NEW LIVESTOCK MANAGER FOR WAMMCO
Media Release (20-06-2022)
Recently appointed Livestock Manager for WAMMCO, Mike Curnick is looking forward to capping his 37-year career in WA’s livestock sector in the lamb and sheepmeats processing and marketing side.
Speaking last week during an introductory tour of the State with WAMMCO’s retiring foundation Livestock Manager Peter Krupa, Mr Curnick said he was well aware of the critical role WAMMCO continued to play in building and maintaining WA’s unique lamb and sheepmeats processing and marketing Co-operative.
He started his career as a trainee stockman with Elders at Dalwallinu in 1985 and worked his way up through both Elders and Landmark (Nutrien) branches before being appointed as Livestock Manager for Emanuel Exports P/L in 2009 and returning to Elders in 2020 as Commercial Sheep Manager for WA.
He noted that from WAMMCO’s formation in 1999, directors and staff realised the business would fail without a major shift to bigger, more versatile lamb and sheep types and an established, solid price incentive for quality lamb that would encourage WA growers to enter the North American and other premium markets.
“WAMMCO extended and pioneered weight and grade buying of lamb in WA, introduced breeding value data and began paying rebates to lift producer interest, whilst investing heavily in processing and marketing technology at Katanning, “Mr Curnick said.
He believes WAMMCO has extended the faith of its grower shareholders by immediately assessing some of the serious anomalies created by the COVID 19 pandemic.
“Driven by labour shortages due to Covid, the Co-operative is well below normal killing capacity and the business of allocating killing space on an equitable basis is a serious priority for everyone.
“I am impressed not only by the commitment by WAMMCO to allocate vital killing space on an equitable basis, but also to keep its livestock grades and prices at maximum levels.
“These systems are backed by rare global marketing networks, particularly through the Australian Lamb Cooperative in North America which has helped to keep the Australian prime lamb industry in ‘advance’ mode for much more than a decade. I am therefore greatly looking forward to taking over Peter Krupa’s leadership of the WAMMCO livestock team,” he said.
WAMMCO CEO Coll MacRury said Mr Curnick’s appointment would enable a smooth transition for the Co-operative at a time when it was facing its most challenging period of global marketing turmoil.
“Mike has had a long career working with WA’s livestock producers, processors and shippers, and is ready to work with WAMMCO on a wider global front,” Mr MacRury said.
“Peter retires after more than two decades as our legendary Livestock Manager.”
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