By DANNY BUTTLER
A WORLD-class feed mill was officially opened in Pakenham yesterday.
The $12.8 million mill at Ridley AgriProducts’ Bald Hill Road plant is seen as a major investment in the future of the region’s agriculture, offering feed security for the dairy industry in particular.
In launching the facility, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Peter Walsh said providing grain and pellets for stock was essential to Gippsland’s ability to service the massively growing Asian food market.
“By 2030, there will be another 730 more people in the Asian middle class,” he said.
Providing dairy and meat products to this growing market would be a key to the long-term success of the Victorian farming sector, the Minister said.
Ridley AgriProducts director Andrew Vizard said the multi-million dollar mill was a vote of confidence in the region’s agricultural future.
“This is the first new mill by Ridley in over 10 years,” he said.
“It is a real statement of belief in the Gippsland dairy industry.”
The mill will produce more than 180,000 tonnes of feed, including a combination of steam conditioned pellets, cracked grain and protein meal feeds for dairy and beef cattle, as well as sheep.
“The additional 180,000 tonnes of feed this new mill will produce for the Gippsland and wider region will allow livestock businesses to expand further and better secure feed supply.”
“This multi-million investment in Victoria’s food and fibre sector makes a significant positive statement about the industry’s future.”
The entire Ridley’s plant at Pakenham employs around 130 people.
