Page 8 - National Poultry Newspaper

RFM Poultry invests in solar energy for Victorian farms
RURAL Funds Man- agement, as responsible entity for the contract chicken growing busi- ness RFM Poultry, is pleased to announce it has completed a solar in- stallation program on the four Victorian farms it operates.
The installation of so- lar infrastructure was a response to rising energy costs and to improve envi- ronmental sustainability.
The project continues the increased use of solar energy on farms managed by RFM.
The farms, located at Lethbridge near Geelong, are owned by the RFM- managed Rural Funds Group.
Each farm has five poultry sheds, with about
3000sq m floor area per shed.
The Lethbridge opera- tions contract grow chick- ens for Victoria’s largest chicken processor, Turi Foods.
Turi Foods supplies chickens to major and in- dependent supermarkets and well-known quick- service restaurants.
Completed in Decem- ber 2017, 100kW solar systems have been in- stalled on each of the four farms, with the total cost of the installation about $400,000.
The investment is fore- cast to generate a compet- itive return, with a portion of the benefits shared with Turi Foods.
The solar infrastructure across the four farms is
expected to generate 508,000kWh of electricity per annum, with roughly 400,000kWh consumed by the farms and a further 108,000kWh exported to the energy grid.
Much of the energy used on-farm is to main- tain bird comfort within the sheds, with electricity used for cooling in the hotter months.
RFM engaged the ser- vices of solar installation provider Solar Profes- sionals, based at Wagga Wagga in regional NSW, to install the systems.
RFM is also working with Solar Profession- als to investigate renew- able energy options on its NSW almond farms, including solar-powered irrigation pumps.
A number of RFF’s cat- tle properties already have solar infrastructure con- tributing to on-farm en- ergy supply.
RFM chief operating of- ficer Stuart Waight said the project was undertak- en both as a response to rising energy costs and in order to improve environ- mental sustainability.
“In recent years RFM Poultry has observed rapidly rising electricity costs,” he said.
“RFM undertook inves- tigations into a range of energy options and this included looking at re- newable energy.”
“Ongoing improvements to solar technology, poten- tial savings and revenue from grid feed-in tariffs and more certainty sur-
rounding government policy and incentives led RFM to select solar as the most suitable option.”
As part of the installa- tion program, RFM has access to a digital dash- board linked to the solar panels.
“The dashboard assists RFM to monitor the pro- duction and consumption of the solar energy in real time from RFM’s corpo- rate office in Canberra, assisting us to maximise the performance of the system,” Mr Waight said.
According to Solar Professionals manag- ing director Andrew Meurant, the installation was a significant project that will help RFM im- prove sustainability on the farms.
“The huge rooftop PV array designed and deliv- ered by Solar Profession- als at RFM’s Lethbridge facility consists of 1440 275W Trina solar pan- els and 16 25kW SMA inverters,” Mr Meurant said.
“With a combined ca- pacity of 396kW and an average yearly electric- ity generation capacity of over 500,000kWh, the so- lar system will contribute about a third of the annual power needs of the poul- try farms.
“RFM should be com- mended for a common- sense approach to the fi- nancial and environmen- tal benefits of solar ener- gy and Solar Professionals was pleased to assist in achieving the objectives.”
About RFM Poultry
RFP is one of Australia’s largest contract chicken growers, producing about 30 million chickens every year.
The chicken growing fa- cilities that RFP operates are situated in Griffith, NSW and Lethbridge, Victoria.
These facilities are leased from the Rural Funds Group, a listed en- tity that owns a suite of agricultural assets includ- ing poultry farms, almond orchards, vineyards, mac- adamia orchards, cattle and cotton assets.
All chicken production is backed by long-term grower contracts with two large processors.
RFM is the responsible entity of RFP.
Mr Ric Clark with mentee Ms Mary Retallack.
IN what has been de- scribed as a ‘watershed moment’, 11 leading agricultural bodies have pledged to ensure more women take on leader- ship roles within their organisations.
AgriFutures Australia and 10 other leading bod- ies within the agricultural sector have pledged a commitment to support women in agriculture develop their leadership skills and take on posi- tions of influence.
The pledges are part of
the Diversity in Agricul- ture Leadership Program, led by the National Farm- ers’ Federation.
NFF president Fiona Simson said it’s a water- shed moment for agricul- ture.
“It is an extremely pow- erful message delivered
by these leading bodies within our industry,” she said.
“Government, agribusi- ness and farm representa- tion bodies have made it clear: no longer are po- sitions of influence and leadership in agriculture only the domain of men.”
The pledges deliver powerful messages and can be found on the Aus- tralian Farmers website. AgriFutures Australia’s pledge
Currently at AgriFu- tures Australia:
• 42 percent of Board members are women;
• 50 percent of leader- ship team are women; and • 30 percent of Agri- Futures’ Advisory Panel
members are women.
The AgriFutures pledge is to support women in agriculture develop their leadership skills, experi- ence and confidence and to work with industry partners to facilitate their smooth transition into leadership roles including membership on AgriFu- tures Australia Advisory
Panels.
AgriFutures Australia
managing director John Harvey said the organi-
sation is committed to improving gender diver- sity and said this goes be- yond encouraging flexible working arrangements and building awareness about the issue.
“We are taking practi- cal steps to ensure more women take on leadership roles and positions of in- fluence,” he said.
“The Diversity in Ag- riculture Leadership Program is an excellent practical step and we are proud to be involved as partners.
“Eight inspiring fe- male leaders have been matched with mentors who will discuss their leadership goals and help guide them on their lead- ership journey.”
One of the mentors is AgriFutures Australia Board member Mr Ric Clark.
He has been matched with mentee Ms Mary Retallack who is a viti- culturist and the manag- ing director of Retallack Viticulture.
“The agricultural sector has a wealth of untapped talent and I’m honoured to be able to contribute to making meaningful
change towards increas- ing gender diversity,” Mr Clark said.
“It was a privilege to meet the eight women se- lected as mentees and to spend the day with them at Parliament House, cele- brating the official launch of the program.
“All the mentees are highly accomplished lead- ers in the agricultural sec- tor and I look forward to helping my mentee take these skills to the next level.”
Mary Retallack, who was also the 2012 Rural Women’s Award winner, said she is looking for- ward to working with Mr Clark in the one-on-one mentoring program.
“I am looking forward to working with Ric through- out the mentoring pro- gram to reflect, set goals, fine-tune my skills and identify leadership oppor- tunities in agribusiness, advocacy, philanthropy, science and international development,” she said.
“It is a tailored profes- sional development op- portunity, and the next ex- citing step in my career.”
Partners involved in the Diversity in Agriculture Leadership Program have committed to continually measure their progress towards increased gender diversity.
www.agrifutures.com. au
Pledge to support women in ag take on leadership roles
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Page 8 – National Poultry Newspaper, June 2018
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