Congratulations to the two winners of the national 2020 Farm Biosecurity Producer of the Year Award announced in March, Seafarms Group Ltd and Templeton Farming Enterprises.
The awards are a category of the Australian Biosecurity Awards, which were presented at the ABARES Conference dinner on 3 March.
The Seafarms Group, with a head office in Perth and operations in various locations, is Australia’s largest producer of farmed prawns, sold under the Crystal Bay Prawns brand. Seafarms has actively developed a culture of biosecurity responsibility across its business.
Under its operational biosecurity plan, biosecurity controls are in place for all farm inputs, including stock, people, water, environment, feed and equipment. All staff are trained in biosecurity and Seafarms Group has strict controls in place from the moment anyone enters a company site.
The company has also supported improvements in the understanding and management of significant aquatic pests in Australia. This includes the development of an on-farm laboratory to enable fast turnaround of microbiological pathogen surveillance.
Queensland company, Templeton Farming Enterprises, is a family company that has been growing ginger since the 1940s. Templeton Ginger is now Australia’s largest ginger producer.
Directors John, Shane and Kylie Templeton have a strong focus on implementing biosecurity practices to ensure the longevity, economic viability and integrity of their business and the industry as a whole.
The company has an end-to-end biosecurity approach that helps manage biosecurity risks from purchasing farm inputs, through to processing and packaging of goods.
All staff at Templeton Ginger undertake biosecurity training and continually assess on-farm biosecurity risks, allowing the company to mitigate any new and emerging biosecurity threats.
All farm inputs are assessed for biosecurity risks before purchase and delivery. Strict biosecurity measures are also in place on the farm for the entry and movement of people, vehicles and equipment, as well as packaging, processing and storage of goods.
This is an edited version of an article that appeared on farmbiosecurity.com.au. You can read the full article here.