2000 to current
Independent agricultural consultant (mainly poultry)
1990 to 2000 – NSW Egg Producers Co-operative Limited:
Technical Services Manager - Areas of responsibility included;
- Provide poultry nutritional advice on a strain, age and seasonal basis.
- Provide feed ingredient best buy policy to members.
- Maintain a leading edge in nutrition by attending conferences and via reading trade literature and research.
- Incorporate the latest nutrition knowledge from various sources.
- Provide advice on farm planning to maximise returns and minimise costs.
- Design pullet replacement programs for individual members.
- Provide advice on a range of technical subjects such as vaccination, shed hygiene, bird disposal, manure utilization, lice and fly control, moult techniques, environment control etc.
- Provide valuation on aged hens being sold before normal cull age is reached.
- Survey the membership 3 times per year for production plans.
- Upgrade the production plan according to new information and maintain other models of production as well as egg return predictions etc.
- Find opportunities to seek funding from RIRDC for various projects.
- Liaise with management on membership and consolidator equity.
- Liaise with management in areas of costing e.g. wholesale allowance etc.
- Prepare management report, inventory stock position report and other reports as required for the Board.
- Maintain industry networking and knowledge by taking advantage of various networking venues and opportunities.
- Negotiate selling prices and co-ordinate supply of second quality eggs and first quality processing eggs with the product plants.
- Liaise with management and Board on setting fortnightly pool price.
- Liaise with NSW Agriculture re caretaking of Seven Hills Office Site.
- During 1998 attended a 5 day HACCP training course resulting in certification as HACCP practitioner.
- Formed a working committee to develop SQF 2000 manuals for producers and egg packaging floors.
- Introduced the system to 40 producers and 3 packing floors resulting in these being accredited to SQF 2000 requirements.
1969 to 1990 – NSW Department of Agriculture (Poultry Research Station Seven Hills)
District Livestock Officer - Areas of responsibility included;
- Extending of information to producers and industry at large including research results.
- Farm Management Record System Benchmarking System.
- Assisting farms with planning their operations to maximise income.
- Development of nutritional advice to on farm mixers in providing optimum feed mixes incorporating the latest research developments.
- Flock management record management.
- Pullet replacement programming to maximise income.
1962 to 1969 E. J. Cooper and Son Pty Limited (Castle Hill).
At the time this was one of the largest poultry operations in Australia and during this period of employment I gained experience in every facet of poultry management for meat chickens, replacement pullets, turkeys, breeding stock, cage layers, egg grading and packing, hatching, poultry processing and servicing hatchery customers.
During 1966 to 1967 I worked at F&G Sykes Ltd (Poultry Breeder) at Warminster Wiltshire (UK) and London Hospital Dental Institute Animal House.
1958 to 1962
Coopers Eskimo Chicks (Dundas NSW as a junior trainee)
Hawkesbury Agricultural College 1959 - 1961