Page 5 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Supporting Queensland pork producers
PORK Queensland Inc wishes pork industry members all the best for a happy and pros- perous 2021.
President’s Perspective
by JOHN COWARD
With recent rains across inland Queens- land and southern states harvesting bumper crops in many regions, we hope to see feed prices return to the norm.
Government has been made aware of how serious the current la- bour shortage is and any delays will result in farmers having to con- sider business continuity options.
both PQI and APL on critical issues.
Labour supply has be- come a critical issue for a number of farmers and processors.
Keep an eye out for the invite from APL and we hope to see you in person on the day!
PQI has been working closely with industry groups and government to identify options for quarantining overseas workers from low-risk COVID countries.
PQI continues to work with Approved Employers of Australia – which coordinates overseas labour arrange- ments – and the pro- viders of approved camp sites in an attempt to ad- dress the critical issue.
PQI holds a seat on the Biosecurity Queensland Ministerial Advisory Council and has ac- cepted a seat on the ASF Prevention and Prepar- edness Project Refer- ence Group.
Two locations have been the subject of an approval process in- volving the Department of Agriculture and Fish- eries and Queensland Health.
PQI has also been en- gaging with Australian Pork Limited to deliver an industry forum ad- dressing the critical is- sues around key issues including African swine fever, Australian Pork Industry Quality Assur- ance Program, labour and training.
Both these roles are to ensure the impacts on industry from any government actions are clearly understood.
There are two applica- tions on the table – one in the Toowoomba dis- trict and one close to Gatton.
While PQI will always assist members address issues, our resources are limited and as such I call on Queensland pro- ducers to review and renew their membership to help us continue to provide the ongoing rep- resentative role.
Both have the capa- bilities to house several hundred workers until they are cleared from quarantine.
The forum is to be held in Toowoomba in early March and PQI encour- ages producers to attend the face-to-face meeting where there will be op- portunities to provide producer feedback to
The increased risks around the new COVID strains has posed ad- ditional issues for the campsite providers, however final approval is expected shortly.
Please contact presi- dent John Coward on john.coward1@gmail. com or 0407 622 166 or any director for mem- bership details.
APRIL on track in 2021
I WOULD like to wish stress and disease, abat- This addresses a key organisations, com-
everyone a happy new year and a successful 2021.
toir carcass management, environmental and pro- duction monitoring meth- odologies, and nutrition and physiology of sows and pigs.
transformational project in APRIL’s strategic plan, and I look forward to a positive outcome later in the year.
mercial pork production businesses, peak industry bodies, and companies and organisations serving the pork industry, pro- vides the opportunity for real-world industry learning.
As we start the new year, I wanted to first reiterate the commitment Aus- tralasian Pork Research Institue Ltd has to sup- porting research, educa- tion and training, and commercialisation ac- tivities that will help to ensure the sustainability of Australasian pork pro- duction, and second to introduce a few of the ac- tivities and initiatives that lie ahead for APRIL this year.
We look forward to pro- viding an update after the Board meeting in Feb- ruary.
Commercialisation, translation and adop- tion of research findings are clear imperatives for APRIL, and in 2021 there will be a greater emphasis on projects and activities that assist in bringing new products or services to the market.
APRIL currently has three industry placement program awardees estab- lished in commercial pork production businesses, learning the business of pork production while en- gaging in both research and development, and professional development activities.
Early next month, the APRIL Research and Development Advisory Committee will be as- sessing around 20 innova- tion project applications that were submitted to- wards the end of last year.
Its Kickstart Program is open to assist with sub- mitting specific, targeted and agreed major external funding applications.
In this regard, the APRIL education advi- sory committee will meet next month to consider undergraduate and post- graduate education and training award applica- tions received earlier this month.
Applications have ad- dressed a diverse number of topics of interest to the pork industry – ranging from solutions to heat
One of the foundations of APRIL is its commit- ment to human capacity building for the Australa- sian pork industry.
We are looking forward to a busy and engaging
APRIL will continue to explore the external funding pools that exist both nationally and inter- nationally.
APRIL has a number of commercialisation ini- tiatives either underway or coming on board this year, as results from pro- jects come to hand.
In December last year, with APRIL as one of a number of other industry and university partners, a four-year Australian Re- search Council Linkage grant was submitted by Murdoch University addressing ‘Novel ap- proaches for combating critically important an- timicrobial resistance in pigs’.
Commercialisation can be a protracted pro- cess, but we are always looking for new ideas and thoughts.
The mix in APRIL of universities and research
Dr Tony APRIL chair
Peacock
2021.
www.porknews.com.au
Australian Pork Newspaper, February 2021 – Page 5