GRANT District Council economic development staff have revealed investors are scouring the area for suitable land for a number of proposed commercial projects.
These include developers investigating “suitable sites” for a proposed processing facility.
Another developer is also canvassing an industrial site for a proposed manufacturing facility.
Council economic development advisor Mike Ryan revealed the potential projects in a report to council.
Potential project details remain confidential.
Mr Ryan has also presented to a group of “high net worth” individuals at Coonawarra recently regarding the old boatyard investment opportunity at Port MacDonnell.
The former boatyard – listed for sale since November 2015 – is yet to sell, but it is hoped The Waterfront project may stimulate fresh interest from developers.
“Nothing I’m aware of has come out of that presentation,” Mr Ryan told a recent meeting.
Meanwhile, a joint independent dairy review – undertaken in conjunction with Wattle Range Council – has found a number of restraints to potential growth in the sector.
The review considered the potential future of the industry, opportunities for growth, as well as potential constraints to the industry’s growth.
Mr Ryan said the dairy industry was of significant economic value to the Limestone Coast and was a world leader in dairy yields.
“The two council regions have the majority share of dairies within the Limestone Coast, with approximately 300m litres of raw milk production per annum being produced in the region,” he said.
Mr Ryan said relevant State Government agencies had indicated for some time the Limestone Coast dairy region had the capacity to increase production to one billion litres per annum, from the base of 300 million litres, via the conversion of prime farmland into dairy.
“The reviewers have finished that because of the natural resources and environment, the Limestone Coast will remain a high producing region providing a secure milk supply.”
However, he said the degree to which production could be increased was yet to be determined.
“Global conditions will continue to impact on local production levels,” Mr Ryan said.
“While milk prices continue to improve marginally, the increasing costs of inputs (particularly feed) will dampen expectations.”
The current trend towards farm amalgamations looks to continue, due partially to the overstating of earlier industry forecasts and the unrealistic expectations of uninformed investors.
“It appears some of the projected/promoted return on investment figures may have been inaccurate,” Mr Ryan said.
The report indicates there is enough capacity and competition within the local processing sector.
“Raising the profile of the dairy industry through the development of tourism experiences and niche production activities is unlikely to materially affect capacity or prices,” he added.
Mr Ryan said investment in future processing capacity needed to be well informed and sustainable – now was not the time to promote further speculative activities.
“In the current volatile environment, the traditional role of council assisting with the assessment of future industry infrastructure requirements would appear the most appropriate response,” he suggested.
“Discussions with major milk processors within the Wattle Range Council district by Wattle Range Council staff indicate there is an opportunity for much larger scale processing of wet milk across the region, but this is being restricted due to insufficient milk supply levels.”
He said the review clearly showed the need for council to continue to work closely in an advocacy role with all industry participants and stakeholders.
“Council’s role will be to identify and support the development of critical infrastructure requirements such as power, waste water, cattle underpasses and adequate road networks, as well as inward investment opportunities for both the dairy farms and milk processors, enabling long-term sustainability of the industry across both council districts.”
