THE SOUTHERN
Part of the Farmer Group Rural Newspapers Covering Victoria Published since 1986
HAY AND SILAGE
AUGUST, 2015
486 Whitehorse Road, Surrey Hills, 3127
TMA CONFERENCE
PAGES 10-17
PAGE 18
WHAT DRIVES DAIRY PROFIT PAGE 22
No rail funding leaves hole in Ag white paper WHILE most farming groups and stakeholders welcomed the release of the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper, most were disappointed with the lack of any funding for key infrastructure issues relating to rail and freight. Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Grains Group president Brett Hosking said that fact there was nothing in the white paper for infrastructure in the southern area of the country was a “huge omission”. “We have aging infrastructure in this state in terms of both rail and road, particularly in the southern grain growing area which needs to be fixed,” he said. “As growers, the majority of our costs are close to farmgate in that the biggest, single cost is supply chain costs. “That is loading grain, storing it and then sending it off farm, which equates to about $70 per tonne. “We really need this issue addressed,” Mr Hosking said. He welcomed the Victorian Government’s promise to commit to the North Western Standardisation project, but if the government was going to spend money on southern infrastructure it would cost in excess of $500 million to “do it properly”. “We see the government’s job as not to store money but
PURELY AUSTRALIAN Matilda’s cofounders Matt and Ruth Gallace are using berries from their Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm to produce the first 100 per cent locally grown frozen berries in Australia. The berries will be processed on purpose-built Australian engineered machinery in the Yarra Valley and the origin of the product will be completely transparent – labelled on each and every bag, with no part of the product, or process, occurring offshore. Matilda’s co-founder Ruth Gallace said they have now secured distributors in every state and will start processing berries next month. “Now we’re at the end of the Victorian season, we’re going to use fruit from our Queensland farms when it’s at its absolute peak to ensure when it hits the shelves, we know unequivocally that we’re delivering the best product we possibly can,” Ms Gallace said.
BY JODIE FLEMING
jfleming@ nemedia.com.au
to spend it in ways that benefit people and allow businesses to move forward,” Mr Hosking said. “It’s great for metropolitan Melbourne to have money spent on rail crossings, but having some invested back into the supply chain would be fantastic. “There is a huge opportunity there with the sale of the Port of Melbourne to use some of that money, but our focus with that sale is to make sure the terms and conditions are right and there for the benefit of Victoria for a long time.” Most farmers and industry leaders welcomed the five pillars outlook of the white paper which highlighted that the Federal Government would focus on: s FOSTERING A MORE COM petitive agriculture business environment; s BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR the future; s INCREASING RESILIENCE TO drought and improve risk management; s IMPROVING RESEARCH AND development and natural resources; and s DRIVING ACCESS TO PREMIUM markets. Continued page 5
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