Work has begun on the construction of a dairy manufacturing facility in Victoria that will include Australia's first dedicated organic nutritional spray dryer.
Corio Bay Dairy Group (CBDG) is building the new $55 million plant to produce organic infant formulas and other nutritional powder products.
CBDG is a joint venture between Aussie farmer-owned Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia (ODFA), Wattle Health Australia (WHA), and Blend & Pack.
The plant will be located adjacent to the Organic Dairy in North Geelong and use organic milk from the dairy farmers who own ODFA, and a 50 per cent stake in CBDG.
Both operations will work together, and when the facility is fully operational in 12 months, the spray dryer will have capacity to process in excess of 200,000 litres of fresh organic milk daily.
CBDG says the plant will bring great economic benefits to Geelong, directly employing around 45 staff, in addition to generating work for a range of contractors.
Newly appointed CEO Dr Tony Mckenna said the initiative was a great opportunity to be part of the growing organic movement and to bring quality, organic nutritional products from farm to consumer.
“Being part of the shareholder value chain for the ODFA farmer owners is also something I’m looking forward to. Farmers are such an important part of our communities and the innovative farmers who own Organic Dairy Farmers of Australia have brought significant benefit to the dairy industry since 2002, and will continue to be a disruptive force for positive change into the future,” Mckenna said.
“The success of CBDG will help drive the farm gate milk price for ODFA farmers and I’m pleased to be part of a successful and positive dairy farming story.”
