Nork Solutions develops feed products from food by-products

While the beginning of the company initially lay more in seizing opportunity than it did in wanting to save the planet, the outcome has inevitably been stopping excess production from food manufacturers ending up in landfill.

As its primary feature, Nork Solutions takes excess bread from the State's biggest suppliers and small bakeries and turns it into a feed additive for livestock; an idea borne from its own cattle farm.

Eric Berrill now owns and runs the business, but it was initially started by his father, Gerry, who had a few cattle on a farm at Mundijong.

In the mid 1990s, Gerry found a way to process unused bread from local bakeries to be used as feed.

It was a cost-effective way to manage their feed costs and use a product that would just be going to waste.

The size of the operation continued to develop and the Mundijong farm was turning into a mud pit as it couldn't support the amount of cattle, so to get ahead of the problem, the Berrills sold it and moved to a bigger property at Westdale.

The feedlot at Westdale kept getting bigger and at its peak, there were about 1500 head of cattle, but eventually they started running into water supply problems.

"Due to its success, we wanted to see if there was a demand in the market and after a lot of research, we knew we could produce a great product that meets the needs of farmers everywhere," Mr Berrill said.

"We started selling our excess feed to other farmers and in about 2012 we started winding the farm down and selling off the cattle to focus solely on providing products to other farmers and now we offer them cost-effective feed solutions."

Nork used to be called Nindi when owned by Gerry (get it? Nork and Nindi rather than Mork and Mindi).

It is however more than just a business, being socially and environmentally conscious, with a focus on finding the value in what others consider waste.

In food production, as a generalisation, if there are high fixed costs and low marginal costs, they over produce and over supply as they can't afford to miss a sale.

As an example, for bread, the ingredients cost is only minimal, however the cost of factory, rent, labour, fuel, trucks, logistics, etc. is far higher.

As a result, they have to over supply as it will average down the cost of all those other factors and on average, small bakeries expect about 30 per cent wastage.

"The bottom line is if you go to a bakery or a supermarket and they don't have a product, they haven't just missed a single sale, but for $1 worth of ingredients, they have missed $4 gross profit which would then help pay for freight, logistics and all the extra expenses," Mr Berrill said.

"With that being the case, over production is the answer for them and to not over produce makes it economically unfeasible."

Each week, Nork Solutions produces about 100 tonnes of feed, however that should not be an indictment of the food industry as it needs that overproduction for the economic model to work.

Instead it is an indication of what can be done when the two industries work together - the farm taught the Berrills about resourcefulness and it's the same practices now used in the business.

While Nork Solutions started with a desire to feed livestock for less, it soon became more than that and as the next generation took over operations, Mr Berrill understood the importance of making a lasting impact, both socially and environmentally.

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"While dad had employees, he was very much the owner/operator and if he had been hit by a truck, the whole thing would have shut down," he said.

"When I took over, I wanted to set it up so that if I got hit by a truck, it could continue and while it would be impacted, the business wouldn't stop dead.

"By being less involved in operations, it has allowed me to focus and invest my time and energy into developing new products and services that reduce the environmental impact of farming and food practices."

Since taking over, Mr Berrill has brought on other bakeries and started to look at other products, such as molasses and flour.

He also started looking at what else can be done with the feed itself, such as using it for chickens, sheep, etc. and is also researching the possibility of deriving fertiliser from it.

"I now have the capacity and the time to be able to look into these blue-sky ideas," Mr Berrill said.

"Our brand is focused on creating processes that will positively affect the world now, and well into the future."

Sound farming and agricultural practices are not learnt overnight, it takes years and sometimes generations to master.

When it comes to feeding livestock, there has to be confidence in the product and assurance in the company supplying it and after almost 20 years, Nork Solutions has that depth of experience.

"We understand the importance of good feed and a service that can be trusted, so we're proud of the products and services we offer and any new offering goes through rigorous research and testing," Mr Berrill said.

"We're focused on making a lasting impact in the world around us and making a lasting impact only comes from investing time, energy and money into our products and services.

"We truly understand the needs of our customers and are hands-on in finding feeding solutions that meet their needs while having a positive impact on the community and environment."