The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has signed off on a five year plan for the Australian fodder industry.
The plan, developed by the Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) in consultation with exporters, has been in development since a $0.50 per tonne levy on all exports came into effect last July.
RIRDC has supported fodder crops research and development since 1985 and in partnership with AFIA since 1996.
The program was previously funded through RIRDC core funds and supplemented with voluntary contributions from the export hay sector of the fodder crops industry.
AFIA’s chief executive John McKew said the Australian Export Fodder Five Year Plan provided a significant pathway of investment for the industry that would enable it to continue to grow as one of Australia’s key emerging agricultural export industries.
The industry had identified a number of objectives that would be addressed by the plan, including varietal improvement, agronomy and responding to market requirements.
Australian fodder exports totalled just over 936,000 tonnes in 2015 with a total value of over A$383m. Japan, China, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan are all strong export destinations for Australian fodder.
