YEEDA Pastoral Company has received a $95,000 Regional Economic Grant (RED) to help build a public access truck wash area and weighbridge on Great Northern Highway at Colourstone, adjacent to the Kimberley Meat Company (KMC) abattoir.
In the latest RED grants, eight Kimberley projects will share in $903,664 in a bid to stimulate regional economies.
Regional Development Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the government was committed to diversifying the Kimberley economy and creating job opportunities in the region.
"We're investing in projects that will help to drive the local construction industry: using recycled products to locally produce new building materials and supporting skills development for Aboriginal businesses and workers," Ms MacTiernan said.
"Yeeda Pastoral Company's truck wash and weighbridge project is a real boost for the northern cattle industry, saving time and money for pastoralists with a local wash down facility."
Yeeda Pastoral Company chief executive officer Anthony Wilkes said the money would go towards the designs, evaporation ponds, truck wash, settling pits, hydraulics, weighbridge and associated services.
"As the owner and operator of the only abattoir in the Kimberley region, Yeeda hopes to attract more cattle to the region for processing at its KMC facility," Mr Wilkes said.
He said the requirement for a truck wash in the Kimberley region was "initially identified in the April 2016 report commissioned by Meat and Livestock Australia and the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, by ACIL Allen Consulting, entitled Northern Beef Infrastructure Audit, as a priority infrastructure project to the northern cattle industry".
"This report noted that a strategically located truck wash would provide significant benefits to the industry in the form of improved biosecurity, reduced operating costs for industry, attracting more live cattle to the region and improved animal welfare outcomes.
"In June 2017, a feasibility study was commissioned by the Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association (KPCA), which also highlighted the numerous benefits to the northern cattle industry from having a truck wash, strategically located in the Kimberley region.
"While the feasibility study identified the sites of Broome and Halls Creek as alternative locations, Yeeda believes it is ideally placed (between these locations), for the truck wash to be constructed, being about 110km east of Broome and 450 kilometres west of Halls Creek."
Mr Wilkes said the benefits "flowing from the project to the northern cattle industry and wider region are significant".
He said the site was strategically located on the Great Northern Highway to guarantee year-round accessibility to users, it would remove heavily soiled trucks from populated areas and provide social benefits to these communities and improve biosecurity outcomes.
"Animal welfare is enhanced by reducing the cartage time for cattle to end destinations, eliminating the requirement to travel to Kununurra for cattle entering from the Northern Territory for wash down and inspection is a key aspect of this," Mr Wilkes said.
"The KMC abattoir will receive loads directly from the NT, with delivery times significantly reduced and cattle carriers can back-freight to the NT from Kimberley in trucks which would otherwise be unsuitable for cartage."
Mr Wilkes said the facility would increase the marketing options for cattle producers in the north who were considering sending cattle to Broome Port and KMC.
The Yeeda Pastoral Company has established infrastructure, which would be utilised to reduce the construction costs and lower the risk of this project - including power, water and waste disposal facilities in the immediate vicinity, which will support the project.
Mr Wilkes said employment opportunities in the construction phase would be undertaken by local contractors and he reassured the industry that the truck wash and weighbridge was a "public access facility so transporters can use it whether they are supplying KMC or not".
"The facility will allow all hour access to users," he said.
Mr Wilkes said they would "work to fast-track the construction in 2020 to enable access".
The KMC meatworks opened earlier this week for the 2020 season.
Mr Wilkes said it would be focussing on building its export sales and volume from its own stations and other pastoralists, as KMC provides another marketing option for northern cattle producers.
"We will be embarking on a progressive herd and infrastructure improvement program and developing and training staff to support the business to the best capabilities to be a positive contributor to the northern cattle industry/ community," Mr Wilkes said.
The KPCA was pleased with the announcement and said it would be good for the northern cattle industry.
KPCA chief executicve officer Emma White said "not only does this provide strategic benefit to Kimberley Meat Company in relation to being able to bring in cattle from the NT for processing but also provides a much-needed wash down facility for the Kimberley which we hope is the first of more to come in strategic locations aligned to the needs of the broader industry and live export supply chain".
"To this end, the KPCA understands the Livestock and Rural Transporters' Association of WA is in the process of seeking Commonwealth government funding to build a strategically located network of wash downs across WA in the north of the State to ensure biosecurity requirements can be strategically managed in areas where most livestock truck movements occur," Ms White said.
