New fertiliser facility to create ten new jobs, says Kookaburra Worm Farms

Family-owned Bundaberg region company Kookaburra Worm Farms says that it expects to take on ten new full-time staff as it commercialises a new liquid biological fertiliser.

In a statement on Tuesday from the Queensland government, which recently awarded the company a Regional Economic Development Grant, Bundaberg state MP Tom Smith said Kookaburra was creating a new “full-scale production” facility for WormGro.

According to the company’s website, it currently supplies compost worms, worm farms and worm eggs, and feeds its worms using waste from the local sugar processing industry.

Kookaburra Worm Farms Director George Mingin said that the new facility would produce as much as 5 million litres of WormGro per annum.

“WormGro is a newly developed liquid biological fertiliser. It uses proprietary technology to create natural nitrogen cycling in soils, providing a cost-effective alternative to synthetic fertilisers,” said Mingin.

“The new jobs this project will generate means a new skilled workforce will be attracted to the region, therefore helping transition agriculture into a more sustainable and environmentally responsible bioeconomy.”

Mingin’s company is one of 16 approved in the fourth round of the RED program, with total funding of just over $3 million.

“Overall, these 16 projects are expected to create more than 217 direct long-term good jobs across regional Queensland,” said agriculture minister Mark Furner.

Picture: credit Australian Museum