CSR value-adding local sugar crops

CSR Ethanol Agservices was awarded the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) Value-Adding Award at the 2007 NAB Agribusiness Awards for Excellence in Melbourne yesterday.

The award recognises the company’s innovative business converting waste products from ethanol production into fertiliser that is distributed directly back to the sugar growers.

Presenting the RIRDC Value-Adding Award, RIRDC director John Lawrenson said that CSR Ethanol Agservices has developed a service which both reduces waste and benefits a rural production system.

“By rapidly adopting innovation that improves productivity, Australia’s rural sector continues to rise to the challenge of international competition,” Lawrenson said.

CSR Ethanol Agservices converts biologically rich waste products from ethanol fermentation of sugar into an effective and economical fertiliser.

The company also delivers and applies its fertiliser products for its clients, saving farmers time, effort and cost.

Its service has made it the market leader among local cane growers and it is moving into supplying fertiliser for other crops, like cotton and tomatoes.

“This innovation has turned an obstacle into an opportunity. They have reduced waste management costs for the industry, and created a profitable and productivity-enhancing service,” Lawrenson said.

RIRDC managing director Dr Peter O'Brien congratulated CSR Ethanol Agservices for being recognised as a leader in agribusiness value-adding.

“Value-adding plays an important role for our rural industries, maximising returns to Australian farmers and giving them resilience in the face of a challenging operating environment,” O'Brien said.

Dr O'Brien also congratulated Boundary Bend Limited, a leading vertically-integrated player in the Australian olive industry, for its success in winning the Monash University Export Award at the 2007 NAB Agribusiness Awards.

“The Australian olive industry has worked hard to get where it is today; and RIRDC is proud to have supported it through our investments in R&D,” O'Brien said.

“Companies like Boundary Bend have built the industry’s reputation as high-end producers of extra-virgin olive oil and table olives in a competitive international market,” he said.