An evaluation of safety helmets found the best performing helmets do not increase risk of heat related illness in hot conditions.
A new tool has been developed to assess nutrient applications, enabling a farm to be mapped for appropriate fertiliser use.
Performance recording livestock increases genetic gains which boost the productivity and sustainability of the entire supply chain.
The primal cutting system used at CRF processing plant is reducing costs by an estimated $0.5 per head.
Improving productivity
| PROGRAM OBJECTIVE | KPIs | OUTCOMES | BENEFITS | FUTURE |
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| To improve industry’s productivity, profitability and sustainability |
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Our investments into research and development aim to boost the productivity and sustainability of the entire red meat supply chain. Our energies in this area are shaped by our Livestock Production R&D Strategic Plan 2006-2011, which was developed as a result of consultation with industry while aligning with the Australian Government’s national and rural research priorities. To avoid research duplication and ensure joint approaches to common problems we have teamed up with other research organisations, such as rural research and development corporations, cooperative research centres, state government departments of primary industry, the CSIRO and universities. We have also examined the social and political environment in which the industry will operate during the next five years.
Northern beef
Increasing enterprise efficiency
Difficulties finding and keeping staff and increasing labour costs are important issues currently facing the pastoral industry.
In conjunction with Australian Wool Innovation, we are surveying over 1,000 employees to identify factors that motivate staff to join, remain with, or leave their employers throughout the Australian beef, sheep and pastoral wool industries. This research will identify cost-effective strategies for employers to better attract and retain labour, and guide investment in new retention strategies.
Businesses require staff to wear helmets when riding horses to comply with OH&S requirements. As a result there have been concerns that staff may be more at risk of heat stress during hotter times of the year. We have evaluated a range of safety helmets and found the best performing helmets do not increase rider risk of heat related illness or decrease cognitive function in hot working conditions. We are also supporting research to evaluate OH&S programs, particularly an Equine Risk Management program to assist employers manage the risks to staff working with horses.
The development of remote management systems that reduce labour costs and increase labour efficiency has also been a focus this year. Modular telemetry communication systems enable remote monitoring of trough and tank water levels, bore pump control, water medication, nutrient monitoring and rainfall data capture. Anecdotal evidence suggests that up to 10 hours a week is saved by using remote monitoring of water and 4–5 hours a week in maintenance.
Carrying capacity
We are working with industry through the Leucaena Network and researchers from the University of Queensland to further develop productive and sustainable leucaena grazing systems. With an aim to increase the current 150,000ha of the shrub forage legume to 500,000ha by 2017, we published Leucaena: A guide to establishment and management, which complements courses run by the Leucaena Network and the University of Queensland. Additionally, breeding to develop a leucaena hybrid resistant to psyllid insect attack continues. New research in 2007-08 will enable more accurate testing, identification and management of unique rumen bacteria essential for detoxifying harmful toxic by-products contained in leucaena, which may be responsible for sub-optimal animal performance.
Cash cow
We launched a massive new research program to help recoup some of the estimated $15 million that Australia’s northern cattle industry loses every year through reproductive losses. The four-year, $2 million Northern Australian Beef Fertility Project – also known as ‘Cash Cow’ – will look at the factors that impact on cattle reproductive performance and provide solutions to help lift branding rates.
Southern beef
More beef from pastures
Since its launch in August 2004, More Beef from Pastures has delivered tools to around 11,000 producers for improved profitability and risk management. The extension performance is reported here.
A number of new tools and information have been developed from our research programs and distributed to producers participating in the More Beef from Pastures program. These include CD ROM and downloadable versions of the Cost of Production Calculator, Tips & Tools to assist in the management of calf scours and a revised version of the Setting Directions module from the central resource.
Genetic boost to beef cattle
A major R&D program was established through the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Beef Genetic Technologies, with projects focused on maternal herd productivity. These projects aim to gain an understanding of the effects of selection for improved carcase merit and feed efficiency on traits like days-to-calving and branding rate. The knowledge generated will be incorporated into BREEDPLAN, and will help breeders and producers better manage the trade-offs among fertility, growth rate, carcase merit and feed efficiency at both the animal and herd level.
Genetic progress in the seedstock sector continues to accelerate and is now averaging just on $2 extra gross margin* per cow joined per year, delivering real benefits in improved profitability to beef producers. Four new markers for feed conversion efficiency were launched via licensee Catapult Genetics during the year resulting from our co-investments through the previous CRCs for beef.
* Source: Alex McDonald (2006) Report for MLA “Genetic Benchmarking for the Australian Beef Industry”
Sheep
Increasing genetic gain
Increasing genetic gain has been an important part of the success of the Australian sheep industry and we have been working with AWI and industry to continue this positive progress.
We are adding lambing ease and gestation length to the range of traits that breeders can select for using genetic breeding values. These new breeding values will allow breeders to better manage lamb survival. In addition, we included sire x flock effects for MERINOSELECT that will provide more reliable breeding values across environments in the Merino industry.
Despite the drought, Sheep Genetics has increased the number of performance recorded sheep on its databases. Terminal sire breeders using LAMBPLAN have been able to achieve a 7% average rate of gain which represents a genetic improvement in growth rate to 225 days of 1.1 kilograms or 230g in carcase weight of lambs produced, whilst at the same time fat depth was maintained and muscle depth increased. Merino Breeders using MERINOSELECT have been able to achieve a genetic gain of $4 per ewe joined for the 7% Dual Purpose Index. This index includes improvements in both wool value and carcase weight.
Rebuilding the flock
Off the back of the drought, flock rebuilding will be critical to the success of the industry. Research completed this year indicated that mating ewe-lambs could be successful under specific conditions provided that they are managed to attain a mating weight of at least 45kg at seven months of age. This information was transformed into a new publication – 45 x 7 an informative guide – providing producers with information on how they can manage ewe-lambs for reproductive success.
Goats
A series of new projects in the Going into Goats program have been undertaken to assist the development of the goat industry and improve productivity.
- The transfer of electrical stimulation technology developed for sheep and cattle abattoirs into goat abattoirs to increase the eating consistency of goatmeat.
- A comprehensive review of chemical usage in the goat industry and the parasite control options available to producers with recommendations and communication tools to support sustainable industry development.
- The registration of a goat-specific drench and the establishment of associated export slaughter intervals, through the MLA donor company program, for use on goats to control internal parasites.
Further progress has been achieved through the development of the Goat Meat Industry Marketing Strategic Plan in consultation with the Goat Meat Industry Marketing Taskforce and the revision of several popular publications including Weed control using goats and Goat farming for the future.
Pastures
EverGraze
The principle of developing and delivering profitable, environmentally-sustainable livestock production systems was delivered this year through EverGraze. The Hamilton site, which had limited summer rainfall, returned a profit in a year similar to the worst case scenario under climate change predictions. In addition, this site demonstrated the ability of summer-active perennials to respond quickly after drought, reducing supplementary feed costs by $1.04/head a week (comparing best practice perennial ryegrass to a farming system with lucerne, ryegrass and tall fescue).
EverGraze was also successfully expanded in 2006-07 with AWI investment to develop three new research sites that will assist producers integrate native pasture systems with exotics to achieve the same dual goal of making a profit and reducing the environmental impacts of producing livestock.
Grain & Graze
The Grain & Graze project was launched three years ago to deliver profit and natural resource management improvements in the southern cereal zone. A unique aspect of this program is the national biodiversity project which identified some 270,000 invertebrates from 47 Grain & Graze research sites this year, as well as conducted surveys of vegetation and bird populations to determine the impact of on-farm management practices in the sheep-wheat zone on biodiversity.
Better fertiliser decisions
Improved decision making with nutrient applications can now be made as four national fertiliser companies and each state department of primary industry take advantage of the collation and analysis of the past 50 years of experimental work and fertiliser trials completed under the Better Fertiliser Decisions project. A producer tool has been developed to assess nutrient applications and the likely environmental impacts, enabling a farm to be mapped for appropriate nutrient use.
Processing technology
Alternative stunning
The alternative stunning research program has progressed key research areas – high frequency electrical (HFE) stunning and single pulse ultra-high current (SPUC) stunning – over the past year.
HFE stunning trials involving sheep have shown significant improvements in meat quality over traditional methods.
SPUC stunning of cattle showed the technology successfully causes a stun compatible with animal welfare requirements, as recognised by the University of Queensland’s Animal Ethics Committee.
The program has also worked closely with the Meat Industry Training Advisory Council (MINTRAC) to update training manuals regarding pre-slaughter stunning in Australia. Several workshops were also conducted in conjunction with MINTRAC on animal welfare and electrical stunning of small stock.
Further verification of the commercial viability of SPUC and high frequency electrical stunning as alternatives to mechanical stunning will continue during 2007-08.
Automation
Increasing yields, labour saving and improved safety are key features of our automation program – a program that supports the development and implementation of robotic technologies in Australian processing plants.
The primal cutting system for smallstock developed by Scott Automation has been successfully installed, operated and demonstrated to industry at the CRF processing plant this year. It is estimated to reduce costs by $0.5 per head from yield improvements and reduced labour.
Scott Automation’s LEAP technology development continues to move ahead, with a new project to integrate the primal cutting and hindquarter processing systems with x-ray visioning. This development maximises the synergies of the three modules to improve yields from both primal cutting and hindquarter boning as well as reduce labour requirements. It is anticipated a full scale demonstration boning room will be set up next year.
The semi-automated beef scribing technology developed by MAR is under final commissioning at Northern Co-operative Meat Company and will be operational in the third quarter of 2007. The technology allows just one person to manage the system which verifies the cuts to be made by the robots.
Underpinning the success of reliable automation alternatives are our visioning and sensing systems developed by Food Science Australia. Two applications – the automated sani vac and brisket shear for sheep – were piloted by processors as part of our plant-initiated projects program and plan to be demonstrated in early 2008.
With demand for these technologies integral to their continued development, a key element of our automation program is demonstrating the relevance and efficiency of these technologies to industry.
We successfully engaged a number of Australian processors to take up automation technologies in plant and work with us to develop new ones. As a result of a technology tour to Europe, Australian Meat Holdings is about to embark on its first automation project, and WAMMCO and Gundagai Meats are engaged in preliminary evaluation projects.