Australian Government about to fall?

It's hard to imagine any government in a democracy beating itself into death – but that seems to be the course embarked upon by the Liberal National Party coalition Government in Australia.

Totally insensative comments by Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Aboriginal issues, ageing Australian taxpayetrs and refugees fleeing from worn-torn countries (even though the violence has been a result of intervention by Australian Government troops) Has led to a high level of opposition to the current Australian Government,

There have been many comparisons between the beliefs and actions of the current liberal Prime Minster and the revered Malcolm Fraser . There is little doubt that the Liberal Party founder, Sir Robert Menzies will be turning in his grave  that his party has turned its back on Liberal philosophies.

Chinese buying dairy farms

Residents of Kernot in South Gippsland are concerned at the scale of dairy farm acquisions by Chinese interests. A public meeting has been called for Thursdsay night over plans for a major lot feeding dairy operation being set up and a bottling plant built to send 100,000 litres of milk per day to China.

　

Dairy investment in Australia was the focus of a $3 billion Chinese agricultural fund, announced last September.

Australia's Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb revealed the deal.

Called the Beijing Australia Agricultural Resource Cooperative Development Fund it is jointly initiated by the Beijing Agricultural Investment Fund and Yuhu Agriculture Investment Pty Ltd.

Whole milk isn't the only target, the fund is also focussing on investing in dried milk, beef, lamb, seafood and other agriculture products.

The fund will supply Australian agriculture products and services to the people of China.

Beijing Agricultural Investment Fund was founded in September 2009 and was the first professional investment fund in the agricultural industry in China.

It was initiated by state-owned Beijing Capital Group.

It owns and manages 25,000 premium cattle in five farms around China and supplies milk to the leading Chinese dairy manufacturing and distribution companies

Ningbo Dairy, which runs 20,000 cows on 30 farms in China’s coastal Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai, has already spent more than $15 million buying and improving three farms in South Gippsland. It has further well-advanced plans — and cash — to buy more farms in Gippsland and northern NSW, to increase its herd from 550 to 2500 cows and to build its own $6 million fresh milk processing plant on its 280ha Glenview Farm at Kernot. Bass Coast Shire Council is believed to approved the planning application.

'Free Range' definition may become clear

The egg industry is looking forward to a decision by Ministers for Fair Trading which clearly defines 'free range' production. It was expected that the Ministers would meet in April - but there are some indications that the meeting may be delayed following lobbying by commecial interests.  Recent decisions by the Federal Court, as a result of action by the ACCC,  have established a basic principle defining free range egg production - that the hens must be allowed to range freely on most days. But the issue of labelling is about more than just animal welfare. The industry is keen to see a clear and formal definition based on the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of animals, Domestic Poultry and including land sustainability measures.

A review of the Code is long overdue. When the current version was approved by the Primary Industries Ministerial Council and printed in 2002, it was scheduled for review in 2010. It was a development of an earlier version of the Model Code. Now that a review is being undertaken, it is essential for the free range sector of the egg industry to ensure that plans are not successful for intensive production standards to be adopted in place of the extensive requirements of the current code.

There has no science behind the free range stocking density proposals put forward by corporate producers and some bureacrats and there has been no scientific review of production processes to demonstrate that the standards contained within the current Model Code are no longer applicable to the industry.

The stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare for free range hens was developed by applying well established principles of agronomy. The issue of the upper limit on the long term stocking rate was debated strongly at the time, following pressure from local Councils and the EPA about how some farms were operating.

The experience of people who had farmed free range layers in the 1950’s and 60's, when egg production was based on free range hens often run under citrus trees, was that for an operation to be sustainable, the stocking rate had to be low - less than 300 birds/acre (750/hectare). It was agreed that system should be regarded as Free Range egg production and the hens were to have access to the range during daylight hours. There was some dispute by new entrants to the industry who believed that they could design pasture rotation systems around their sheds that would allow higher rates.

So it was decided to take an empirical approach and work out what the maximum stocking rate could be to avoid the measurable negative impacts of nutrient run off and soil degradation and still be theortically possible to maintain pasture cover and avoid the issue of dust.

Some argued that as most hens were in sheds at night and may be locked in for part of the day so that only a portion of the hens actually entered the range area, the impact is lessened.

The dairy industry was very big at that time and local agronomists had data on the effects of applying very high rates of poultry manure on irrigated pasture. The agronomists studied the data on the maximum nutrient uptake a well maintained irrigated pasture could support and also avoid the problems of salinity build up observed in the dairy pastures. The stocking rate was calculated and a stocking density of up to 600 birds/acre (1500/hectare) was regarded as the maximum possible for long term sustainability.

At the time the Code was approved, it was accepted that to maintain consumer credibility, visitors or passers-by had to see the birds out and about on the range. It was also accepted that there is no valid animal management need to lock in the layers in the morning or during inclement weather.

Those currently involved in free range egg production agree that the fundamental elements of the Model Code, or other regulations introduced by Governments must be:

• a maximum stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare;
  
• stocking density must be reduced in conditions where pasture or other vegetative cover cannot be maintained at the maximum stocking density;
  
• no beak trimming of hens is permitted except when other methods of controlling outbreaks of severe feather pecking or cannibalism have been tried and failed (using the same criteria in the current Model Code); and
  
• pullets must be allowed to range freely once they are fully feathered (about six weeks old).