Western Victorian meatworks including Midfield Meat and Colac’s Australian Lamb Company are likely to know by July 25 whether the Australian Meat Processor Corporation (AMPC) will support a proposal to expedite the introduction of DEXA objective carcase measurement technology at meatworks.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
AMPC chief executive Peter Rizzo, formerly of Hamilton, told The Standard he expected his research and development body would make a decision at its next board meeting on July 25 on whether it would contribute to the estimated $150 million cost of introducing the DEXA technology at 87 AUS-MEAT accredited meatworks throughout Australia.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) has said it would contribute $37.5 million to the cost of implementing DEXA and has asked the AMPC to also contribute $37.5 million.
The combined $75 million industry contribution would attract a matching $75 million from government to meet the $150 million implementation cost.
MLA has called for the implementation of DEXA (Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry) technology to be expedited in meatworks because the feedback from the objective carcase measurement technology offers producers opportunities of greater returns by producing more consistent “in specification” product.
“It (DEXA) will give an estimate of the lean meat kill,” Mr Rizzo said.
“It will provide better feedback than carcase weight.
“This technology will hopefully lead to greater yield off the carcase,” Mr Rizzo said.
But he said the $37.5 million requested by the MLA was a “huge” amount of money for the AMPC and represented about two years of the annual levies collected from meat processors.
He said if the AMPC did decide to contribute, it would have to adjust the funding from other research projects and activities it already had underway.
Mr Rizzo said the AMPC wanted to make sure any investment by it in DEXA would provide value for money before it made a decision to contribute.
He said more needed to be known about how DEXA might contribute to more objective carcase measurement (OCM) and more automation in boning rooms.
It was also in discussion with the MLA on alternative funding models to collect the $150 million that might not require a $37.5 million contribution from the AMPC, he said.
“We are trying to figure out what we can afford,” Mr Rizzo said.
He said if the $150 million DEXA implementation plan was implemented, he expected it would take about three years to roll out.
