Devondaler-March-2015

More documents

Recommendations

Info

WHAT ’ S ON YOUR MIND AT CALVING TIME? Think Calf scours Think ROTAVEC Calving time is one of the busiest times of the year. Calf scours can impact your business in so many ways today and tomorrow. • Extra stress, labour and cost in treatment and control • Fewer replacement heifers and adverse fertility outcomes • Lowered growth and production performance • Fewer eligible animals for live export Vaccinate your herd prior to calving with ROTAVEC CORONA, the BROADEST SPECTRUM # calf scours vaccine containing Rotavirus, Coronavirus, E.coli and Clostridium perfringens (Types C and D). TOLL FREE 1800 226 511 www.coopersanimalhealth.com.au # Broadest spectrum refers to total number of antigen types in Rotavec Corona. ® Registered trademark. AU/GUA/0115/0004
DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN MARCH <strong>2015</strong> 9 Co-op celebrates 65th anniversary DEVONDALE Murray Goulburn passed another landmark last month as the co-operative celebrated its 65th anniversary. MG was registered as the Murray Valley Co-Operative Dairy Products and Trading Company on 20 February 1950 and was opened for business in May 1951. The co-operative is now the largest dairy company in Australia and processes 37 per cent of the country’s milk. Yet it could have all been so different if it hadn’t been for one vote at a meeting held early in 1949 at Strathmerton, 15 minutes west of Cobram along the Murray Valley Highway. The interim board of the new dairy co-operative had recommended Cobram as the site for the dairy factory and put it to a vote at the Strathmerton meeting. There had been a strong push by a large group of farmers who wanted a new dairy factory built at Strathmerton while there was also support for it to be built at Katunga. In the end, one vote decided that Cobram should be the site. And that one vote created a split within the local dairy community with those who lost the vote supporting a later successful bid by Kraft to build a factory at Strathmerton. The story of Murray Goulburn began as early as 1942 when the possibility of establishing a dairy co-operative was discussed by the Cobram Progress Association. But it really gained strength with the development of the Soldier Settlement Scheme in the district following the Second World War. Returned serviceman, many of whom had never seen a farm, had become pioneer dairy farmers and were concerned that they were not getting the proper return for their efforts from local proprietary dairy companies. On 18 May 1949 the Murray Valley Soldier Settlers League called a meeting at Katunga to gauge public interest in the establishment of a new co-operative dairy factory. The support was unanimous and an interim committee was formed and empowered to find out all the necessary details required to establish a new dairy factory. Managing Director, Jack McGuire, was a key player in the expansion and growth of the Murray Goulburn Co- Operative. And it was this committee that recommended Cobram as the site for the plant, mainly because the size of the town would make it easier to recruit workers and its proximity to the Murray River for water and red gum logs to fire the boiler. It was 20 February 1950 that the co-operative was registered and from that point on, every effort was put into building the factory. There were substantial delays in construction with a lack of materials being the major disruption to work. The delays proved costly as it was expected the new factory would be up and running by mid to late 1950. But it was May 1951 before the first milk arrived. And on that first day, milk was collected from only 14 suppliers and it was not enough to turn on the equipment. The following day, when more milk arrived, the making of cheese could begin and then more farmers began sending milk as their cows calved. Early financial issues hit the fledgling co-operative and within months of it opening the factory was broke, unable to pay its farmers nor the firms who provided the equipment. The directors went cap-inhand to the ANZ bank which agreed to provide a loan to pay the bills which the directors virtually guaranteed. The arrival of legendary managing director, Jack McGuire, in April 1952 was the making of the co-operative. It was McGuire who drove the company. He knew how every piece of equipment operated and virtually lived at the factory to ensure everything was in working order. When not at the factory, he personally recruited new suppliers, further strengthening to new co-op. It was Jack McGuire who drove the mergers and acquisitions of smaller neighbouring factories and then led the drive into merging and buying dairy factories all over Victoria and southern New South Wales. Over its 65 years, the co-operative played a key leadership role in Australian dairying with the use of innovative technology both on-farm and in the factories. MG also remains the benchmark for milk payments to farmers. It has grown from a small band of dairy pioneers in the Cobram region to now include farmers throughout Victoria, the north western region of Tasmania, South Australia and an ever-expanding spread into New South Wales.
Page 1 and 2: Volume 30 Number 3 Issue No. 349 Ma
Page 3 and 4: DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN MARCH 201
Page 7: DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN MARCH 201

Devondaler-March-2015

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?