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While dairy farmers can improve farm efficiency, the most impact on farm profitability is manufacturing efficiency and value adding – this ensures that Australia continues to produce a wide range of high quality and innovative dairy products. In turn, this promotes higher consumption of dairy and improves the use of and demand for milk.
Our Value Chain Innovation business group invests in a wide range of activities that focus on adding value to milk after it leaves the farmgate.
It works closely with national and international R&D providers and Australian industry centres, dairy manufacturing and processing companies, universities and research organisations, including CSIRO and Food Science Australia (FSA).
The group takes a holistic view of industry development. It works to develop product markets and to extend existing market access opportunities, for both manufacturers and farmers. It works along the supply chain with a clear focus on competitiveness and new opportunities. The group co-ordinates industry efforts to meet current and projected capability needs, working with industry centres and in collaborations across organisations to develop pioneering R&D.
Value Chain Innovation provides Dairy Australia with access to international co-operation, consortia and collaborations in pre-competitive R&D. It conducts due diligence on emerging technologies and commercial opportunities.
Investment has been reduced for this business group largely due to a consolidation of funding devoted to the new dairy innovation centre and the expectation that the centre’s success will enable it to attract co-funding from industry, thereby achieving industry outcomes with less net investment from Dairy Australia.
Joining Dairy Australia and the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation in this initiative are Murray Goulburn, Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory, and Tatura Milk Industries Limited, Dairy Farmers, Bega Cheese, National Foods, and parmalat will invest in particular services.
The dairy innovation centre will encourage a culture of collaboration, co-operation, and open innovation between research organisations and dairy companies. This will ensure it is commercially focused and connects with other organisations to develop products for the future. Opening its doors in January 2007, the centre will focus on innovation to improve the health and safety of dairy products, develop new dairy products, and the reliable production of starter cultures for higher value products such as cheese.
The Value Chain Innovation group will continue to invest in manufacturing innovation but with a stronger commercial focus through funding arrangements that are much more closely aligned to defined outcomes.
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Manufacturing
