Due to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, APL has made the tough decision to postpone the Australian ham and bacon advertising trial. The trial commenced in Adelaide in February to raise awareness that the majority of ham and bacon is made from imported pork and this message remains important. However, it would have been lost in the current climate, especially as consumers are not behaving or shopping as they normally would, which would affect the trial as we tried to monitor results. We …

Online consultations have begun this week for the National Farmers Federation’s Australian Farm Biodiversity Certification Scheme Trial. The first forum, held yesterday for Western Australia, included 30 participants from farmers to academic, agricultural and natural resource management organisation’s representatives. The impacts of COVID-19 are being widely felt across all agricultural activities and farm groups, and the scheme trial consultative process has not been immune,” NFF CEO Tony Mahar said. “Face to face meetings have been cancelled and online forums and webinars are being …

More moisture infused pork products are now on shelves, to help people serve up perfect pork. Mouth-watering ginger maple steak, cooked from moisture-infused product Retailers have added new moisture-infused pork products to their in-store ranges, with an aim of improving eating quality. General Manager of Marketing, Peter Haydon, said he expected some consumer questions about the new products and it was a good opportunity to talk about great-tasting Australian pork. “Savvy consumers will notice the new products on supermarket shelves,” Mr Haydon said. “The moisture …

Ms Lauren Dimmack, Health and Welfare Scientist from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board held a webinar on 16 March 2020 to provide producers with a European ASF update, focusing on key lessons learnt from FMD including particular aspects of destruction, disposal and decontamination and how this has informed ASF preparedness and planning in the UK. Access the recording in the membership portal

The 2020 Australian Pork Industry Leadership Program has unfortunately been cancelled. With COVID-19 affecting all travel for an undefined period of time, there are no guarantees around domestic and international travel. An essential part of the program is the trip to Denmark (usually in October). Even if travel restrictions have lifted by then, quarantine periods upon entry into Europe or upon return to Australia may make the length of time away from work unreasonable to the chosen participants, and there is, of …

NSW Farmers’ Pork Annual meeting and industry forum which was scheduled for Wednesday, 8 April 2020 at the Carriage House Motor Inn, Wagga Wagga NSW, will be postponed until further notice. NSW Farmers takes the health and safety of its members and industry associates seriously, and at this time has decided to postpone this event. Further information: Jennifer Shillabeer, NSW farmers 02 9478 1085shillabeerj@nswfarmers.org.au

VFF have advised that the ‘ASF – are you ready’ workshop and dinner scheduled for Tuesday 17th March in Bendigo will be POSTPONED and rescheduled for a later date as a result of the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. As an industry that understands the importance of good biosecurity practices to protect our animals, families, employees and ultimately our businesses, we have an obligation to reduce the risk of anything that may impact on these areas. The VFF have been monitoring the Government’s advice, including …