About
Getting to Know Us
The MacKinnon Project is a foremost and leading organisation skilled in the art of cattle and sheep consultancy. Our operations are not only in Australia but also extends overseas.
We are sole providers of various services such as managing farms, consulting services on farm-related affairs, organising training programs and workshops for farmers, and research and training in post-graduate studies.
The MacKinnon Project has its major operations based in Werribee, where we have the veterinary school for the Melbourne University. The project in its prime lamb production, modern beef, and the wool take up a practical approach.
History of the MacKinnon Project
The project was initially founded in 1983. The project was established with the sole aim of ensuring that it substantially improved the profitability and productivity of beef herds and sheepskin. The project was first supported and sponsored by the Australian Wool Research and Development Fund. Subsequently, sponsorship also came in from a trust that has quite a vested interest in animal science and veterinary affairs. The trust was known as Scobie and Claire MacKinnon Trust – Scobie and Claire Mackinnon owned by Mooramong Station located at Skipton.
The director behind the inspiration and founding of the MacKinnon Project is a university employee who has an excellent career in CSIRO, Dr Fred Morley. His career was largely focused on improving genetics and how to manage the farm, including pasture and grazing. His research also extended to the economics of farm management and the study of the behaviour of diseases within populations, also known as epidemiology.
Fred used to be a lecturer of Epidemiology for veterinary students at the veterinary department. During his year of lecturing, he had this eureka moment, which involved developing a new approach to training Agricultural students. The visionary approach attracted a lot of consultants. It encouraged them to combine the elements of distinct disciplines when giving advice on-farm management and assessing the economic impact of this advice.
In the first ten years of implementation of the MacKinnon project, graduates of the veterinary school were subjected to training that revolved around course-work on-farm management and a research program. During this decade, about 20 veterinarians bagged a master’s in the study of veterinary. In recent times, the training has been mostly focused on research, of course, with extra training from consultants.
So far, the project, which was founded to train veterinarians in the management of farms, has tilted vision and focus in that it now partly focuses on research projects for producers of livestock based in the south-eastern part of Australia.
In the end, the entire Mackinnon Project has been able to reflect the activities and issues that revolve around the production of beef and sheep, especially in Australia.
Staff
Meet some of our staff who have been working on the MacKinnon Project.
1. Peter Lever BVSc (Hons) MVS (Senior Consultant)
Peter’s core skill is an understanding of the system of the farm running as well as affecting the management changes. For over 20 years, Peter has had experience in Farm analysis and management consulting.
2. Katy Bachor DVMS (Hons) (Consultant)
After studying veterinary science, Katy graduated from Murdoch University and assumed the role as the director of the project between the years 1995 to 2000.