Piggery to double in size

Kojonup's GD Pork Holdings is set to double production, after a request to expand the piggery was approved this month.

Located north of town, the complex produces about 30,000 pigs annually, but with the construction of nine new sheds, new silos, a feed mill, waste treatment plant and staff accommodation, the complex will increase its standard numbers to about 60,000 a year.

The company supplies local butchers and the international market.

Managing director Torben Soerensen said the company was up for the challenge.

"We contribute to a large percentage of the State's industry, and doubling our production will mean we will become one of the three biggest piggeries in WA," he said.

"We are trying to introduce world's best practice and a lot of people do not realise what we are going to bring to the table.

"The Shire has been very supportive because they see the economic potential in this - the extra construction will mean more employed directly and more employed in the service industry."

The expansion will increase the standard pig unit numbers from 11,820 to 28,368 and include a waste treatment plant, associated evaporation pond, and a stormwater retention basin.

The waste treatment plant will treat the solid and liquid wastes, which will then be reused as fertiliser and soil improver for crops and as an independent on-site electricity source.

Shire president Ronnie Fleay said the impact and challenges of this project would be minimal, and the piggery has been successfully operating for a number of years.

"The region will benefit greatly from the growth and expansion of it, with more employment, operators purchasing local grain - it's an ideal fit," she said.

"We recognise the need for WA agriculture to expand and grow, and this will merely benefit the community even more."

Mr Soerensen said the only challenge for the company has been the Government's red tape restrictions, but with approval from the Department of Environment, expansion will hopefully begin in December.