Page 9 - Australia Pork Newspaper

Financial support
for Queensland
pork producers
Pig Farm Perspective by Bruce the brainy pig
A LAND girt by sea affords Australia an ad- vantageous position in protecting our livestock industries from exotic diseases.
both a national and on- farm level is the key to exotic disease preven- tion.
placent, especially when what we are fighting is often invisible to the na- ked eye.
nificant risks of exotic disease entry is through the illegal or accidental importation of animal products that are swill fed to domestic pigs or scavenged by wild pig populations.
the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001.
The recent outbreak of African swine fever in multiple farms across China is a timely re- minder of the potential consequences of an ex- otic animal disease out- break.
Downtime before entry for visitors, prevention of staff contact with other pigs (domestic, commer- cial and wild), changes of footwear and outer clothing before entry, de- fined clean/dirty zones, hand washing on entry, provision of a lunchroom and prohibiting pork products on site should all be in place as a bio- security plan.
Perimeter fencing, bird and rodent-proofing sheds, all-in-all-out sys- tems and separate foot- wear/clothing for each unit are all examples of achievable improve- ments to current proto- cols.
Swill feeding is illegal because meat products can carry exotic dis- eases.
So, in a global market where it is difficult to compete at a cost of pro- duction level, it is vital that we remain vigilant on biosecurity and pro- tect Australia’s valuable brand of safe, healthy and disease-free meat.
An exotic disease out- break such as ASF or other diseases of simi- lar notoriety (foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever) poses seri- ous risk to the Australian pork industry through loss of production, loss of jobs, forced culling and loss of export mar- kets.
Of course, this is just skimming the surface and regular biosecurity audits should take place to identify individual risk points for each farm.
Arguably, this is a big- ger risk for hobby pig farmers or pet pig own- ers who do not have ready access to commer- cially available, quality- assured rations.
Through consistent re- view and improvement of biosecurity proto- cols, pig producers of Australia will be better equipped to stop the ‘in- visible’ from becoming the tangible monster that is exotic disease.
Strong biosecurity at
Despite Australia’s strong position to protect against exotic disease, it is easy to become com-
In a tightly regulated pork import market, one of Australia’s most sig-
The feeding of swill is believed to have caused
Safety lies in layers of defence.
Taking farm bio- security to the next level will help the fight against exotic disease.
This highlights the im- portance of biosecurity at every level of pig pro- duction and ownership, regardless of size.
If one layer of defence fails, the next should protect you.
Through poor educa- tion or complacency, the likelihood of swill feeding may be higher in these smaller opera- tions.
PORK Queensland Inc has been working hard to support the pork industry through this current pe- riod of low prices, high feed costs and drought, and urges any producer facing financial stress to consider support avail- able through the Queens- land Rural and Industry Development Authority.
greater insight on the most valuable aspects of their business.”
QRIDA has commenced the Farm Debt Restructure Office to assist producers in financial distress.
“Paying for financial ad- vice when you’re already doing it tough can be a hard decision – FDRO takes that pressure off,” Daniel said.
Through QRIDA, pork producers experiencing fi- nancial hardship can apply to receive a free profes- sional financial analysis of their farm business.
Existing QRIDA loan clients experiencing finan- cial stress may request a review of their repayment arrangements to provide breathing space during this difficult time.
The analysis requires the service provider to collab- orate with producers and their existing finance pro- fessionals and culminates in a no-obligation report that may include debt re- structuring options.
These producers should contact QRIDA to discuss. The key message is not to wait until a financial situa-
The analysis is designed to review the business’s fi- nancial position, providing no-obligation options to reduce or restructure debt.
The assistance package is called Farm Business A nalysis.
stances are different, and producers are encouraged not to self-assess their eli- gibility for assistance.
Farm Debt Restructure Office manager Daniel Elder said this assistance package focuses on deliv- ering knowledge and ad- vice.
QRIDA can also direct producers to other avail- able areas of support.
“Where short-term capi- tal injections assist with basic expenses, the Farm Business Analysis is de- signed to address long- term economic realities,” he said.
Call John Coward on 0407 622 166.
“The result is a more informed producer with
Contact QRIDA to ar- range a meeting with your local regional area man- ager, speak with Daniel El- der, or your existing client manager on 1800 623 946 or visit qrida.qld.gov.au
tion is dire.
Each business’s circum-
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PQI can help direct pro- ducers seeking help.
Consultation open for
Australian Pork Limited
performance review
AUSTRALIAN Pork Limited is seek- ing feedback from stakeholders and in- terested parties as it begins an independ- ent review of its per- formance.
transparency with gov- ernment, levy payers and industry stake- holders;
A performance re- view is required every three years prior to completing and renew- ing APL’s Funding Agreement with the Commonwealth Gov- ernment.
• Responsiveness to the government’s re- search and develop- ment priorities;
It provides an op- portunity to ensure the continuous improve- ment of the company to meet industry needs.
• Activities that pro- vide wider public good benefits.
Forest Hill Consult- ing will complete the independent review.
APL encourages all stakeholders to have their say during the re- view period.
The consultancy team will be con- tacting a selection of stakeholders between August and October 2018 to discuss the performance of APL.
In particular, APL urges all producer members and non- members to partici- pate.
The performance re- view will assess APL’s efficiency and effec- tiveness, including:
If you would like to make a submission to the review, or if you would like to be con- tacted about any mat- ter relating to this re- view, please send an email to submissions@ aplreview.org
• Accountability and
Submissions must be received by October 12 to be considered in the review.
• Ability to meet FA obligations and minis- terial-requested direc- tions;
• Performance against strategic and annual business plans; and
For more informa- tion, and to read the terms of reference, please visit aplreview. org
www.porknews.com.au
Australian Pork Newspaper, September 2018 – Page 9