TOOWOOMBA-based specialist beef supply chain, Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Co, earned two gold medals at the 2015 Australian Organic Awards.

Arcadian was awarded for ‘Best Organic Food Product’ for its new Paleo beef sausage, marketed under its domestic supermarket-focussed Cleaver’s brand, as well as a second award for ‘Export Market Leader’ across all Organic food and grocery segments.

The organic food sector is one of the fastest growing categories in Australia, with a current estimated value of $1.72 billion per annum. Australian organic food exports alone are now worth $340 million.

With so much opportunity at home and overseas, Arcadian says it is staying focused on developing new and innovative products.

Chief operating officer and head of the Cleaver’s business, Mick Dorahy, said the Cleaver’s brand Paleo beef sausages had only been on supermakret shelves since July of this year.

Australian Certified Organic chairman Dr Andrew Monk, left, and CEO Paul Stadham, right, congratulate staff from Arcadian’s Gosford retail packing plant – GM Ron Waterhouse, QA manager Rentia Morgan, and COO Mick Dorahy. Click on image for a larger view.

“Its market success, so soon after launch, has lead us to develop a family of other Paleo products to offer alongside this award-winning beef sausage,” he said.

“Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy about the quality of their diet and their desire to source quality organic products. The awards help to validate how important it is to maintain the high standards of our Organics industry, and continually innovate in the development of new products to meet the needs of our customers,” Mr Dorahy said.

On receiving the Export Market Leader award, Arcadian Organic chief executive Alister Ferguson said the company had worked particularly hard to build its export business.

“More than 75 percent of our product is exported and we continue to drive new opportunities across Asia and the United States,” he said. We feel excited about the growth of our business through increasing overseas demand for quality organic Australian beef and lamb,” Mr Ferguson said.

Arcadian Organic & Natural Meat Co claims to be Australia’s leading supplier of certified organic and natural meat.

Charleville to host Organic producer development forum

Meanwhile, in other Organic segment news, supply chain OBE Organic Cattle and industry partners are taking a new approach to skills development with the launch of a continual professional development program in Charleville in March next year.

The 2.5-day program from 9-11 March will include the second OBE Organic Grazing BMP Forum, as well as practical professional development training in two areas that have been identified as needed by many producers – succession planning and occupational health & safety.

The program is part of OBE Organic’s work to improve producers’ profitability as it seeks to attract more of Australia’s best organic producers to meet booming global demand for Organic beef.

“OBE Organic is known for building long-term partnerships with producers who are serious about organics, want to be as profitable as they can, and plan to build multi-generational businesses,” said OBE Organic general manager Dalene Wray.

“Our continuous professional development partnership with Grazing BMP is a powerful way to build the long-term profitability of our producers, and reliably demonstrate our performance to consumers who are increasingly wanting more information on the provenance of their food,” she said.

“It also benefits OBE Organic because while we need a lot more cattle to meet demand, we have a 20-year reputation to protect. This program is entirely voluntary so it appeals to good producers who want to be better, and that’s who we want to be partnering with,” Ms Wray said.

The Charleville events are open to organic and conventional producers and will comprise:

• Building a Multi-Generational Business workshop, focusing on the foundations of good planning (in partnership with Pastoral Profit). Cost: $40/enterprise.
• OBE Organic Grazing BMP Forum with organic beef updates, biosecurity information, and self-assessments against three Grazing BMP modules (Animal Production, Land Management and Soil Health). Cost: free.
• Getting Serious About Farm Safety workshop, with templates & follow-up sessions for producers to create a safety management system in their own time. Cost: free.

Producers can attend one, two, or all three days.

OBE Organic plans to continue running the program of tailored training, Grazing BMP self-assessments and organic information every six months in different locations to continually improve the skills and profitability of beef producers. Between six-monthly events, webinars and other refresher courses are being planned to ensure producers who attend training sessions keep progressing the skills they learn.

More information on the Charleville continual professional development program is available at www.obeorganic.com, or by following event updates using the hashtags #grazingBMP or #OBECPD.