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Page 4 %u2013 National Poultry Newspaper, January 2025 www.poultrynews.com.auMary Wu at Animal Health Australia Engagement Week.sessions with the secretariat of the Animal Welfare Task Group to discuss the process for developing and reviewing Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines. We anticipate more opportunities to provide feedback to this strategy as the Federal Government advances national priorities in supporting a holistic animal welfare system.Workforce development This year, ACMF and AgriFutures Australia launched a targeted workforce strategy aimed at fostering job creation, facilitating workforce entry, enhancing retention and promoting skills development within the industry. A key aspect of this strategy is its emphasis on attracting young talent and other priority groups to cultivate a diverse and sustainable workforce. This will be achieved through establishing clear and meaningful career pathways, ensuring training programs remain relevant to industry skill needs, and focusing on employee wellbeing and development. We extend our appreciation to the ACMF Workforce Working Group members for their ongoing collaboration and input into the trajectory of this strategy. Their expertise has been invaluable in developing workforce development materials and informing our priorities moving forward.Aligned with the priorities of this strategy, ACMF released a curriculum-aligned case study focused on the Australian chicken meat industry for Stage 6 students. This resource supports educators in dispelling persistent myths about the industry and provides students with a thorough understanding of the vast array of roles available within the chicken meat sector. The resource was promoted across various educational networks and websites to support its uptake, particularly targeting school leavers as a key demographic for workforce entry.ACMF has also continued to actively engage with Jobs and Skills Australia throughout the year. JSA%u2019s Food Supply Chain Capacity Study aims to identify workforce requirements within the food supply chain to safeguard Australia%u2019s food security. ACMF%u2019s feedback has been instrumental in ensuring workforce needs are accurately captured and relayed to the government. Notably, JSA has committed to expanding the scope of their study to include the veterinary and biosecurity workforce, addressing concerns about meeting a surge in labour needs during emergency animal disease outbreaks.From these discussions on industry skill needs, we welcomed JSA%u2019s decision to include %u2018poultry farmers%u2019 on the draft core skills occupation list. ACMF%u2019s various submissions to JSA outlined the core skills required to maintain a reliable supply of Australia%u2019s favourite meat protein and the impact of industry skill shortages upon the broader economy and level of food security. JSA%u2019s recommendation to the Federal Government to recognise poultry farmers in its renewed migration and skilled visa programs is an extremely positive outcome in supporting industry%u2019s capacity to tap into the international talent pool amid nationwide skill shortages. Another core workforce initiative ACMF was actively involved in over the past year was the establishment of the first broiler chicken farming specific safety prize in Australia. ProTen, with the support of ACMF, launched an award program set to be delivered annually over the next three years, which will recognise excellence in on-farm safety initiatives. Alongside ProTen chief executive officer James Wentworth, ACMF deputy CEO, and member of the award%u2019s judging panel, Verity Price had the pleasure of presenting the inaugural award to Tasktrans at its headquarters in Victoria.. We are exciting to see another round of outstanding applications as we continue this award program next year. Food safety and security The topic of food security continues to be an important topic for our sector. ACMF%u2019s policy team provided feedback to the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee%u2019s inquiry into securing the Victorian food supply, looking specifically on the impact of urban sprawl on the state%u2019s food security. This inquiry provided an opportune platform to discuss the importance of a supportive policy framework to facilitate future growth and investment in our sector. The report%u2019s findings will help inform the Victorian Government%u2019s priorities on supporting the state%u2019s food industries. Within the realm of food safety, our industry demonstrated its ongoing commitment to antimicrobial stewardship in advocating for the deregistration of neomycin preparations for poultry, supporting the use of better alternatives and the need to safeguard public health through judicious antibiotic usage. While the final decision is expected in February 2025, we commend our members for their contributions to this decision-making process, demonstrating a commitment to public health and animal welfare.We also had the pleasure of working with the Food Safety Information Council in its campaign %u2018Look before you cook%u2019. In advocating the health benefits of chicken meat, it is equally important to us that we support initiatives that educate consumers on the safe preparations of foodstuffs. What was of particular interest to us was the survey findings from FSIC regarding the uptake in food label compliance among Australian consumers. This was extremely pleasing news as most foodborne illness comes from unsafe food preparation in the home kitchen. Looking ahead, we will continue supporting the Food Safety Information Council as the national food safety information disseminator and initiatives such as Food Safety Week, both of which are extremely valuable junctures of protecting Australian consumers from preventable illness.Beyond our focus on food safety and security, we also had the opportunity to showcase the impressive nutritional credentials of chicken meat to the NSW Health primary produce forum and the National Health and Medical Research Council. Both organisations were eager to support the nutritional health of priority groups, including older Australians, through an evidencedbased approach in developing dietary guidelines and public health programs. One of the many aspects of our industry that we are extremely proud to represent is the nutritional benefit of chicken meat. We will continue to collaborate with regulators, researchers and other organisations to further the positioning of our industry in providing a dietary staple of significant benefit to public health. Research and development Over the past year, our industry had many opportunities to engage with high-value research and development projects through our partnership with AgriFutures%u2019 Chicken Meat Program. We were extremely pleased to see such a strong focus on our key strategic priority areas of sustainability, biosecurity, health, welfare and food safety and are excited by the opportunities for commercial adaption. We also supported the chicken meat consortium%u2019s efforts as a program member, with ACMF deputy CEO Verity Price attending an industry forum in September to hear cutting-edge research on optimising gut health, welfare and sustainability.At the Evoke Ag conference in Perth in early 2024, we had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Dr McCarthy on her artificial intelligence algorithm that automatically weighs poultry flocks and identifies health concerns through camera monitoring. This has been well received by the industry, and we are eager to see the future prospects for commercialisation. ConclusionThe past year was a testament to the resilience and proactive spirit of the Australian chicken meat industry. Despite facing significant challenges, including HPAI outbreaks, the industry made remarkable strides in key priority areas such as biosecurity, sustainability, food safety, animal welfare and workforce development. While this review highlights many key initiatives and achievements, it is impossible to capture every effort and success in a single summary. We extend our gratitude to all stakeholders for their unwavering dedication and look forward to continuing our collaborative journey in supporting a prosperous and sustainable chicken meat industry. ACMFACMF hosted the National Avian Influenza Summit.fifffflffifl%u001aflffi%u0019%u0018fl%u0017%u0016%u2122%u0015ffl%u0014%u0013ffi%u0012%u0011%u2122fifffflffifl%u001a%u0019%u0018%u0017%u0016%u0015%u0017ffi%u001a%u0014%u0016%u0017ffl%u0013%u0012%u0011%u0013fflff%u0010%u0013%u000f%u001a%u000e%u001a%u0017ffi%u000cfflfl%u0018%u0017%u000bfflffi%u001a%u0018%u0009%u0008ffifl%u2122fifffflffifl%u001a%u0019ffl%u0018flflflfl%u0017flflfl%u0016ffl%u0015%u0019%u0014ffiffl%u0013fl%u0012%u0011%u0011%u0014ffffi%u0015fl%u0010fflffiffl%u000f%u000efl%u000cfl%u000b%u0014ff%u0013%u0015flflflflflflflfl%u0009%u0008%u0007%u0006fl%u0005%u0004%u0009fl%u0003%u0007%u0009flflflflflflflflflflflflfifffflffi%u0011%u0011%u0001fflffi%u0019ffl%u0013%u0081%u000effl%u0013%u0015%u0081%u008d%u0011%u0014%u008dfflff%u0007%u0018%u000ffflff%u000cffl%u001afififf%u001affl%u0018%u0008ff%u000b%u001aff%u000f%u0008%u001a%u0015ffiffffl%u001affl%u0006ffi%u001afififfffl%u000cff%u000f%u001a%u0006ffi%u0017%u0005%u001affl%u0006%u0013%u0019%u001a%u0019%u0016%u0010%u0010ffiflfi%u0018flfl%u0013ffi%u0008%u001aff%u0015%u0018%u0016ffl%u001aAustralian Chicken Meat Federation year in review* from P2ProTen and ACMF presented the Safety Smart Broiler Chicken Farming Award.