Page 6 - National Poultry Newspaper

Australian producers can
now apply for grants to drive
innovation and sustainability
AUSTRALIAN farm- ers, producers and manufacturers can now apply for finan- cial support from the Coles Nurture Fund to help them innovate and grow.
drive differentiation, sustainable practices, extend growing sea- sons and improve pro- ductivity.”
fence posts made from recycled soft plastic.
Coles has opened a new round of the Coles Nurture Fund to pro- vide grants of up to $500,000 for small and medium-sized busi- nesses to develop new products, technologies and processes.
Businesses with inno- vative ideas, fewer than 50 full-time employees and a turnover of less than $25 million in an- nual revenue are eligi- ble to apply.
National Farmers Federation chief ex- ecutive officer Tony Mahar said Australian farmers are among the most innovative in the world.
Coles chief executive officer Steven Cain en- couraged businesses to apply for financial sup- port in Round 9 of the Coles Nurture Fund.
“Each round of the Nurture Fund uncov- ers inspiring farm businesses pushing the boundaries when it comes to processes, technologies and val- ue-adding.
“At Coles, we want to win together with Australian producers by funding projects which drive innovation to inspire customers or improve sustainability on Aussie farms and production facilities,” Mr Cain said.
Previous Nurture Fund projects include Australia’s first quinoa processing plant, an automated indoor fa- cility that grows highly nutritious cattle fodder in just six days, and
“The Fund’s focus on sustainability and increased efficiencies is in direct alignment with the NFF’s vision to grow Australia’s overall farm gate out- put to $100 billion by 2030, up from $60 bil- lion today,” Mr Mahar said.
“Together we hope to
Since it was estab- lished in 2015, the Coles Nurture Fund has awarded more than $24 million in finan- cial support to over 60 Australian businesses to help them introduce ground-breaking tech- nology, improve sus- tainability, establish new products and drive productivity.
“For five years the Coles Nurture Fund has recognised and re- warded Aussie farm- ers who are leading the way in ingenuity and innovation.”
To apply for Round 9 of the Coles Nurture Fund, log onto coles. com.au/nurturefund
Applications close at 5pm AEST on Friday March 19, 2021.
2019 Gary Sansom Scholar Josh Angove with Julie Sansom.
Gary Sansom Scholarship aims to attract best and brightest to chicken meat industry
THE prestigious Gary Sansom Scholarship aims to uncover future chicken meat indus- try leaders and cham- pion important research working to boost the productivity and sustain- ability of chicken meat production.
chair and was the Austral- ian Chicken Meat Federa- tion president.
gove was the 2019 Gary Sansom Scholarship re- cipient.
Understanding and op- timising the maternal en- vironment is one potential methodology.
Applications for the 2021 Gary Sansom Schol- arship are now open.
AgriFutures Australia manager research Geor- gie Townsend said the scholarship supports Mr Sansom’s vision for the industry – to ensure it is valued and respected by all sectors of the Austral- ian community and to develop leadership in the research community.
His research project aims to understand wheth- er optimising breeder hen rearing environments can improve growth and carcass characteristics in the progeny they produce, while trying to understand the contributing physiol- ogy behind offspring per- formance variation.
The end goal of his re- search is to develop and apply an economically viable targeted approach that utilises the maternal environment to enhance commercial chicken meat production.
The Gary Sansom Scholarship identifies high quality students and, with the support of a gen- erous bursary, allows the successful candidate to foster a career pathway in the chicken meat industry and support their indus- try-relevant research.
“Gary was a long-stand- ing supporter of initiatives to encourage new people into the chicken meat in- dustry,” Ms Townsend said.
“Chicken meat produc- tion has experienced un- paralleled expansion glob- ally, primarily through genetic advances and improvements in our un- derstanding of bird nutri- tional requirements,” Mr Angove said.
“I encourage anyone interested in the chicken meat industry to apply for the scholarship,” Mr An- gove said.
The scholarship is named in honour of the late Gary Sansom.
“It’s important that the scholarship is awarded to someone who is passion- ate about the chicken meat industry and who wants the industry to thrive into the future.”
“To continue this ex- pansion the chicken meat industry requires new economically viable ap- proaches to propel the in- dustry into the future.”
“As a young scientist the networking from at- tending conferences, par- ticularly those the Gary Sansom Scholarship have afforded me, is invaluable.
Mr Sansom was a for- mer AgriFutures Chick- en Meat Advisory Panel
University of Adelaide PhD student Joshua An-
“Meeting industry and academic professionals has showcased opportuni- ties across the entire poul- try industry.”
GRIND YOUR OWN LITTER WITH THE MIGHTY GIANT
• Hydraulic tilt tub
• Single operator friendly with remote control
• 25FT swivel conveyor
• Grind a straw bale to 20mm in a minute or less • Built in the US with all parts available and in
stock in Australia.
“There is no machine like it on the market. It will grind bales as fast as you can load them!”
Contact Leigh Byron 0418 425 485 or leigh@valtonfeedingsolutions.com.au
www.valtonfeedingsolutions.com.au
Page 6 – National Poultry Newspaper, February 2021
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