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August, 2021
Kiel Industries business developer Peter Ceeney said the program provides the opportunity for the Morwell-based company to tackle the challenges it faces in the creation of new products. photograph tom gannon
MAGNIFICENT SEVEN By TOM GANNON
SEVEN food and fibre projects across Gippsland will welcome a major boost as part of the ‘What’s Your Food or Fibre Challenge, Gippsland?’ initiative. The initiative is being delivered by Federation University and Food & Fibre Gippsland with partnership and support provided by Regional Development Victoria, Food Agility CRC, Food Innovation Australia Limited, Latrobe Valley Authority, TAFE Gippsland and the Committee for Gippsland. Launched in March, the initiative will help bring innovative ideas across Gippsland to fruition through research and industry expert support. The initiative invited businesses in the
local food and fibre sector to pitch solving the challenges they face could grow their business and the industry as a whole. Successful applicants include Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, Bulmer Farms, Kiel Industries, Ingram Wild Caught Fisheries, Gurneys Cider, South Gippsland Dairy and Gippsland Jersey. These organisations will receive comprehensive research and innovation support, funding and collaboration from experts and leaders in academia, business, science and the food and fibre industry. The outcomes of each project has the potential to transform food and fibre in Gippsland by creating new possibilities for the industry. Lakes Entrance’s Gippsland Jersey
co-founder Sallie Jones told Gippsland Farmer that the business’s inclusion in the program will help facilitate the expansion of infrastructure as the business continues to grow. “Our little milk brand is getting bigger by the day and is growing at a pace that we will need a bigger factory within the next two years,” she said. Gippsland Jersey are working to develop a feasibility study into the creation of the ‘dairy factory of the future’, a centrally located, all-inclusive dairy manufacturing plant for Gippsland Jersey that will enable supply chain efficiencies. Ms Jones believes the program will go a long way in helping the business overcome the challenges it faces.
“There’s so much to address, analyse and table before we even think about milk going into bottles - and being part of this challenge is going to give us access to a range of expertise that we’re hoping can help our expansion dream get one step closer to reality,” she said. She also highlighted the importance of programs such as this to facilitate growth within Gippsland’s food and fibre industry, which according to the 2019 KPMG report ‘Accelerating growth for the Gippsland food and fibre industry’ contributes $7 billion worth of Gippsland’s $116 billion gross regional product. Continued on page 4
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