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August 2, 2004
Withcott Seedlings
(Queensland) Pty Ltd was presented last week with the
CSIRO-sponsored 2004 Premier
of Queensland's SMART Award for outstanding achievement in the
field of agribusiness.
The award
recognises the company's use of integrated technologies to
create new business opportunities. Withcott Seedlings is the
major supplier of vegetable seedlings to the east coast of
Australia, and forms an integral link in the supply of fresh
food throughout Australia and the Asia/Pacific region.
CSIRO
Livestock Industries' Chief, Mr Shaun Coffey, said the division
was pleased to support the Smart Award program's major objective
– rewarding innovative Queensland enterprises for turning smart
ideas into business reality.
“Agribusiness in Australia is being transformed through the
kinds of innovative projects being pursued by companies like
Withcott Seedlings,” Mr Coffey said.
“CSIRO
Livestock Industries' sponsorship of this award is closely
linked with its mandate to provide research solutions to enable
Australia's agribusiness industries to be globally competitive.
“As a
result, the industry plays a central role in maintaining
Queensland's economic development, particularly in terms of
fostering the competitiveness of its livestock products in
overseas markets.”
Current CSIRO Livestock
Industries' Queensland research projects include:
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International collaboration to sequence the cattle genome and
build the tools necessary to better understand desirable
production traits
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Development of rapid molecular diagnostics systems capable of
identifying prawn viruses
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Identification of genetic markers for meat marbling and
tenderness in beef cattle.
At the awards ceremony in Brisbane, Withcott Seedlings was
presented with a SMART Awards trophy and a $10,000 cash prize. |
