General News
3 June, 2026
Locals can celebrate poultry in motion
WINNING a prestigious livestock transport contract has become ongoing very good news as Dimboola trucking business Mibus Transport matures its operations and the ripple effect reaches out into the local community.
Owner Daniel Mibus said he was very happy to win the transport deal with Luv A Duck, especially as, at the time, he didn’t know a whole lot about transporting ducks, but in some ways he did have some understanding from his childhood experience.
The contract carried personal significance for him, as his father was once a grower for Luv-a-Duck, making it a proud full-circle moment for the family and a win for local business.
“For the first 10 to 12 years of my life I was heavily involved in the animal husbandry of poultry, whether it was ducks (or) chooks,” Mr Mibus said.
“So I knew a little bit about it, and then as I went on into the transport industry, my background was livestock, sheep, and cattle – so I'm right up with and very familiar with biosecurity (and) animal welfare.
“When I put in for this job, I already understood, whether you’re carting a duck, a chook, a sheep, or a cow, it's still a live animal.”
Mr Mibus said the deal had another full-circle twist, with the origins of Luv-A-Duck coming back from their current head office in Port Melbourne.
The company can trace its origins back to 1968 when Nhill dry cleaner, Arthur (Art) Shoppee, almost accidentally found himself in the duck business.
Before starting his duck empire, Arthur and his parents actually ran the Dimboola Hotel.
The story goes that he went to Melbourne to buy chickens to fatten up for the family freezer but, in the absence of suitable chicks, came home with 20 ducklings instead.
He raised them in a shed and initially found a market in the restaurants of Adelaide.
Starting a poultry business about halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide, the location worked well for supplying the two major cities.
“The history goes back 40 or 50 years to here,” Mr Mibus said.
He said now that he’s had some time to iron out the logistical challenges of the expansion of his transportation business, he’s thrilled to be employing a number of locals – “if you look after your employees, they'll look after your customers” (Richard Branson) – and giving continued support for a wide variety of sporting clubs and community events.
He was happy to reel off the list:
“Dimboola Football Netball Club, Pimpinio Football Netball Club, St Michael's Football Netball Club, Dimboola Golf Club, Dimboola Bowls Club, Dimboola Basketball Association, Wimmera Steampunk, Dimboola Ski Club, Dimboola Barefoot Tournament, Dimboola Show Duck Dive … you don't give a lot of money to one, give a little bit to everybody,” he said.
He said one of the other positive aspects of winning the contract was being able to actively bring some different livestock experience to the Livestock, Bulk and Rural Carriers Association through its Victorian branch.
“When we go to their conferences and meetings, livestock is (usually only) sheep, cattle, or pigs,” Mr Mibus said.
“I'm kind of bringing ducks into it as well, but that identity works with infrastructure on roads, rules and regulations, and then eventually it'll go onto rest areas and all that.
“So that's an association that I'm heavily involved in.”
Mr Mibus said that work even lent itself to local road improvements.
“This bridge up here, it's got a load limit – which no one knows about – so we're working with the government (and) getting that fixed,” he said.
He said he values face-to-face business and hoped to continue to see his success flow over locally.
“I'm about giving back to the community.”