AFTER nearly 40 years in the pork industry, Leon DeGroot has seen more than his share of good times and bad times.
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The Gunnedah pork producer told the NVI he has adapted his business to suit the “good, bad and ugly” times and said recent years are some of the toughest he has seen.
“2017 is the year the pig industry got hit with a sledgehammer and didn’t know where it came from,” Mr DeGroot said.
“Two years ago we went from having record high prices to having record low prices in 2017.
“It makes you wonder how much longer a lot of pig farmers can continue to operate when they are not just making a loss but are consistently running at a considerable loss.”
Mr DeGroot said “diversification” was a must for modern pork producers.
“You need to have a variety of different revenue sources,” he said.
“For us hay sales are a major source of revenue and you need that because between the current pork market and other expensive factors such as transport it’s really difficult to make a profit purely from pigs.”
The Gunnedah pig farmer said he would seek out new investment opportunities in 2018.
“I feel a major goal for us this year would be to find an investment partner,” he said.
“There is great potential for an investor to come on board but at the moment it’s difficult for us to find the time to get organised and set about finding an investor.”
Leon’s Pork production manager Melinda DeGroot said the support of local butchers was vital to their business.
“Our local butchers have done an amazing job supporting us for so long,” Mrs DeGroot said.
“They have been a constant for us throughout our business and we honestly can’t thank them enough.”
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Mr DeGroot said Leon’s Pork would continue to “fight on” in 2018.
“People hear that you’re scaling back and think that you’re not going to last much longer,” Mr DeGroot said.
“That’s not the case at all, we will continue to work hard and produce a quality local product.”
A recent independent report compiled by economic consultancy group ACIL Allen highlighted the significant contribution the pork industry made on the Australian economy in 2015-16.
The report stated that the Australian pork industry contributed more than $5.2 billion to Australia’s GDP.
A contribution that Australian Pork Limited Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Spencer, says demonstrates just how valuable the Australian pig industry is in generating economic activity for Australia and our regional communities.
“This report demonstrates the significance of the pork industry as a major generator of commercial activity, supporter of employment, and contributor to Australian household incomes,” Mr Spencer said
