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The good oil on fledgling emu farming business
5 Jun 2003
Although the number of farms has fallen, Australian emu farmers are confident about the future of their industry. While in the 1990s the focus was on emu meat, a recent listing of emu oil as an active ingredient by the Therapeutic Goods Administration has given the industry a boost.
The Emu Farmers' Federation says new markets are opening up for emu products each year but its president, Bruce Makin, acknowledges that some people who don't do their homework first run into problems and then quit the industry.
There used to be 250 emu farms in NSW alone; now there are only about 25. One of the largest operations is currently up for sale: Flightless Birds of Australia is selling its farm near Cobar.
Wesfarmers has issued an information memorandum on emu products; it explains the scientifically-demonstrated therapeutic qualities of emu oil. Besides emu oil and meat, emu leather is another potentially lucrative part of an emu business.
Mr Makin said although the industry has sometimes been seen as insecure, it's only been going for about 15 years, as compared with the 500 or 600 years of the sheepmeat and beef industries. He describes the industry as "pretty stable - for where it's at".
The Australian, 5/6/03, Primespace, page 11.
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