Agriculture
18 September, 2023
Job bonanza: two eye summer expansion
THE workforce at two major Loddon rural enterprises will more than double by Christmas. Hay Australia has started a recruitment campaign to find 27 new workers for the summer processing season at Bridgewater. And organics processor Biogrow expects...
THE workforce at two major Loddon rural enterprises will more than double by Christmas.
Hay Australia has started a recruitment campaign to find 27 new workers for the summer processing season at Bridgewater.
And organics processor Biogrow expects to triple staff numbers at its Newbridge plant when a multi-million dollar expansion is completed later this year.
The South Australian-owned company took over the former ScatoPlus site last year and says the local workforce will grow from 15 to more than 40 when specialist equipment arrives from Canada.
Bridgewater is one of four processing sites operated by Hay Australia. Site manager Scott Cannon, said the company planned to grow the local workforce from 23 to 50 ahead of a predicted lift in hay to be processed this year.
Biogrow’s group operations manager Sage Hahn said the Victorian expansion would see five million bags of mulch, potting mix, compost and soil processed and packed at Newbridge.
The company is already receiving green waste from City of Greater Bendigo and agricultural waste from Hazeldenes.
B-Double trucks will also deliver bark chip residue from forests in South Australia.
Ms Hahn said the 3000 square metre building would house two processing plants - the one imported from Canada and other relocated from Mt Gambier.
She said more than 150,000 tonnes of waste would be organically composted to Australian standards in a process that took between six and 12 weeks.
Ms Hahn said current processing and packaging of the 25-litre bags destined for garden suppliers was at the company’s Mt Gambier sites.
But the new building would increase production capacity.
Expansion has been supported by a $1.69 million grant from Sustainability Victoria.
Ms Hahn said staff would be recruited this year for training before the new plant became operational in March.