Page 13 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Ingot Check the rolled gold of feed grain checks
WITH grain the major and costly ingredient in pig diets and contribut- ing much of the dietary energy, Australian pork producers are increas- ingly demanding that grains they feed have been accurately meas- ured for their available digestible energy.
According to Pork CRC Commercialisation and Research Impact Man- ager Charles Rikard-Bell, this is particularly the case today, with a meg- ajoule of digestible en- ergy worth $20 to $35, depending on the grain price.
“This is why AusScan’s pig faecal DE calibration, which predicts the DE of cereal grains with an accuracy of +/- 0.26MJ, has become vital to pig farming in Australia, as it allows nutritionists to formulate the most cost- effective diet,” Dr Rik- ard-Bell said.
A big advantage of us- ing near-infrared reflec- tance spectroscopy cali- brations is the speed of the result, with a labora- tory with access to Aus- Scan Online able to scan a sample of grain and download results in sec- onds.
However, Dr Rikard- Bell said while custom- ers knew the calibrations were accurate, they also needed to be confident that the laboratory’s NIRS machine was accu- rate, routinely monitored and consistent.
“This is why Austral- ian AusScan users re- cently joined Aunir UK’s successful quality assurance scheme, Ingot Check, which provides users with a monthly re- port on the stability of the NIRS hardware and calibrations that can then be submitted to auditors, providing independent proof of the laboratory’s competency,” Dr Rikard- Bell said.
“The key to Ingot Check’s success is the timely distribution of uniform reference sam- ples to laboratories across the globe, with samples carefully prepared in the UK from a single source, identified and vacuum packed in high-quality, UV-resistant sachets, en- suring the samples reach target destinations in original condition.
“The uniformity of the Ingot Check sachets min- imises sampling prepa- ration errors and allows
variation within and be- tween NIR machines to be properly examined.”
Graduate nutrition- ist and Pork CRC IPP Haylee Clifford man- ages AusScan at Alltech Lienert at Roseworthy, South Australia.
“Alltech Lienert wel- comes the opportunity to be involved with Ingot Check and AusScan, as Ingot Check testing now allows us to benchmark our testing and find ways to improve the service we currently provide our cus- tomers,” Ms Clifford said.
While Ingot Check has operated in Australian laboratories since June 2017, in February 2018 Aunir technical direc- tor Chris Piotrowski and commercial manager Richard Wynn, along with Dr Rikard-Bell, held quality-assurance work- shops for Australian us-
ers of AusScan.
The workshops also
addressed laboratory- specific issues, provided training in other uses for NIRS machines and, according to Dr Rikard- Bell, the Aunir visit in- formed and satisfied nutritionists and feed formulators who use Aus- Scan calibrations.
The monthly Ingot Check, which has super- seded the much less fre- quent AusScan ring test, markedly reduces sample variation and is predom- inantly an internet-based service.
Aunir UK takes a cen- tral role in the prepara- tion and distribution of reference samples for laboratories to scan and upload results through the Ingot Check online system.
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Graduate nutritionist and Pork CRC IPP Haylee Clifford with grain samples for AusScan testing in the Alltech Lienert laboratory at Roseworthy, South Australia.
Faster, smarter, simpler:
AustSafe’s new digital
claims service goes live
AUSTSAFE Super members can now make insurance claims on- line, fast-tracking the claims process, with a user-friendly facility that guides members through the claim process and adjusts to claimants’ re- sponses.
Powered by AustSafe Super’s insurance partner CommInsure, the dynam- ic online claims service allows members to lodge a claim online and track its progress as it is being assessed.
AustSafe Super chief ex- ecutive Craig Stevens said the new digital service will simplify the claims process for many mem- bers and will lead to faster claims turnaround times, ultimately improving out- comes for members with insurance claims.
“AustSafe Super’s 100,000 members are spread throughout rural and regional Australia – including some remote parts of the country – so for them to be able to fast- track an insurance claim online is something we’re proud to be offering,” he said.
“Our members still have the option of lodg- ing claims the traditional way... the new offering
further supports our mem- ber services initiatives by providing greater flexibil- ity and access for mem- bers wishing to make a claim.”
The digital claims ser- vice is a web-based app for income protection, to- tal and permanent disabil- ity and terminal illness claims, and will lead to claims being received by the insurer within minutes and removing the need for paper-based forms.
CommInsure general manager for Life Prod- uct and Distribution Craig Harrison said AustSafe Super members will find lodging and managing an insurance claim so much easier with this industry- leading platform.
“We involved members extensively in design and testing to make this a user-friendly facility for members to lodge a claim and then show them ex- actly where they are in their claim journey.”
Now in its 30th year of operation, AustSafe Super is the industry super fund for rural and regional Australia and looks after more than 100,000 mem- bers with $2.4 billion funds under management.
Visit austsafe.com.au for more information.
Contact AGCO
Australia team TODAY for your next project
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Australian Pork Newspaper, June 2018 – Page 13