Page 14 - Australian Pork Newspaper

BEC Feed Solutions’ Mark Fitzgerald retires
MARK Fitzgerald of- ficially retired from his position as BEC Feed Solutions’ gen- eral manager of premix and feed addi- tives for Australia and New Zealand on June 30.
blebirds in Papua New Guinea, Sunnybrand Chickens, Darwalla, Ridley and BEC Feed Solutions in Australia.
force behind many key projects for us, in- cluding the new premix plant that was opened last year.
tunate to work closely with Mark Fitzgerald over the past four years, and this time has been incredibly valuable in learning the finer de- tails of the premix and feed business,” Dr Con- nors said.
manager position will be quite seamless,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“After seven exciting and challenging years as GM of premix and feed additives at BEC Feed Solutions, it is now time for me to re- tire and move on to the next stage of my life,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
During his many years of leadership, Mr Fitzgerald was involved in significant changes to these industries, par- ticularly in the busi- nesses he was a part of.
“I am personally very grateful that we had him as part of the BEC team for the past seven years.”
“I wish Mark the very best for his retirement.
“It is particularly pleasing that succession at this level can occur internally and I believe this reflects the culture of the BEC business and the quality of our staff.
Mr Fitzgerald enjoyed a long, distinguished and eventful career in the animal feed and poultry industries.
“BEC’s Board and shareholders and staff thank Mark for his commitment to the de- velopment of the busi- ness,” Mr Antonio said.
Dr Mark Connors, who has been with the BEC Group business since 2016, will com- mence in the general manager position for BEC’s Australian and New Zealand business from July 1.
Dr Connors originally established the BEC Biotech business ven- ture and is still respon- sible for its operations and the success of the Lactipro product in the Australian market.
“I recognise that without your under- standing, loyalty and support, BEC would not be in the position that I leave it in.”
He has held senior management roles with businesses including Tegel/NRM in New Zealand, Niugini Ta-
“He’s been a driving
“I have been very for-
“Mark Connors has been our national sales and technical man- ager for the past four years and so the tran- sition into the general
He intends to enjoy his retirement by travel- ling with his wife and relishing his time with his grandchildren.
BEC Feed Solutions managing director Brett Antonio shared his sin- cere gratitude for the contribution and dedi- cation Mr Fitzgerald had for the BEC busi- ness throughout his tenure.
Mr Fitzgerald offi- cially handed over to his successor at the end of June but will remain in a transitionary role to assist the business on major projects until September 30.
“He has left BEC in a fantastic position for the future.”
“I’d like to personally thank all customers, suppliers and other business stakeholders for your support over the past seven years.
The new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt.
New ag minister’s first farm visits
THE new Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt undertook his first farm visit as Minister in early June, to hear first- hand from farmers and other industry represent- atives about the chal- lenges and opportunities facing the sector.
new minister.
“The government will
strengthen the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme to help overcome labour shortages, but there is also much more we can do to attract Australian workers to regional areas and retain them.
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Minister Watt spent the day in the Emerald region in Central Queensland, visiting cattle saleyards, a cotton farm, cotton gin and leading ag tech de- veloper SwarmFarm Ro- botics.
“I’ll be working closely with my Cabinet col- leagues to ensure that re- gions benefit from the new government’s increased emphasis on training up local workers.”
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Central Queensland – one of the country’s most productive agricultural re- gions – and I wanted to return there to kickstart my term as Agriculture Minister,” Minister Watt said.
Tackling biosecurity threats and ensuring farmers derive more value from their renowned pro- duce are also priorities for Minister Watt.
The visit coincided with the release of new figures showing agricultural ex- ports will hit a record $65 billion in value in 2022-23 as the new Albanese Gov- ernment prepares to tackle labour shortages and bio- security threats and help farmers derive more value from their produce.
“I’ve been briefed by Australia’s chief vet- erinary officer Dr Mark Schipp upon his return from Indonesia, where there are worrying out- breaks of foot-and-mouth disease and lumpy skin disease in cattle right now,” Minister Watt said.
Minister Watt told local farmers and industry rep- resentatives that the Al- banese Government was focussed on helping them overcome mounting input and supply chain chal- lenges, while also posi- tioning the sector to seize the massive opportunities arising from increased efforts to tackle climate change.
“I’m working closely with experts and stake- holders to ensure that we have the right protections in place and continue to make the right biosecurity investments – at home and offshore.
“I’m pleased to report that the latest agricultural commodities report by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Re- source Economics and Sciences predicts record exports worth $65 billion in 2022-23 and a second consecutive year of more than $80 billion in pro- duction,” Minister Watt said.
“We want Australia to not only grow the wheat but also make the flour, biscuits and cakes and process and package meat for domestic and inter- national markets.
“We are expecting our forestry and fishing sec- tors also to perform well, with the total value of the four industries forecast to be $86.2 billion, just below the record result for 2021-22.
“Australian agriculture is on track for another record-breaking year, and the new government will be doing everything we can to support it with continued innovation, value adding and in- creased decarbonisation efforts.”
“But rising costs and ac- cess to farm labour and imported machinery will continue to challenge many Australian farm businesses.
Minister Watt was ac- companied by National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simpson and chief executive officer Tony Mahar, Agforce general president Georgie Somerset and Cotton Aus- tralia chief executive of- ficer Adam Kay.
“As well as protecting the industry, we want to help farmers derive more value from their produce through value adding and innovation.
“That’s why we will in- vest $500 million through our National Reconstruc- tion Fund to encourage farmers to create more food products in Aus- tralia, in addition to selling raw commodities overseas.
Page 14 – Australian Pork Newspaper, July 2022
“We understand this and that’s why I’ve iden- tified these issues as key priorities for me, as the
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