National Poultry Newspaper

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NATIONAL
Vol 3. No. 9 September 2020 National Poultry Newspaper PO Box 162 Wynnum 4178 Phone (07) 3286 1833 Email ben@collins.media
ACCC Inquiry into farmer treatment
work incredibly hard to grow the fresh and afford- able food we all take for granted.
New precision poultry facility and Poultry Hub programs
POULTRY Hub Aus- tralia is proud to an- nounce the opening of a new high-tech re- search facility at the University of New England.
ing and undergraduate programs.
by TAMSYN CROWLEY Director
This facility is the first of its kind and was made possible with the financial help of both PHA and Feedworks.
Finally, we will soon be opening registrations for a workshop titled “Meet the Media” – an oppor- tunity for discussion with journalists from televi- sion, radio and newspa- per, moderated by Sci- ence in Public.
For further details on PHA programs head to our website poultryhub. org/pha-program
The poultry facility is fitted out with a pre- cision feeding robot, affectionately named “Dorothy”, able to de- liver precision diets that can be specifically tai- lored for every day of a broiler’s life cycle.
tionships between re- search institutions and industry are essential to facilitate impact-driven research that can be adopted by the sector.
ceiving applications that are targeted, scientifi- cally sound and will ul- timately have impact for our wonderful industry.
Find out what makes poultry science news, and how to ensure your message is reported ac- curately.
This high-tech ap- proach is currently be- ing evaluated through a number of research tri- als that have been fund- ed by PHA.
We are excited to have Feedworks, which is extremely supportive of research, as an industry partner.
In addition, we have opened a number of other funding opportu- nities in research train-
If you are interested, contact us at poultry hub@une.edu.au
We look forward to sharing the results of these trials, once the sci- entific evaluations are complete.
We look forward to future collaborations and facilitating addi- tional services that will benefit both researchers and industry across the country.
The facility also hosts an automatic drinker line that enables water intake measurements – a fantastic tool that can be used in conjunction with Dorothy to un- derstand exactly what chickens are eating and drinking.
To find out more about the impact and ration- ale for this fantastic partnership, check out our video at the PHA website poultryhub.org/ new-precision-poultry- facility
These types of rela-
We look forward to re-
We have recently opened our second call for research funding.
New Precision Poultry Facility located at the University of New England in Armidale, NSW.
Dorothy the precision feed robot.
THE Nationals have re- “Australian farmers take raise concerns and share cently secured an his- considerable risks and their own experiences in
toric inquiry by the Aus- tralian Competition and Consumer Commission into the domestic fresh food and dairy supply chain, from the farm gate through to the retailer, including examining the treatment of farmers in the marketplace.
“But there are concerns that once farm produce is harvested or processed and sent off to market, producers have little bar- gaining power and are at the mercy of the power- ful supermarkets when it comes to the price they are paid.
the domestic marketplace. “I strongly encourage farmers and other busi- nesses across the supply chain to take this oppor- tunity, while it’s available, and contribute to this im-
Minister for Agriculture and Deputy Leader of the Nationals David Lit- tleproud said the govern- ment had secured a three- month ACCC independ- ent inquiry into the sup- ply chain for fresh foods such as meat – beef, lamb, pork, chicken – eggs, sea- food, fruit and vegetables.
have the right policies in place – but to do that, we need industry to speak up and tell us what’s really going on.
Critically, this inquiry will examine whether the new Dairy Code should be extended across the en- tire domestic supply chain to include retailers.
“Unfortunately, not all interactions between farmers and the major su- permarkets are conducted fairly and in good faith, and there are bargaining imbalances and other seri- ous issues that need to be looked at.
“Importantly, the ACCC has guaranteed that the in- quiry will accept confiden- tial submissions, so farm- ers can provide evidence of harmful practices without fear of punishment and retribution by major super- markets.
“The Nationals fought hard to deliver this impor- tant inquiry in response to long-held concerns about bargaining imbalances that currently exist and the misuse, and in some cases the abuse, of this power by some sections of the fresh food supply chain.
“Instead, it will identify problems and recommend policy options – including a possible all-encompassing Agricultural Code – if ap- propriate,” Minister Little- proud said.
“We saw this in 2019 when Coles had to pay over $5 million to Norco dairy farmers after it was found it had not passed on the full amount of a milk price rise, despite claim- ing to do so in a market- ing campaign,” Minister Littleproud said.
“This inquiry is not de- signed to regulate food prices.
This inquiry will pro- vide Australian farmers across all food producing sectors with an opportu- nity to submit evidence,
The ACCC commenced its inquiry on August 31 and will report to the gov- ernment by November 30, 2020.
portant inquiry.
“We want to ensure we
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