine is being published – the CWAA’s 34th Triennial Conference. The Conference is taking place in Hobart, Tasmania from Tuesday, 28th August to Friday, 31st August 2012, and will make sure to get a summary of the event in our next issue.
To get the latest update on the gathering, you can follow the following blog. http:// parkesruralwomensgathering.wordpress.com/
River of Life – St George, QLD 2012 Queensland Rural Regional and Remote Women’s Network (QRRRWN) together with Australian Women in Agriculture (AWiA) are combining
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
2013 RIRDC Rural Women’s Award – nominate now! The 2013 Rural Industries R&D Corporation (RIRDC) Rural Women’s Award identifies and rewards women’s contribution to primary industries and rural communities by providing financial assistance, mentoring, resources and support via its nation-wide network of business and community leaders for selected state winners.
The Award acknowledges that women offer a unique approach to leadership, which involves connecting and collaborating to effect change and influence, often without the need for position or authority. The Award also encourages primary industries and rural communities to embrace diversity in leadership to successfully navigate future challenges. The Award supports women with demonstrated leadership capabilities, or leadership potential and community contribution, who have the desire and commitment to make a greater contribution to their industries and communities. It provides women with financial and professional support to implement their visions for primary industries and enhance their leadership capabilities.
Who can enter? The Award is open to all women involved in primary industries and natural resource management. No formal qualifications are required. Don’t be shy about entering yourself or nominating someone. It is a great learning and development opportunity, so why not give it a go? What’s in it for you? Each State and Territory winner will receive a $10,000 financial bursary to implement their Award vision. Each State and Territory winner and runner-up will have the opportunity to participate in the AICD Company Directors Course and will
be supported to develop an individual integrated leadership plan. The Award is an amazing opportunity to further your leadership development, make a tangible difference and inspire others. It is a life changing experience that will link recipients with a positive and powerful alumni network of like-minded women across the country who are passionate about primary industries and rural Australia.
How to apply? Applications opened on the 1st August 2012 and close on the 15th October 2012. For more information or to download the 2013 application form please visit www.rirdc.gov.au If you have any queries or questions please contact the nominated state contact or the Award National Coordinator, Margo Andrae - on 02 6271 4100; or email her at margo.andrae@rirdc.gov.au
RIRDC Rural Women’s Award now on Facebook and Twitter You can now follow news and information regarding the Rural Women’s Award via Facebook and Twitter! Twitter is #RIRDCRuralWomen and the Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/#!/ RuralWomensAward Be part of the conversation!
rural women
What is the RIRDC Rural Women’s Award? The RIRDC Rural Women’s Award is Australia’s pre-eminent Award for rural women. The Award identifies and supports emerging leaders and change agents who have the capability and resources to drive innovation, productivity and sustainability within primary industries, and build economic and social development within rural communities.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 23
Al Blakers YZ1H0035.tif Five Acre Nursery and Manjimup Truffles French Winter Black Truffles and inoculated hazelnut and oak trees
Background Five Acre Nursery and Manjimup Truffles are part of a wholly family-owned company. They produce French Winter Black Truffles (tuber Melanosporum) and supply inoculated Hazel nut and Oak trees to future truffle growers across Australia, but predominantly in Western Australia.
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The nursery had been producing vegetable seedlings for local farmers and native trees seedlings for revegetation and tree farming in W.A. since 1980. It has a capacity to produce about 8 million seedlings a year and is high-tech, with computer controlled hot-houses, purpose built seeding machines and a robotic transplanter. Production levels have dropped since the collapse of management investment schemes (MIS) run by Great Southern and Timbercorp, however the nursery still produces for growers and government projects/contracts.
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Harvest period is from mid May to early September. Manjimup Truffles has supplied truffle to most of the top restaurants in Perth for the past 3 years and this year to the eastern states. They appointed an East Coast agent and have been excited with the acceptance and demand for truffles, with Manijimup Truffles now supplying top restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and embarking on exporting to Japan, England and USA.
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With the demand and acceptance of truffles they are promoting truffle growing as a viable agricultural alternative for farmers in the region and are working towards establishing many grower-owned trufferies over the next few years. All new growers enter into a marketing agreement on purchasing their trees and have a full consultation service with the development of their trufferies using a proven growing system.
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In 1994 the family decided to attempt to grow French Black Truffles and started to inoculate Hazelnut and Oak trees in the nursery. They established their first trufferie of five acres on their farm just north of the nursery in 1997, and they have since established two more six-acre
trufferies on the farm in 1999 and 2001. They have also supplied inoculated trees to other growers in Manjimup, Pemberton and Northcliffe areas in the past six years. All these trufferies have started to produce truffle in the past 2 years.
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
_E9L5423.tif rural industry?
Q: What inspired you to get involved in a new We decided back in 1994 to attempt to produce truffles after working on native Mycorrhizal with Eucalyptus seedlings (in conjunction with the CSIRO team working in our nursery in the early 90’s). We successfully developed a delivery system
to inoculate Eucalyptus Globulus seedlings with local native Mycorrhizal to try to increase their growth rates in the tree farms. We made the decision to attempt the French Black truffle based on the success of the early vineyards grown in this district at that time and the quality of some of the French varieties of grapes they grew. My family has been farming on this land for 100 years (over three
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uffles, Photography by Craig&Emma @f22pho
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 25
generations) and have always been involved in the development of new crops and developing new businesses.
Q: What have been the pitfalls you have overcome? How?
The major pitfalls we come up against were the secrets of truffle production in Europe and the total wall of silence from any people we tried to talk with to gather information on what was required to succeed in growing the trees. We decided to just do it our own way and see how it went based on my father’s 40 years experience in apple production. We came up against many issues in growing the trees and just did what we thought was the right thing to do at the time. Most things have worked and we now have an established growing method that gives excellent truffle production.
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Q: What do you consider your successes? What do you attribute these to?
Q: What are 5 tips you could give others in new rural industries?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Do your research on growing the type of crop. Travel to look at similar operations around the world. Understand your target markets and try to sell direct into those markets. Be prepared to promote your product and yourself to customers you are trying to sell to. Only sell the best quality produce and be prepared to lose some production with quality issues.
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Q: What is your future vision for your business?
My vision is to continue to expand our truffle export markets as production increases, and to maintain good returns to growers by keeping the market price as high as possible. We also plan to value add with the lesser grade truffle to keep them off the fresh market. www.fiveacrenursery.com.au www.manijimuptrauffles.com.au
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We consider that achieving truffle production the major success of our business – with 80% of Australia’s truffle production coming from trees that we have inoculated and grown in our nursery. Everyone who has our trees planted has achieved production of truffles in the time frame expected. The other major success is that we are now exporting our truffles to 7 countries – and even selling ti Plantin Truffles – a major French truffle
company, who are very impressed with our quality and are selling our truffles in Paris. I attribute these successes to not taking any notice of the knockers and believing in our own ability to overcome all the problems we faced in the early days of growing the trees.
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
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Brett Gaskin Olio Bello Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Flavoured and Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil, table olives, gourmet deli lines, skin care, soaps, massage oils
Background Olio Bello, Certified Organic extra virgin olive oil is grown and pressed on our 320 acre property situated in the beautiful Margaret River region of South Western Australia. We are surrounded by dramatic natural beauty and share our land with numerous forms of wildlife that journey through the hills and valleys of our property, coming and going throughout the seasons. Olio Bello has been toiling away since 1985 developing an extensive product range by our passionate and enthusiastic staff of 25. Artisan extra virgin olive oil, Gourmet farm fresh foods and Organic Cosmetic products which have left our farm and travelled all over the world. Local and international visitors have discovered how soil, climate, tradition and passion have produced world class products at Olio Bello.
Q: What inspired you to get involved in a new rural industry?
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The infinite health qualities of olive oil and its untapped potential in Western Australia motivated and encouraged the original owners Jack and Sue Witkin in 1982 to convert a rundown dairy property in the Margaret River region to a fully sustainable certified organic farm with focus squarely on the olive. Although Olio Bello has changed hands, the commitment remains the same by the current owners, a group of local West Australians who fell in love with the property and have continued to expand on the vision of Olio Bello.
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I have a farming, health, hospitality and management background and the opportunity to grow this business as General Manger was too good to pass up. The prospect for me to continue to pursue the opportunity of producing a world class product direct from the farm was a defining moment for me to say the least. The early days 1980 to 1990 saw the farm as a true labour of love as Olio Bello was the pioneer of the olive industry in an up and coming grape growing region, Margaret River in Western Australia. The sheer determination, passion, hard work and continued investment ultimately paved the way for Olio Bello to become the most awarded Certified Organic extra virgin olive oil producer in Australia. Olio Bello produces award winning extra virgin olive oil with a
complimentary collection of products including infused and pressed flavoured extra virgin olive oil, healthy gourmet deli lines, seasonal farm produce specialty products, cosmetic and beauty range along with a alfresco cafĂŠ serving Mediterranean pasta, pizza, salads all inspired with various varieties and flavours of extra virgin olive oil.
Q: What have been the pitfalls you have overcome? How?
Probably the biggest would have been in the early days when the knowledge and advice was difficult to obtain locally, so it was a matter of taking the initiative and going overseas to Italy, Spain and Greece where olive growing was successful. That in itself was just the appetizer as the next biggest step to take was applying that knowledge back in Australia where the climate was similar but dissimilar in many ways such as terrain, wind and water. Today of course information is available at your fingertips. Managing those conditions continues to present ongoing challenges today. As mentioned previously there were many jokes made about the crazy American (Jack) on his olive farm when he was convinced that he needed to insulate the farm against possible drought by constructing a 2 acre dam amongst a granite rock outcrop. This would have been laughable at the time bearing in mind that the region was inundated with water in the 80s (1300mls per year compared to around 850 in 2011). The foresight to go ahead with a dam project of this magnitude and cost would be without doubt one of the most important aspects of insuring the longevity of the Olio Bello enterprise for many years to come.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Q: What do you consider your successes? What do you attribute these to?
The successes of Olio Bello are not just tied to the awards like “National Grower of the Year” and over 110 medals and awards for its extra virgin olive oil. The success belongs even further to the passion and dedication by the owners, management and staff to further educating the public on sustainable organic farming methods, the outstanding health attributes of extra virgin olive oil and to continually apply the knowledge gained from research and development to further enhance the quality of our products.
Q: What are 5 tips you could give others in new rural industries?
Rural pursuits require a substantial amount of capital to be invested prior to a manageable return being achieved, all on the back of Mother Nature which is mostly out of your control. Therefore you must have: 1.
2.
3.
4.
Adequate financial recourses whether they are on hand or available on an ongoing basis either at the start up phase and then through the ups and downs of productivity and profitability. All business comes with pressure and stress so agriculture is absolutely no exception and in fact it does require a certain personality that is resilient and mentally empowered to cope with “out of your control scenarios”. These character traits can be developed and nurtured over time. Mother Nature will throw some curly ones your way so be equipped, learn and continue on with your utmost conviction. While there are an enormous amount of books that I have read and could recommend, this one would be well worth a read, a great book ‘Innovate or Die” by the highly esteemed Jack Collis, a business manager, adviser and entrepreneur. In a nutshell, Jack says “ you have to adopt ‘out of the square’ business thinking”. Ideas and innovation are the currency of today. In these changing times creative thinking is a necessity. Yesterdays solutions will not solve the problems of our new world. There is no future in the past. I suggest you read that again – Ideas and innovation are the currency of today. You can no longer continue to do what you have always done because you will be run over by your competition. Business is no different than a pre-school playground. In order to progress along the monkey bars you need to let go of some old ideas so that the new ideas can be formulated and embraced. Nearly all rural pursuits will be employing people and one of the keys to the success of
that rural pursuit will be their employee’s happiness by way of connection to the business, industry and product along with job satisfaction. Rural pursuits are often remote or well away from the capital cities so it is imperative that a strong work and social ethic are developed so that your business can enjoy innovation and ideas. Each of us as individuals makes up the organization at Olio Bello in which we work. Money, buildings, machinery and other non human assets don’t think. Only humans solve challenges, designing winning products, motivating and inspiring each other. 5. Above all we all have to have fun at what we do. It will be your responsibility as owners or managers to provide an environment whereby everyone can enjoy their workplace. Q: What is your future vision for your business?
At the core of Olio Bello’s philosophy is the joy of creation. The management and staff continually research and experiment with nature’s gifts to deliver results that both surprise and delight. Visitors are encouraged to share in the daily excitement of new culinary and health discoveries through our dedicated tasting room and café where you can truly enjoy the “paddock to plate” experience. We welcome thousands of visitors from around the world every year and we will continue to pioneer and innovate new products, presenting our products and knowledge in a fun and enjoyable environment. Our commitment to sustainable organic farming practices and the production of our oils, gourmet deli lines and cosmetic/beauty care range enables us to educate as many people as we can about the organic lifestyle and health benefits associated with extra virgin olive oil. Our future vision is to continue to build on the overall Olio Bello experience and add some innovative and exciting new initiatives and ecotourism opportunities. A visit to Olio Bello is about more than just the oils. It’s about the whole experience. People want to reconnect with nature and get back to basics. www.oliobello.com
Michael and Mary Nenke Of Cambinata Yabbies Live yabbies, cooked frozen yabbies, gourmet yabbies (pickled in jars), gourmet abalone (pickled farmed green lip abalone); dukkahs, gluten free chocolate pan forte
Background Cambinata Yabbies, is located on the Nenke family farm, near the tiny Wheatbelt town of Kukerin, 300 kilometres south east of Perth. Operation since 1991 the business has grown to meet the demands of international trade , purchasing and processing yabbies from farmers over an area approx 600 kilometres in length by approx 400 kilometres in breadth. Mary and Michael Nenke manage the business together with their three sons, Paul, Derek & Ian, their spouses Amanda & Lisa and marketing support by their three daughters, Ann, Catherine & Suzanne. The family has dedicated over twenty years to the development of the business from infancy; committing massive amounts of time, effort and resources to research and build Cambinata Yabbies to the sophisticated business it is today – the largest marketers of yabbies in Australia. With the assistance of a Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Department (DAFF), Food Processing in Regional Australia Grant, in 2008 Cambinata completed construction of an export kitchen, processing room, blast chiller, cool room and freezer. This facility is used to produce the company’s unique gourmet lines.
Q What inspired you to get involved in a new
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rural industry?
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As farmers we are perpetually faced with the challenges of things outside our control including unpredictable weather conditions, rise and fall of the Australian dollar and multi nationals controlling our input costs and returns. In the late eighties ‘the recession we had to have’ resulted in interest rates of 17.5%. This together with low commodity prices meant our net income could not support our family, especially as four of them were living away from home, necessitated by educational needs. We often say about our business ‘God organized it not us’. Friends, knowing Michael was farming and selling yabbies as a hobby, rang seeking yabbies for a Perth restaurant. Cambinata Yabbies was born.
the farm dam to the consumer. We read lots of research papers, asked lots of questions and worked with researches including Dr Craig Lawrence, gaining their confidence and friendship. Our greatest breakthrough in our infrastructure was achieved by advice from Don Munro, who came from outside the industry. His expertise was in ‘water clarification’. An industrial processing plant was designed and subsequently built. To achieve this, another challenge had to be overcome, getting finance from the bank! The history of aquaculture is littered with financial failures so at every stage of our development it has been essential that we presented a well-articulated and researched case. Once we had our an industrial processing plant we implemented quality control procedures which enabled us to identify poor handling in the supply chain as a major factor in producing a robust healthy product. Communication skills then were extremely important in training our suppliers to meet our needs. Dealing with a live product with a relatively short shelf life it became essential to be able to hold the yabbies prior to marketing. Another breakthrough occurred when we found a large holding tank, with filtration and refrigeration. By chilling the yabbies they go into a semi dormant state. This has given us more control and the ability to hold yabbies until they are ready for shipment. We installed a very large Austmarine tank, once again never before used in the yabby industry.
Q: What have been the pitfalls you have overcome? How?
The pitfalls have been many. Initially a major learning curve was how to keep yabbies alive from Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
A further problem to be overcome was finding markets for all sizes of yabbies. We created Cambinata Gourmet Yabbies to give us a product that could utilize any size of yabby and once created have up to six months shelf life. A commercial kitchen became a priority as did finding the funding to achieve our goal. We successfully applied for Food Processing in Regional Australia and together with more ‘bank funds’ constructed a state of the art commercial kitchen. In the planning we once more sort the help of experts as well as looked to the businesses needs in the future. A blast freezer was installed for freezing product and giving us a shelf life up to 2 years. This effectively means that we no longer fear peaks that can occur in supplies of yabbies. It has not however overcome the challenges of drought. To help drought proof the business we now use the commercial kitchen to process abalone as well as yabbies and create other gourmet products as well as use the kitchen for catering in our adjoining function centre – our transformed shearing shed.
Q: What do you consider your successes? What do you attribute these to?
Our greatest success is our family and their dedication to the business, even those who are not working in the business on a daily basis, share their
ideas and enthusiasm for what we together have created. We contribute our success to choosing to walk through ‘the doors that God has opened and embracing the opportunities‘ It was essential to diversify our income streams and achieved by allowing each person to work in the areas they enjoy and are most talented. Without our wonderful network of farmers who supply the raw products we could not have a business. Communication and valuing each person has been critical to our success. The support of government departments and advice from those specialized in production and marketing has enabled us to develop our business. Grants from both DAFF and Austrade have been important in reaching goals
Q: What are 5 tips you could give others in new rural industries?
1. Be willing to listen to advice, have round table discussions and take on what best suits you and your business. 2. Be lateral in your thinking – think beyond what you are doing to what can you do. 3. Do a skills analysis of your family/staff and try whenever possible to have people working in the areas they are best suited and enjoy. 4. Communicate, communicate and communicate with your family, your staff and your clients. 5. Enjoy what you do and maintain your values.
Q: What is your future vision for your business?
Our future vision for the business is to further expand our range of gourmet products, increase the numbers of tourists that visit the establishment and grow the numbers of events and functions that we cater for and host. www.cambinatayabbies.com.au
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 31
Jeff Proctor Western Australian Marron Marron
Background Marron is a name given to two closely related species of crayfish in Western Australia. Marron are considered a luxury product and are the subject of a developing aquaculture industry in Western Australia and other Australian states. There are some 180 marron licence holders in the state of WA, of which 2/3 are actively growing marron. Some 10% of licence holders produce 75% of the state’s marron, which is 50-60 tonne per annum, and the largest percentage of growers are aged 50+ years and using marron as a diversification to their other farming activities.
Q. What inspired you to get involved in a new rural industry?
We started with a basic marron trapping licence, approximately 20 years ago. In the early 2000’s after pulling out an orchard, we built 22 purpose built ponds, giving us approximately 10 hectares of surface water, and 20 gully dams varying in size from 2000 sq metres to 30,000 sq metres. Our marron marketing business commenced in April 2010 with myself (Jeff), my wife (Carol) and our nephew (Ty) who manages the marron shed. The inspiration to begin the marketing aspect of our business was a result of the collapse of a growers co-op to which we previously sold our marron. We saw a need for a grower orientated marketer to work closely with local marron growers as well as providing stable and high quality product to meet market demands. Our business has grown considerably over the past two years providing marron to local and interstate
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Western Australian Marron is a farm/business owned by Jeff and Carol Proctor, and is located on the South Western Highway approximately 10kms south of Donnybrook, Western Australia. Since 1979 they have been involved in rural farming of beef, fruit and vegetables and in 1990 they diversified their farm activities and started marron farming. Today, just over 20 years later, they have 55 growers that are a part of a grower network, and they give advice on how to grow, feed and trap marron, as well as how to set up aquaculture systems and maintain them.
The essence of the Western Australian Marron business model is that they grow their own marron in purpose built ponds and farm dams, as well as purchase marron from other licenced growers, and then they market them Australian wide. This has proven to be a very successful operating basis.
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Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
markets. Our business, being different to other rural businesses, is that we are marketers of a live product, whereas a lot of other rural businesses are value adding to a primary product. Our grower network has also increased as we have provided advice and support with any enquiries about marron farming. We additionally provide our growers with marron farming products such as traps, marron food, pond hide material and polystyrene boxes.
Q. What have been the pitfalls you have overcome? How?
Some of the pitfalls we have had to overcome are: a. keeping marron death to a minimum during hotter months has been key. We installed cooling systems in our marron tanks and insulated our marron shed to control temperature. Grower education on marron handling has also helped immensely. b. Adapting to the market from being just a grower to becoming the seller and setting the value for our product. c. Moving forward with technology. Our nephew, Ty, with his role in managing the shed is involved with website marketing, grower/ supplier communication, administration. Q. What do you consider your successes? What do you attribute these to?
Q. What are 5 tips you could give others in new rural industries?
1.
It is important to have a good knowledge of your product/industry.
2.
Make sure you always provide a good service to both your suppliers and your customers.
3.
You need to have a belief in your own ability in business
4.
We feel it is vital that obtain and maintain a good rapport with your staff. Having a real team is essential to business success.
5.
Don’t over-extend your finances in the first two years of your business. It is easy to do – and can be the make break of your business.
Q. What is your future vision for your business?
Our future vision is to continue to build our production levels, and at the same time find new markets here within Australia, and also expand into the export market to push our product overseas. We also will continue to strive to set the benchmark for the industry in all aspects of marron production and marketing. www.wamarron.com
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We think our biggest success has been being able to acquire the confidence of growers across the
South West of Australia, as well as building trust and respect in our relationships with our clients. The fact that we are also able to now supply marron size/numbers all year round, consistently due to marron farming growth, has been a great success.
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The commercial reality of the alpaca meat industry
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By Ian Frith, Illawarra Prime Alpaca, NSW
ur introduction to alpacas commenced over ten years ago when we used to go to shows and ponder over these incredible animals. After visiting numerous agricultural shows and Nationals it was not until five years later that we decided we wanted to farm these animals.
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To be sustainable we knew that we could not initially make a living just out of fleece and genetics for some years to come, and that full commercialisation of alpaca farming must include meat and hides. We had to be a livestock industry similar to sheep, cattle and goats.
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After three years of purchasing our initial animals to commence our genetic pool (which included incredible help from mentors within the industry) to produce fleece and quality animals for the future, we then turned our attention to meat and hides and put a plan in motion on the best way of introducing meat to the consumer. We started talking to various chefs and sought their ideas on what they thought their patrons might like and want, NOT what we thought they wanted and thus randomly supply. It was interesting to note that the initial perception was that the alpaca meat was gamey and lower in quality which to their surprise was far from the fact when they started to experiment with various cuts and methods of preparation and cooking and presenting to their patrons. In October 2011, the Fairfax Group, under the Directorship of Miss Joanna Savelle held “CRAVE”, a month of
gastronomic delight to satisfy any foodie. One of the themes was South America, so in walked our alpaca! In conjunction with David Campbell, friend and first class chef and owner of The Hungry Duck Restaurant, we sponsored Mr Ricardo Zarate, who was a Peruvian and just voted USA top chef in 2010 to come to Australia as a showcase chef and promote alpaca meat. During this period over 800 servings of alpaca from various chefs and their restaurants were introduced to the public. An acceptance had been created! This was the major launch and introduction of alpaca meat to the general public. We now travel anywhere in Australia when invited to train chefs in their own environment on the qualities of this meat, preparation and presentation to their patrons. That has been our start. We are currently averaging six animals a week, and know that will increase to at least eight by September, having been given forward orders as new restaurants change their menus to include a minimum of one alpaca dish on their menu. New hotels are taking up sausages and burgers which caters for the lower end of the market but more importantly utilises the trim, allowing all meat from the animal to be consumed. Just on our present position without any further expansion we need a minimum of 400 animals a year. Farming the alpaca to achieve the paddock to plate experience is an interesting journey.
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Sustainability We commence supplying a market, we must be able to maintain supply. The gestation period is 11½ months, and usually no twins. Then minimum slaughter age is 18 months, so we have to plan 30 months ahead to meet market demand. If supplying twenty animals per week by late 2013 we will need 1000 breeding females minimum to meet this demand. We can survive short term by purchasing from other breeders, but we have to gear up for the future. This however is good for the industry as it means we will be able to have contracts with other breeders growing out on our behalf their wethers and those breeders will know that they will they have a continual source of income going forward. Quality assurance... the continual delivery of well conditioned animals for market. All animals must be in prime condition when sent to market to maintain the standard benchmark.
Nutrition None of our animals are lot fed, however this doesn’t mean that supplementary grain/feed will not be made available to animals to maintain their nutrition through winter months or hard times i.e. drought. Animals graze on a mixture of kikuyu and clover and are weighed every month. Body score for slaughter averages 3-3.5. We have just started experimenting with supplementary grain feeding on a select group to see if weight can be increased over a shorter period without increasing fat content
of meat, remembering that it is the leanness that is also attractive to the consumer.
Husbandry/Management All animals are electronically tagged and brought in and weighed monthly. The paddock is noted from where they were grazing to make sure they are still getting nutrition. Paddocks are rotated and rested at regular intervals. Pasture improvement is carried out with organic fertilisers. Water courses where possible are fenced off to minimise the possibility of liver fluke if around. Dams are paddock mated on the basis of one sire to 30 dams… sires run with the dams. Shearing is October and all fleece utilised.
Drenching Withholding periods are extremely important when applying drenches to animals. There are variances of 90 days to 14 days on certain proprietary brands before meat can be supplied for human consumption. Herd rotation in drenching is critical if you wish to maintain supply. No use drenching the whole herd at the same time and then realise you have no animals for market for the next 90 days. This is where we work very closely with our vets and parasitologists for control of parasites.
Quality At present an Honours Student from Sydney University has been granted a scholarship (part funded by ourselves) to undertake a PhD study over the next three years of alpaca meat, its qualities and what is needed in farming practice and husbandry to maintain these qualities. We also hope to be involved with a study into the commercialisation of the alpaca industry being undertaken by Deakin University which will include meat and hides, and that hopefully commences this year.
Abattoirs One of the most important pieces in the jigsaw to fit into place was the availability of an abattoir that was licensed for camelid slaughter and
Continued on page 39
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We know the meat is high in iron, high in protein, extremely low in fat content and low in cholesterol… great for the consumer. However there are numerous challenges to address, apart from building up public acceptance, in the production. Firstly the quality assurance and sustainability. What is the optimum age for slaughter, nutrition required, drenching and withholding periods? Over the past 18 months all of this information has been captured and analysed.
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Splendour in the grass: new approaches to cereal production By Ian Chivers
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The other notable fact about this short list is that most, if not all, are annual plants. These plants do not persist for more than one season, for the most part remove rather than add carbon to the soil and, as they die each year, they leave the soils free of living green matter. This lack of living matter means that they are unable to absorb rainfall if it falls at that time.
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It would be smarter to use perennial native grasses for cereal grains instead of relying on a handful of farming-intensive annual crops. Shown here is Curly Mitchell grass (Astrebla lappacea), common in northern Australia.
Any investment manager will tell an investor to spread risks, to have a diverse portfolio, to engage with many sectors of the local economy, to invest in other parts of the globe, to hedge your bets, a mix of shares, real estate and cash – we have all heard this advice. And for the most part we agree with it and do our best to abide by it. Yet we do not take the same approach to our own sustenance. Unlike the savvy investor, humans have an unparalleled reliance upon just a few forms of cereal grains. This is of concern given that grains provide the bulk of nutrition to almost all of the world’s billions of people.
Altogether there are too many eggs in the one basket of annual cereals as the principal source of foods for the world’s billions. These plants require significant investment in terms of time and money. It starts with annual re-sowing, with all the risks of failure and high costs involved. Repeated cultivation has been shown to remove soil organic matter and so reduce the ability of the soil to host beneficial microflora, to absorb water, to be soft underfoot (remember soft soils? They are a thing of the past in much of Australia), to retain nutrients and to smell and feel good. Anyone digging up soil on dedicated cereal cropping farms in most parts of Australia will, apart from deciding that they need a crow bar to get into the soil, notice the absence of worms and that lack of strong earthy smell. Surely this is not a system that offers the long term benefits that come from healthy soil.
Seeing the limits of the current system Before exploring where new value might lie, it is important to understand where the threat to value lies in the current system. Now in most parts of the world we mostly rely on only eight or so species of plants for grains. Given their pervasive nature they are easy to name quickly: wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, and millet. There are a few others that are consumed in smaller quantities, but overall we have a very heavy reliance on this small number of species. Our investment adviser would be telling us that this is too narrow a portfolio and that we should be broadening it to spread risks.
Business as usual may not be the best way: wheat crop in Dalby, Queensland. Flickr/RaeAllen
Production of these crops not only strips the soil of essential nutrients that must be replaced or else
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
Risky business Significant risks are found at many stages throughout the growth of the crop. At sowing time inadequate rainfall can reduce stand density and may indeed dictate a repeat sowing. During the growth stage again inadequate rainfall might not allow sufficient plant growth to stimulate reproductive stem formation. Finally at harvest time too much rainfall, ironically, can ruin the crop. It is also a system reliant upon petroleum for fuel to sow, harvest and manage, for fertilizers to promote growth, for herbicides to control weeds and for insecticides to reduce pests. In a world where crude oil will never be cheap again, and along with that other inputs such as fertilizers, growers of annual crops are continually seeing their costs of production increasing. Perhaps breaking the link between expensive oil and grain production should be at the forefront of 21st century practice?
Seeing new options through history’s lens
It is not well known that Australian Aborigines used our perennial grasses as grain sources each year for food, usually in the form of a damper, and had wellestablished methods of production. The region where this was best known was called the Panara by early European anthropologists and extended in a large swathe from the Flinders Range through western New South Wales, north through central and western Queensland, straight through the Northern Territory into the Kimberley and then south into the northern wheat production areas of Western Australia. In the shape of a donut with a bite removed covering the Great Australian Bight, this area covered more than one quarter of the total landmass of Australia. In this huge area Aboriginal Australians kept themselves fed with grains from our perennial grasses and supplemented that basic diet with other bush foods. The existence of this managed grain production system was novel to the early European explorers, like Sir Thomas Mitchell, who wrote: ”In the neighbourhood of our camp the grass had been pulled to a very great extent, and piled in hayricks… extending for miles… (that) had evidently been thus laid up by the natives, but for what purpose we could not imagine”. It took later botanists and anthropologists to determine that the Aborigines had been using these ricks (windrows) to ripen the seed, which was then collected, cleaned, stored, and used to make a bread-like damper.
What we need to do is to look around at other systems and see if they can be used. In Australia we have stunning examples of very long-term grainfood production that had no degrading impact on the environment, that did not require expensive fertilizers or pesticides, and grew without the need for irrigation water to be diverted from river systems. These long term cereal production systems were a feature of Aboriginal-Australian farming systems for thousands of years.
So why do we not look to use the same sort of system for grain production now? Maybe Australian cereal breeders should become more aware of Australian native grasses and the existence of the Panara. Sure, we are not in a shifting hunter-gatherer society any longer, and I am not suggesting we revert to those practices. Rather, I am suggesting that we look at the species that were used by those clever societies and see if they can be adapted to form part of a new production methodology that is more sympathetic
Sorghum leiocladum: a long lived perennial sorghum relative found in the eastern half of Australia, in all states except Tasmania. Ian Chivers
The Flinders Ranges in South Australia, where Aborigines used native grasses for cereal grain. Flickr/kabl1992
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production will fall, but it also requires the use of selective herbicides to remove weeds. Many of those same weeds are now developing resistance to those chemicals. This implies a need to either use higher doses of the same chemical or change to another chemical and start all over again. In short, total reliance upon annual crops is a one-way street to oblivion. It is a system that can produce grain, but does so at the expense of the soil and of the environment.
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with the realities of Australia, and indeed the globe, in the 21st Century.
A new production system using perennial grasses
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We need to be looking at perennial grasses for our new grain types, not annuals. As it happens, Australia has many suitable grain-production candidates amongst its perennial grasses. It is not the purpose of this essay to discuss the merits of each of the candidates, rather to encourage people to think more broadly about their choice of species and then to look closely at some of the Australian native options and opportunities.
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But what would a new production system look like? There are many different models and they will vary from region to region, but I suspect they will have several consistent features. They will be perennial, they will match the rainfall zone and be permanent and persistent pastures in each zone, they will be palatable to domestic stock, they will be harvestable for grain using conventional equipment, and they will have grains that are easy to thresh. Can you imagine a permanent pasture that also produces a grain crop in those years when the rainfall amount and timing permits? It would also be the pasture that is able to survive the drought that will inevitably occur without the need to re-sow once the drought breaks. In another area with another grass pasture and crop, it will be the permanent pasture that grows vigorously under the trees, that produces a grain crop at the end of the wet season but still does not compete for moisture during the dry months. It would be a new world of true dual-purpose crops – where farmers have the options to simply graze a paddock or alternatively to graze it for a shorter period and then to let it run
up a grain crop. This is a perennial grain-cropping system as it was used in the long-time past but which is still there for the discovery if we are wise enough to look.
Time to think, time to act This is a low-risk, low-cost system that is sadly not known to most plant breeders. What is horribly clear however is that continuing to invest in breeding of the existing cereal species looking for a variety that might be slightly more drought tolerant means continuing to favour a system that degrades our soils and environment. Is it not time to rethink? Why not be active and systematically collect potential crop plants from around Australia? Why not go to marginal environments and find those native grasses that grow there already to see if they can be adopted for use in modern farming? Why not broaden the thinking of the plant breeders and give them opportunities to be creative in their species selection? It would be to the good of us all.
Channel millet (Echinochloa turneriana): a native of the Channel country across parts of Queensland, NSW, and SA. Ian Chivers. Source: The Conversation. Original article at: http://theconversation.edu.au/splendour-in-the-grass-newapproaches-to-cereal-production-8301
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“But we’ve lost a lot of money and we can no longer keep going round and round in circles so we are shutting the export plant until the Government can get something sorted out.” Macro Meats is Australia’s largest supplier of kangaroo meat to the food service industry and a recognised leader in its field with its range of retailready products in all major supermarket chains Australia-wide, on hotel menus, at restaurants and cafes, and it is exported to many countries. A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said the Government is working with the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia to reopen access for kangaroo meat to Russia and expand access to new markets such as China.
“The Government has gone above and beyond to support the kangaroo meat trade, but these efforts require similar effort by the industry itself and are reliant on the industry’s ability to meet the standards expected by our trading partners,” the spokesman said. Mr Borda said that he was shocked by the statement from the Minister’s office as he fully complied with the Export control (Wild Game Meat and Wild Game Meat Products) Order. “These orders are continually reviewed and since 2009 there has been many amendments to ensure ongoing compliance with importing countries requirements and this includes Russia,” he said. Source: Adelaide Now
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012
they taste great. Perhaps this is the market for the butcher shops.
willing to work with us. We also required that it be in close proximity so that the transport of animals minimised stress to those animals. (Stress, it appears, toughens the meat!). We were very fortunate to find such an abattoir only 80km south of our farm at Milton, which has exceptional management and staff and is willing to work with us. Their input into quality and condition of carcass and offal is invaluable. Once slaughtered the carcasses are transported by the abattoir to our butcher shop and according to orders placed, the
We offer to all alpaca owners the chance to participate in the training programme. If you have a restaurant that you are friendly with and believe that they could be interested in discovering the joys of alpaca meat please get in contact with us and we will take it from there. The more opportunities we have in promoting the product the quicker it is for the industry to make full commercialism a reality. We do have a problem internally within our industry where we have knockers who speak out against the consumption of alpaca. I understand their passion for their animals but for an industry to survive and be sustainable we must utilise the whole animal.
specific cuts are made, packed and distributed to restaurants. This process of slaughter to delivery takes just 48hrs. Every part of the animal is used. Shoulders, racks, strip loin, legs, sausages, burgers and offal. Legs are also used for pastrami, prosciutto and smoked. The commercial reality of an emerging meat industry for alpaca is there and the future looks bright. However we must crawl before we walk, before we run. We have invested a significant amount of capital and time to reach this stage but would not have done so unless we honestly believed we would achieve the right result. In my opinion the marketing of this great meat is through the restaurant industry, through trained chefs, so the public experience is one to be repeated. We don’t want the general public buying from butcher shops the quality cuts, not knowing how to prepare and cook it and then talking it down because they have had a bad experience. Sausages and alpaca burgers are great and the pubs love them on their menus… not because it as alternative, but because
From the slaughter and eating of these animals another industry emerges, and that is the hides. A whole new industry, virgin territory for Australian breeders and one of incredible promise. We have been experimenting with the tanning of hides in the past 18 months. The quality of the hides is now exceptional as is the leather. There is a demand for the hides and leather which sadly at this stage we cannot meet but in time we will be able to meet this demand, and commercialisation will have completed the full circle. If that’s not exciting, I don’t know what is. This animal gives us so much, and it should be recognised for all its great qualities, not at times left in paddocks to die of old age or neglect. And then there is the possibility of meat export, but that’s another story on its own. Illawarra Prime Alpaca is the trading name of Golden Fibre Pty Ltd and is owned jointly by Dr Ian Davison and Ian & Annette Frith.
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Continued from page 35
The commercial reality of the alpaca meat industry continued…
Passion to Profit – the magazine of New Rural Industries Australia Issue 11 – 2012 39
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