Page 12 - Australian Pork Newsapaper

D’Orsogna brings home bacon for jobs
FAMILY-owned smallgoods success story D’Orsogna is getting bigger, creat- ing more than 100 new jobs in Melbourne’s north thanks to sup- port from the Andrews Labor Government.
Minister for Jobs, In- novation and Trade Mar- tin Pakula has officially opened D’Orsogna’s new $64 million pro- cessing and packaging plant at Merrifield.
The company has grown from humble beginnings – a family butcher shop in West Perth in 1949 – to now supplying Woolworths, Coles, Subway, Hungry Jacks and other busi- nesses across Australia.
Demand had outgrown capacity at the compa- ny’s factory in Mount Waverley, and now with
assistance from the La- bor Government the purpose-built manufac- turing facility at Mer- rifield provides for the company’s east coast cooking, smoking, cool- ing, storing, slicing and packaging needs.
More than 160 work- ers are now based at Merrifield, up from 55 before the company’s Government-supported expansion.
Located at the heart of Merrifield Business Park in Mickleham, D’Orsogna’s state-of- the-art facility makes use of the latest develop- ments in processing and packaging technology, which will help advance the company’s growth in both domestic and ex- port markets.
The company sup- plies products under the
“D’Orsogna” and “Riv- erland” brands.
Victoria is Australia’s largest exporter of food and fibre products, with sales of more than $14 billion annually.
The sector contributes almost six percent of Victoria’s Gross State Product and employs almost 240,000 people.
Martin Pakula, minis- ter for Jobs, Innovation and Trade, said, “Our food and fibre sector makes up nearly 50 per- cent of the state’s ex- ports and is worth more than $14 billion – this is another vote of con- fidence in the country’s premium food capital.
“We’re proud to have backed this expansion by D’Orsogna that has brought jobs to Mel- bourne’s north and opened up even more
opportunities for export and growth across this vital sector.”
Yuroke Ros Spence said, “This is a fantas- tic result and it’s terrific that we have been able to play a part in bring- ing 100 new jobs to the heart of Melbourne’s north. It’s great news for D’Orsogna and even better news for the local economy.”
Greig Smith, D’Orsogna managing di- rector, said, “D’Orsogna is pleased to complete the establishment of its new Victorian facility in Mel- bourne’s north and we welcome our incredibly diverse and skilled work- force. It’s been a pleasure to work collaboratively with both state and local governments to expand our presence here.”
APRIL Announces Call for Applications for Transformational and Industry Priority Projects
THE Australasian Pork Research Institute Ltd is seeking applications for its transformational pro- jects and industry prior- ity projects.
An independent, mem- ber-based research entity, APRIL seeks to enhance the Australasian Pork In- dustry by investing in re- search and development, education and training and commercialisation ac- tivities focused on priori- ties and deliverables that ensure the sustainability of Australasian pork pro- duction and to generate optimal returns for its stakeholders.
The call for transforma- tional and industry pri- ority project applications comes after research in- vestments approaching $2 million by APRIL in 2018 and again earlier this year, with successful Innova- tion Projects.
Professor John Pluske, APRIL Chief Scientist and CEO, said that april’s transformational projects and its industry priority projects are key pillars of APRIL’s Strategic Plan (2019-2022).
Two transformational projects address key in- dustry issues of enhanced antimicrobial stewardship in the Australasian pork industry through targeted reduction of in-feed medi- cations without adverse health consequences, and elimination of the need for tail docking in Aus- tralasian pork production systems.
APRIL is seeking a program of research and inquiry, likely to be multi- disciplinary in nature, that will significantly address and impact positively these two issues.
APRIL’s industry pri- ority projects address a number of key areas that will also shape the future industry landscape.
Priority areas include issues such as novel ap- proaches to allow in- creased use of food wastes in pig diets, making pigs more tolerant to heat, de- tecting sow reproductive state more efficiently and effectively, and biode- gradable packaging solu- tions for pork products.
Industry priority pro- jects will follow a stand- ard application format.
Professor Pluske said, “As with previous APRIL funding rounds, a mini- mum level of co-invest- ment of 25 percent cash, of the total project cost, is required for APRIL-fund- ed projects. However, the priorities, and the trans- formational projects espe- cially, lend themselves to potentially significantly
higher levels of external investment, and research- ers interested in applying should seek these avenues wherever possible.
“Furthermore, a key priority for APRIL is education and training, hence researchers are en- couraged to explore the opportunity of including tertiary training in their proposals, if appropriate.
“Applications can be lodged by researchers cur- rently working in the pork industry, but are also wel- comed from individuals and organisations not nec- essarily with a direct affili- ation with the Australasian pork industry. This may include overseas organisa- tions and companies.
“Potential applicants should be acquainted with APRIL’s membership base and the prospective advantages interactions with members may bring to a proposal.”
Applications for both transformational and in- dustry priority projects are planned to open on September 16.
It is anticipated that funding for successful projects would occur after April, 2020.
Please visit the web- site, www.april.org.au, for further information, including timeframes, guidelines and application details.
For further information, contact either APRIL Chief Scientist/CEO Pro- fessor Pluske on 0410 436 871 and j.pluske@april. org.au, or Dr Charles Rikard-Bell, manager, commercialisation and research impact on 0439 513 723 and c.rikardbell@ april.org.au)
Protection of your pigs to slaughter
Ingelvac MycoFLEX®, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae
for mixing with Ingelvac CircoFLEX® for PCVAD protection
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Australia Pty. Ltd. Level 1, 78 Waterloo Road, North Ryde NSW 2113. ABN 53 071 187 285. FLEXCombo® is a registered trademark of the Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH – used under licence. All rights reserved. AUS/FCB-181008
protection with extra capacity
Outcomes of the Enterics Advisory Group Meeting
AN advisory group of Australian experi- enced pig veterinar- ians and researchers recently met to dis- cuss up-to-date and effective approaches to managing pig gut health for the Austral- ian pork industry.
Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Aus- tralia, the group aims to utilise its field and laboratory expertise to provide a locally based, globally competent and recognised panel on the prevention and control of pig enteric diseases. The challenge
The group agreed that porcine prolifera- tive enteropathy (ile- itis) is a major enteric disease of concern for their pig producers and recognised that there is no current surveillance system in place to de- termine the prevalence and/or impact of these diseases in Australia.
and is associated with significant economic losses due to decreased performance of the pigs and increased mortal- ity.
The Australian Anti- microbial Prescribing Guidelines for Pigs highlight the impor- tance of reducing an- timicrobial resistance and promoting the re- sponsible and prudent antimicrobial use in pig production.
As a result, the group identified the need to compare the efficacy of antibiotic alternatives for the management of pig enteric diseases. Next steps
The group plans to meet again later in the year to further progress their goal of develop- ing strategies relevant for Australian vets and producers that focus on approaches to manag- ing pig gut health.
For more information on gut health, please contact your veterinar- ian or Boehringer In- gelheim Animal Health Territory Manager.
Ileitis is caused by
Gram-negative Lawso-
nia intracellularis that
infects enterocytes of
pigs, primarily in the
ileum. www.boehringer-
Ileitis is endemic in ingelheim.com.au/ani pig herds worldwide mal-health
Page 12 – Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2019
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