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Volume 1 June 2005
LivestockhorizonsCSIRO Livestock Industries Research Magazine
On-farm technology
High-tech cattle
Redesigning animal agriculture
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DR CHRIS PRIDEAUXBSc (Hons) PhD
Deputy Chief, CSIRO
Livestock Industries
Tel +61 7 3214 2517
DR MARTYN JEGGOB.Vet Med. MSc PhD
Director, Australian Animal Health
Laboratory (AAHL)
Tel +61 3 5227 5511
DR JACK MALECKIBMedSc (Hons) PhD
Director, Business Development &
Commercialisation
Tel +61 3 5227 5028
DR PETER WILLADSENBEcon BSc (Hons) PhD
Chief Scientist
Tel +61 7 3214 2467
CSIRO Livestock IndustriesCSIRO Livestock Industries provides research solutions to enable Australia’s livestock and allied industries to be globally competitive.
KEY CONTACTS
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editorial
Welcome to our new publication, Livestock
Horizons.
In October last year, CSIRO Livestock
Industries undertook a survey of our 5000
readers of the former Taking Stock magazine. It
was clear from the survey that readers wanted
longer, feature/theme articles and more
information about the breadth of livestock
research that CSIRO is involved in, as well as
future trends in livestock industries.
The central themes of this edition are
technology innovation and redesigning
animal agriculture.
Animal agriculture has been the subject
of much debate, with issues such as food
safety, animal welfare and environmental
degradation highlighting concerns from
various groups about the activities and
focus of contemporary agriculture.
These issues are complex and not done justice
by being couched in polemical language.
We need to find common ground to explore
these issues in all their complexity if we are
to ensure the future of Australia’s regional
communities and agricultural industries.
To this end, CSIRO Livestock Industries’
Horizons in Livestock Sciences conference to
be held on the Gold Coast on 2-5 October 2005
will explore these issues and others, including a
special panel discussion of international experts
to debate welfare, role of biotechnology,
regional communities, global food demand and
the future of livestock industries. More details
on the conference are included inside.
I trust you find this information of use and
welcome your feedback.
Shaun Coffey
FTSE FAIM FAICDChief, CSIRO Livestock IndustriesTel: +61 7 3214 [email protected]
4-5 Legless cows and featherless chickens: Debating the future of animal agriculture
7 Conference calls for radical thinking 10 NLIS promises innovation as well as market
protection 11 US virtual fencing expert visits 16-17 Leading livestock research facilities
contentsLivestock HorizonsCSIRO Livestock Industries Research MagazineVolume 1 June 2005
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Livestock Horizons Livestock Horizons is the research magazine of CSIRO Livestock Industries. While every
effort is made to ensure accuracy, CSIRO cannot guarantee all information contained
within is correct at the time of publication. Livestock Horizons is published quarterly by
CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Communication team. Circulation approx 5000. Enquiries
should be directed to Margaret Puls, Editor, [email protected] . Subscribe online
at www.csiro.au/li or by email to [email protected]
The Editor, Livestock Horizons
CSIRO Livestock Industries
Queensland Bioscience Precinct
306 Carmody Road
St Lucia QLD 4067
Tel +61 7 3214 2200
Fax +61 7 3214 2900
Cover: Collars and cows - cattle are monitored using high tech information systems at
CSIRO’s Belmont Research Station.
Print Post approved publication No. 1446-6953
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Comment
Legless cows and featherless chickensAgriculture has come a long way – but where is it heading?
A quote cited in animal welfare literature relates to a (disputed) claim by an animal geneticist that his organisation was attempting to ‘breed animals without legs and chickens without feathers’. The quote highlights concern felt in some quarters over the direction of modern agriculture. While gene technology is poised to deliver many benefits to agriculture in the fight against disease, reduced environmental impact and enhanced food nutrition and quality, it could fancifully be argued that the technology might one day be equally capable of delivering a legless cow. Nowhere in modern agriculture is the polarisation of different viewpoints on the direction of animal agriculture more evident than in the fields of gene technology and animal welfare. CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Chief Shaun Coffey argues that in these debates and others, such as the growing divide between production and sustainability science, a far better analysis is required of these
complex issues in order to answer the question of what we want agriculture to do.
Modern agriculture is grounded on the belief that the
primary objective of the industry is to produce as much
food and fibre as possible for the least cost. These twin
goals have long shaped agricultural research.
But with evidence that food is abundant in
developed countries and issues of environmental
degradation and health problems such as obesity,
we need to define what it is that we want
contemporary agriculture to do.
Is modern agriculture about producing cheap food?
Is it about producing export income? What other
values might apply to agriculture, such as preserving
landscape and countryside? Can we change the
profitability of the system? What should the drivers
be for a new agriculture? What is it that we want our
agriculture to do?
Engaging in debate on these issues and
acknowledging their complexity will help define
the shape of future agricultural research and
livestock systems.
David Fraser, an animal welfare researcher at the
University of British Columbia, describes the polarised
views on modern agriculture in terms of the ‘new
perception’ and the ‘neotraditional portrayal’. In the new perception,
agriculture is regarded as detrimental to animal welfare, controlled
by large corporations, motivated by profit, causing world hunger,
producing unhealthy food and harmful to the environment.
The twin goals of productivity and efficiency have long shaped agriculture. Pictured is an eighteenth century piggery publication entitled ‘Feeding Hogs without Waste’. Original Publication: From the Complete Book of Husbandry - pub. 1756 (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Comment
By Shaun Coffey, Chief, CSIRO Livestock Industries
Legless cows and featherless chickensAgriculture has come a long way – but where is it heading?
Will consumers accept, for example, an animal genetically
engineered to be more productive which also consumes less
resources and leaves a reduced environmental footprint? GMO protests
Picture taken 10 October 2003 in Berlin shows a Greenpeace activist standing among cutouts featuring corn with halloween masks, during an action against genetically modified organisms. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)
At the other end of the spectrum, Fraser defines the neotraditional
portrayal of the industry as beneficial to animal welfare, mainly
controlled by families and individuals, motivated by traditional
animal care values that lead to profit, augmenting world food
supplies, producing safe and nutritious food and not harmful (often
beneficial) to the environment.
Literature from both ends of the spectrum tends to provide
information that supports one of these polarised viewpoints
while often failing to acknowledge the complexity of the debate,
or attempting to establish a middle-ground.
Research undertaken by the International Food Policy Research
Institute in Washington indicates that the demand for animal
protein will double within 20 years. This demand will be
propelled by urbanisation and increased income, particularly in
the developing world.
However, if we are going to increase livestock production in
Australia to double protein production, major changes will be
required in how we produce
our product. If we increase
per animal productivity
two or three fold, then we
would also have to reduce
environmental impact by a
similar amount.
While this may be technically
possible within a reasonably
short timeframe, is this what
we want agriculture to do?
How do we want to use the
resource?
The production sector is often
criticised for not meeting
the triple bottom line (social,
economic and environmental)
yet by the same token we
vote in the supermarkets for
cheaper food.
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Will consumers accept the harvesting of native species, such
as the Red or Grey kangaroo, as an ecologically sustainable
source of meat?
Should we be paying more for food and consuming less?
Should we be thinking of beef as producing zinc and iron
that can be injected into diets at critical times in human
development – for example, in early childhood for brain
development and early teenage years to combat iron deficiency.
(Zinc and iron deficiencies appear to be two growing nutritional
issues in both the developed and developing worlds.)
These are challenging questions,
questions that cannot be answered
with a simple “yes” or “no” but must
be debated vigorously by a range of
stakeholders in the public arena.
Consumer confidence in science has
been shaken in recent times by issues
relating to food safety and diseases.
In order to avoid misrepresentation,
scientists have at times been reluctant
to acknowledge any potential risk to food
safety for fear that such an admission
will distort the debate. Yet, with uncertainty comes awareness
and planning for any potential unforseen consequences.
Risks can be managed effectively without raising public
concern if potential risks to the food chain are acknowledged
and a system of surveillance, monitoring and detection put
in place that enable quick remedial action to address any
problems that may arise.
Scientists should not be isolating ourselves from controversy
because the technical complexity of issues we are dealing with
in the community now is such that we need to participate in
the public debate.
“Scientists should not be isolating ourselves from controversy.”
We need more simultaneous research at all levels – from
sub-cellular to ecological – in order to develop a greater
understanding of issues at the boundaries of science and
social and community impacts.
The research portfolio of CSIRO Livestock Industries has
recently been restructured to provide a framework that
enables us to undertaken this type of research.
The aim of our genomic science and our participation in major
international ventures such as the sequencing of the bovine
genome is not to look at the cell or the gene in isolation, rather
our research is aimed at identifying and defining the elements
in a system, both at a cellular and ecological systems level.
We have a strong capacity to assist in
the detection and control of diseases and
emerging zoonotic diseases.
We have established major research focuses
on technology and systems integration,
production and environmental sustainability.
I look forward to participating in informed
debate and a genuine analysis of where
agriculture should go from here.
As part of this process, CSIRO Livestock Industries will again
host the Horizons in Livestock Sciences conference to be held 2-5
October 2005 on the Gold Coast with this year’s theme focusing
on ‘Redesigning Animal Agriculture’ (www.livestockhorizons.com).
It is a reflection of the importance of this issue globally that the
conference has attracted so many leading experts and policy-makers
from around the world, and sponsorship from MLA and AWI.
The conference provides an avenue for those in the research
community to debate the issues of current and future animal
agricultural systems.
More details on the conference are included in this magazine.
Panel of experts debate future of animal agricultureHorizons in Livestock Sciences conference, Gold Coast 2-5 October 2005As part of the Horizons in Livestock Sciences 2005 conference program, an international panel of experts will debate the challenges
and issues regarding redesigning future animal agricultural systems.
Panel members comprise Professor Louise Fresco of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Italy, and Professor Margaret Alston of
Charles Sturt University. Other panel members include:
Thomas R DeGregori, Professor of Economics
University of Houston
Professor DeGregori argues that transgenic foodstuffs have become the latest villain of choice for those who believe modern science and technology are killing us. He claims that mostly everything we eat has been genetically modified and that every form of plant breeding has unknown outcomes. Conventional breeding of wheat, for example, will result in a plant with about 3000 alien genes.
Paul Thompson, WK Kellogg Endowed Chair in Food, Agricultural and Community Ethics
Michigan State University
Dr Paul B Thompson holds the W. K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural, Food and Community Ethics at Michigan State University, where he is also Professor in the Departments of Philosophy, Agricultural Economics and Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies. He is the author or editor of six books, including Food Biotechnology in Ethical Perspective, and over one hundred research articles and book chapters.
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Pastures from SpaceAustralian and New Zealand dairy
farmers are trialling the Pastures
from Space® satellite measurement
of pastures system, developed by a
consortium including CSIRO Livestock
Industries, Department of Agriculture
Western Australia and the WA
Department of Land Information.
More than 50 woolgrowers across
Western Australia are involved in
evaluation trials of the technology
for a range of activities including the
management of stocking rates and
conservation of spring fodder. The
Pastures from Space® technology
combines information from a network
of satellites orbiting 700 kilometres
above the Earth with localised climate
information to estimate pasture growth
rates and biomass.
The next generation of technology
aims to measure the nutritive value
of pastures. Huge opportunities exist
to integrate real-time monitoring
of the feed resource with remote
spatial animal control to better
utilise pastures for productivity and
environmental outcomes. See www.
pasturesfromspace.csiro.au
Contact Dr Dave Henry, Tel +61 8 9333 6689
Research bequestA recent bequest to CSIRO by Barbara Allingham, the only daughter of a prominent
Uralla grazing family in New South Wales will be used in developing a treatment for
Bovine Ocular Neoplasia or cancer eye in cows, a disease which has received little
research support over the past 20-30 years.
“The bequest provides us with a great opportunity to use the soon to be completed
bovine genome sequence in combination with the latest genomic technologies to
understand the cause of cancer eye in Australian cattle,” says CSIRO Livestock Industries
project leader, Dr Tim Doran.
Dr Doran and his team are currently using an existing bovine
skin microarray to compare the genetic differences or gene
expression from diseased and normal eyelids. They anticipate
with the completion of the bovine genome sequence by
December 2005, fully annotated arrays will be possible,
providing greater information than ever before on this disease.
“We hope to find the cause of cancer eye so that an
alternative treatment can be developed, replacing the
current procedure of surgically removing the diseased
eyelids,” says Dr Doran.
“We are very appreciative of the bequest and feel privileged to be
able to conduct this research on behalf of the Allingham family”.
For information contact Dr Doran on +61 3 5227 5788 or [email protected]
Genetically speaking, livestock species
like sheep, cows and pigs tend not to be a
favourite animal for study.
Unlike rabbits, mice or flies, cows
and pigs mature slowly, so breeding
experiments require a long lead time
before a response to genetic selection in
the animal becomes apparent.
Now CSIRO scientists have developed
new computer software that can simulate
breeding strategies for any species to
improve commercial livestock breeding – and
help reduce experimentation on animals.
The software can simulate breeding of
any number of animals with multiple
generations using any selection strategy.
“One of the applications of the software
conducted for the Australian Sheep
Industry Cooperative Research Centre
was simulating a Merino sheep population
to compare a new breeding strategy with
a conventional breeding strategy used in
Dr Tim Doran. Photo: Dave Rankin
Technology to make sheep breed like rabbits the wool industry,” says CSIRO’s Dr Sonja
Dominik, who has been working on the
implementation of the software.
The technology enables hundreds and
thousands of sheep to be “born”, selected
and culled without the feed costs and
management issues.
In the Merino experiment, different
scenarios with a variety of input
parameters were simulated, covering 28
years of breeding cycles and generating
‘virtual’ 664,500 sheep.
Dr Dominik says emerging technologies
from the molecular genetics area will
enable breeding program software to be
investigated and developed for commercial
use to enable farmers to access
information at their fingertips on the most
effective use of particular technologies in
their livestock breeding programs.
Contact Dr Sonja Dominik
Tel +61 2 6776 1308 or [email protected]
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Nipah virus killed
more than 100 people
in Malaysia in 1999
and re-emerged in
2001 and 2004 in
Bangladesh killing
up to 75 per cent of
people infected.
Dr Mungall said that while the Malaysian outbreak of Nipah virus
was believed to be transmitted from bats to pigs to humans, there is
evidence that the Bangladesh outbreaks involved direct bat-to-human
and possibly human-to-human transmission.
“There are no vaccines available for Hendra virus or Nipah virus and no
anti-viral drugs available to treat paramyxoviruses in general,” he says.
For information contact Dr Mungall on + 61 3 5227 5431 or
Australian expertise is a crucial part of an international project
aiming to develop therapies against two deadly viruses.
With funding from the United States’ National Institutes of
Health (NIH), and in collaboration with a research team led by
Dr Christopher Broder at the Uniformed Services University of
the Health Sciences in Bethesda Maryland, CSIRO Livestock
Industries’ Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in
Geelong is attempting to develop treatments against Hendra
virus and Nipah virus.
CSIRO’s Dr Bruce Mungall said that Hendra and Nipah are
two newly discovered paramyxoviruses which pose a serious
threat to human health.
Hendra virus killed two people in Queensland in 1994/95 and recently re-
emerged in the State. A Cairns vet has recovered after being infected by
Hendra virus during an autopsy on a horse in October, and in December,
Hendra virus was confirmed in a dead horse from the Townsville area.
CSIRO has been listed as amongst the
world’s best animal and veterinary research
performers, according to a recent report.
CSIRO Livestock Industries Chief, Shaun
Coffey, said that a report by the US Publisher,
Thomson Scientific in May 2005, ranked
CSIRO scientists amongst the top 10 of
works cited in international literature.
“This is a good measure of the quality of
our work and the international status of
Australia’s livestock and veterinary research
effort,” Mr Coffey says.
“The quality of Australia’s research has
underpinned successful livestock industries
for many years, and it is good to see that
this work is recognised internationally for the
quality of its performance.”
Antiviral therapies for Hendra virus and Nipah virus are being developed at the highest level of biosecurity (BSL4), with scientists like Dr Bruce Mungall wearing airtight plastic suits while working inside special sealed laboratories.
Australian livestock research among world’s best
US company Thomson Scientific extracted
more than 140,000 papers published from
1994 to 2004 from 150 indexed journals
categorised under the headings of veterinary
sciences, veterinary medicine and animal
health to measure both the total number of
“citations” (how many times the paper was
“cited” overall in the literature) and “impact”
(how many times on average each paper is
cited in individual publications).
In the 11 year period, the US Department
of Agriculture (USDA) was the most highly
cited veterinary and animal health research
organisation in terms of total number of
citations.
Although producing fewer papers, CSIRO
was ranked in the world’s top ten for the
Australian expertise crucial in disease fight
impact of its publications – that is, the
number of times a paper is cited in a
publication. This is considered a measure of
quality of scientific papers.
On average, CSIRO veterinary and animal
research papers were cited 7.41 times in other
publications. The Department of Agriculture
and Rural Development of Northern Ireland
(DARDNI) achieved the top impact ranking,
with 10.31 citations per paper.
Christopher King, editor of Thomas
Scientific’s Science Watch said citations were
an acknowledgement of intellectual debt
and tracking research institutions in terms of
total citations and total impact provided an
indicator of the most influential institutions, or
“thought leaders”.
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The Australian National Livestock Identification System (NLIS)
aims to electronically track cattle and sheep movements from
birth through to export or death.
The system relies on individual animals having a unique
identification code along with a Property Information Code (PIC)
that is registered with each State Dept of Primary Industry. The
code identifies the property of birth and the movement of the
animal between properties and saleyards.
Any movement of animals must be recorded and sent to the Meat
and Livestock Australia (MLA) NLIS database within 48 hours.
An individual animal recording system for
Australian cattle was first conceived in the
mid-1980s in an attempt to address animal
disease and food safety issues. However,
the real momentum for the implementation
of the current system was the opportunity to
proceed with a fully electronic identification
system for livestock. It will be implemented
initially in cattle. The electronic system relies
on cattle having their unique identifier fitted
to an ear tag or a bolus in the form of a Radio
Frequency Identification Device (RFID). The
current system uses passive transponders
which when in range of a reader device
automatically communicate their unique ID.
While NLIS will not prevent an exotic disease from gaining access
to Australia, it will significantly assist in the emergency response to
disease by being able to trace animal movements. For consumers,
NLIS means a significant step forward in developing a national food
security plan and plays a substantial role in maintaining consumer
confidence.
There are other benefits of NLIS to livestock producers. The
implementation of NLIS offers the potential of direct benefits
that relate to the daily management of livestock, cost savings and
business needs of producers.
NLIS promises to revolutionise livestock management practicesThe National Livestock Identification System currently being adopted by Australia’s livestock industries will help protect industry market access and consumer confidence in food safety. Future developments also offer the potential to deliver new and innovative livestock management practices.
There are already examples of producers integrating electronic
identification systems into their livestock business management
needs. For a number of years, the dairy industry, a high value
industry, has been using electronic identification to customise
feed requirements based on yield.
In the sheep industry, a walk-through weighing system
designed by CSIRO Livestock Industries in collaboration
with the Australian Sheep Industry Cooperative Research
Centre (Sheep CRC) has been developed. The walk-through
weigher is a solar-powered, stand-alone sheep weighing
system. The trailer-mounted system logs a sheep’s electronic
identification tag and weight as it walks
across electronic scales. Each animal’s
details are then transmitted via the
CDMA mobile phone network to an
office computer. The system’s ability to
regularly monitor changes in individual
sheep weight is expected to prove
invaluable to sheep farmers concerned
with ensuring that diseased or
malnourished sheep are quickly identified
and removed from their flocks.
Commercial companies are realising there
are opportunities to develop integrated
NLIS readers within animal handling
facilities. These enable detailed records on the date and time an
animal receives, for example, a vaccination.
More advanced systems are able to link automated weighing
within automated drafting, enabling the animals to be automatically
mustered when their liveweights meets market specification or if
they are not growing at the required rate to divert them to optimum
feeding regimes.
Some producers are now looking to monitor the animals
throughout their life and are in a position to provide detailed
information on the life history of the animal from paddock to plate.
There are already examples of producers
integrating electronic identification
systems into their livestock business
management needs.
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In this context, the change to regulatory requirement brought
on by NLIS has already, in a small number of cases, enhanced
livestock management practices and addresses consumer
concerns over food safety. No doubt the early adopters will blaze
a trail of innovation and reap the rewards.
Further work undertaken at CSIRO’s JM Rendell Laboratory and Belmont
Research Station in Rockhampton is exploring how communications
infrastructure can provide added value to automated monitoring.
The NLIS system is currently, however, a passive identification
system. In other words, the tags only have a unique identifier.
In future identifier
tags will have a higher
degree of functionality
which will enable
more advanced
applications.
Work being carried
out in Rockhampton
and supported through
CSIRO’s Food Futures
Flagship program is
exploring the next
generation NLIS
systems. At this stage
the focus is on function
rather than form and
so the devices are
large and expensive.
However, as the market and technology requirements become
refined the cost and size will decline.
The NLIS of the future will have transceiver capabilities enabling
it to both transmit and receive much larger volumes of data. The
devices will be able to communicate between each other and
establish networks enabling larger amounts of spatial and temporal
(space and time) event data to be recorded.
NLIS promises to revolutionise livestock management practices
Some examples of the types of information include animal location
(using Global Positioning Systems), records of microclimate around
individual animals, social interactions of animals that will be linked
to production, for example, a record of the amount of time a cow
and its calf spend together in relation to the growth rate of the calf.
The NLIS devices of the future will also be able to process information
and their autonomy will be able to provide decision making capabilities.
Some examples that are being developed include individual access to
supplementary feeders or virtual fencing capabilities through on board
control of animal movement via audible and electrical stimulation.
While the
implementation of
mandatory NLIS is
creating a radical change
for Australia’s livestock
production industries, the
change is also creating
some new opportunities
and enabling a higher
degree of precision
management.
In partnership with
producers, industry
and other government
agencies, CSIRO is not
only working towards
adding value to the
current system but also
looking to the future for the next generation of NLIS which will be
both smarter and also provide much greater functionality for the
livestock industries of the future.
For more information contact:
Dr Dave Swain, Tel +61 7 4923 8125
By Dr Dave Swain,Research Scientist, CSIRO Livestock Industries
Scientists from CSIRO Livestock Industries took to the road late last year to learn more about the commercial beef production systems in Central Queensland.
Twenty scientists based in Rockhampton,
Brisbane and Armidale joined a three-
day beef production awareness tour to
gain a better understanding of how beef
producers run their properties.
“The scientists heard first-hand about
the everyday issues that are important to
property managers,” said Dr Bob Hunter,
Officer-In-Charge of CSIRO Livestock
Industries’ JM Rendel Laboratory in
Rockhampton.
“The aim was to increase interaction
between scientists and industry. Our
scientists met with various property
managers and saw how technologies
were being adopted on the farms.”
The scientists visited different farm
types which included; a commercial beef
The land visits a city labThe country came to the city
when Agforce’s Belmont and Brian
Pastures Committee’s recently visited
CSIRO Livestock Industries at the
Queensland Bioscience Precinct in
Brisbane.
Dr Ross Tellam outlined CSIRO’s
role in the Bovine Genome Project
to committee members – and the
important contribution Belmont’s
research has made to this
international project.
From the Board Room, the group
moved into the labs and met with
scientists Tony Vuocolo, George
Riding, Shelly Hope and Greg Harper
who explained their current project
work.
Bill Barendse and Blair Harrison
concluded the Committee’s tour
with a practical demonstration of the
genotyping real-time PCR machine.
The QBP visit completed a ‘country-
to-city’ circle when some of CSIRO’s
scientists visited large Central
Queensland beef properties late last
year as part of the ‘beef bus’ tour.
Scientists climb aboard the beef bus
production property, a feedlot, a cattle
stud and a mixed farm producing both
beef and cotton.
“Many of our scientists come from very
diverse backgrounds - Europe, the USA,
Asia, New Zealand and Australian cities,”
Dr Hunter said. “Some had never been
exposed in such a focused way to life
on a beef production property and life in
rural towns.”
The tour was first suggested by science
staff following a visit by beef producers to
the JM Rendel Laboratory.
“Our staff wanted to see beef production
systems first-hand, so they could ensure
that their research was targeted in a way
that best served beef producers,” Dr
Hunter said.
The scientists also took the opportunity
to talk about ‘life as a scientist’ to a very
enthusiastic group of primary school
children and in the evenings they met with
various community service groups from
Emerald and Moura.
Dr Hunter said the beef awareness tour
had drawn an enthusiastic response
from CSIRO scientists and future tours
were planned.
For information contact Dr Bob Hunter
on 61 07 4923 8142 or email
Agforce’s Belmont and Brian Pastures Committee take a tour of the labs
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Scientists hear from Swin Hudson
Carl Morawitz, Jon Hill and Andrew Chalmers
information on animal location.
Together with GPS data, the solar
powered animal mounted device
uses cues activated by algorithms in a
central processing unit that are graded
from least to most irritating as the
animal approaches the Virtual Center
Line (VCL™) located at the centre of a
Virtual Boundary (VB™). A Geographic
Information System (GIS) allows pre-
programmed longitude-latitude pairs
to define a VCL™ whose width is fully programmable. A Virtual
Paddock (VP™) created from one to several VBs™ can either
hold animals stationary or move
animal groups at variable rates
across a landscape.
Preliminary research indicates that
VPs™ can assume any size and
shape and can be moved across the
landscape while controlling groups
of cattle in which only a few animals
need be instrumented.
Says Anderson: “Our future
research includes wireless
technology to download data
without the need to restrain the animal and using satellite
imagery of vegetation to determine where on landscapes to
construct the VPs™”.
DVF™ can change not only the animal’s location but also its
direction of movement through audio and electric cues delivered
to either the right or left side of the animal by means of a small
device (an ear tag, for example) located on the animal to get the
animal to move to the left or right, respectively.
However, Dr Anderson says, Glidden’s barbed wire will never be
completely eliminated from landscapes and is required where
absolute animal control is required since DVF™ relies on altering
animal behaviour, something that is never completly predictable.
For more information contact:
Dr Dave Swain, Tel +61 7 4923 8125 or [email protected]
Dr Peter Corke, Tel +61 7 3327 4584 or [email protected]
Controlling free-ranging animal distribution is among the most
challenging jobs a producer faces when managing livestock.
In 1874 Joseph F. Glidden changed the face of range animal
management with his barbed wire patent. Now satellite signals may
soon become the method of choice for controlling and distributing
animals across rangeland landscapes in the 21st century.
The United States Department of Agriculture – Agriculture Research
Service’s Dr Dean M. Anderson is the proponent of a new cyber
alternative to fences he has termed Directional Virtual Fencing (DVF™).
Dr Anderson is working with CSIRO on a three month Sir Frederick
McMaster Fellowship and will be participating in the Horizons in
Livestock Sciences conference on 2-5 October in Queensland.
Anderson’s work
melds time-tested
animal husbandry
practices with cutting-
edge technological
advances and scientific
breakthroughs coming
from the disciplines
of range, animal and
ethological sciences.
Decades of
agricultural research
have consistently
revealed that flexibility is the first key in the proper management
of complex biological systems.
“Where legal as well as health and safety issues are of paramount
concern in controlling animals, conventional fences are the tool of choice
and will remain so well into the foreseeable future,” says Dr Anderson.
“However, where adaptive management is the goal, new
methodologies such as DVF™ will provide flexible animal control
within a sound ecological framework.”
This innovative, patented methodology is the most recent
tool to allow near real-time management of animal control
and distribution with flexibility equaled only by herding. DVF™
is a methodology that uses animal behaviour and electro-
mechanically produced cues to control an animal’s location
and subsequently its movement. DVF™ uses Global Positional
Systems (GPS) satellites that can provide second-by-second
Virtual Fencing –Automated animal control in the 21st century
International Collaboration
“Preliminary research indicates that VPs™ can assume any size and shape and can be moved across the landscape while
controlling groups of cattle in which only a few animals need
be instrumented”
Dr Dean Anderson
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Food Futures Our goal is to transform the international competitiveness and add $3 billion annually to the Australian Agrifood sector by the application of frontier technologies to high-potential industries. www.csiro.au/foodfutures
As part of the Food Futures Flagship Beef Breed
Engineering stream, CSIRO Livestock Industries and CSIRO
Information and Communication Technology Centre have
joined forces to deliver a suite of technologies to the northern
beef industry.
CSIRO Livestock Industries’ project leader Dr Dave Swain
and his team are interested in mapping the movement of
the calves and their mothers, and comparing this data with
growth rates.
The project involves tracking the movement of cattle around
the Belmont Research Station, near Rockhampton, using
electronic collars. These collars allow researchers to track the
cattle 24 hours a day, without any interference from humans.
“The information gained provides us with new insights into
what sort of changes could be made to animal husbandry
practices in order to maximize production levels,” Dr Swain says.
In a world first, CSIRO’s Food Futures Flagship has developed
plants that produce DHA, a healthy omega-3 oil component normally
only available from fish sources, and vital for human health.
“Showing that plants can produce DHA in their seeds is a
remarkable scientific feat,” says Dr Bruce Lee, Director of the
CSIRO Food Futures Flagship responsible for the project.
“It is an important first step towards improving human nutrition,
reducing pressure on declining fish resources worldwide and
providing Australian grain growers with new high-value crops.”
DHA and other long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are made by lower
plant forms, like microalgae, which are then acquired by fish
through the food chain, but more advanced plants that grow on
land cannot produce them.
Healthy new future for Omega-3 grains
“The prototype plants we developed show for the first time that
land plants can indeed make their own DHA and other important
long-chain omega-3 fatty acids when we equip them with the
required genes,” says research team leader of Food Futures
Advanced Genetics, Dr Allan Green.
DHA is vital for optimal brain and eye development and is
recognised for its health attributes including; lowering coronary heart
disease risk, Type-2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and asthma.
“Commercially available omega-3 enriched crop plants may be
some years away, but they would enable the average Australian
to obtain healthier levels of DHA through a wider choice of
foods,” says Dr Green.
Keeping track of bovine motherhood
“Using devices called ‘contact loggers’ we will be monitoring the
cattle without physically handling them, so their natural behaviour
remains undisturbed,” Dr Swain says.
Cover photo: monitoring the behaiviour of cows and calves
Technology innovation is one of four areas of focus in CSIRO Livestock Industries’ research
portfolio. Our research aims to develop, adapt, and integrate cutting-edge technologies and
information into farm and business systems. We offer skills in:
• frontier technologies for the real-time management of livestock, feed resources and the
environment
• complex systems science approaches for extensive agriculture
• tools for the precision management of livestock and grazing systems.
• research solutions for industry application
AusBeef – modelling a ruminant CSIRO Livestock Industries, in association with the Grains Research Development Corporation,
has developed a mechanistic model of a ruminant – and a prototype software tool (AusBeef)
based upon this model which can be used by feedlot enterprises.
The Australian Lot Feeders Association is currently evaluating AusBeef and its potential
adoption for the industry.
The CSIRO ruminant model is at present the most advanced ruminant model available and
has the capacity to predict digestibility and nutritive value of feed; body growth rates and
composition; including the effect on production of:
• Different grain types and variation in characteristics
• Different grain processing techniques
• A full range of rations
• Acidosis
• Associative effects between grain and fibre
• Substitution effects (dairy).
It is estimated that feedlot producers could add
a $5 to $30 per head potential profit gain with new methods of measuring grain characteristics
and the use of the AusBeef decision support software tool. This would be achieved reducing
the costs of processing grains and selecting grains with the desired characteristics for either
protein synthesis or fat synthesis.
Calculations also suggest that substantial reductions in methane emissions by the beef
industry might be achieved by directing more and younger cattle through feedlots.
An upgraded ruminant model could also incorporate the capacity to predict milk production and
composition in response to feeding different levels of grain processed in different ways.
For more information contact:
Dr Barry Nagorcka, Tel: +61 2 6246 5066 or [email protected]
The CSIRO and Australian Pork Limited
(APL)- developed AUSPIG decision
support system is a very effective tool for
increasing the efficiency and profitability
of intensive pig production. The software
incorporates pig type, feed, piggery
environment, market prices, labour,
capital and other resources. It enables the
user to put in place more profitable pig
management strategies.
The AUSPIG decision support system,
released in Australia in 1990, is now widely
used and influential in the pig industry. It is
used extensively by commercial piggeries,
feed mills as well as educational institutions.
The four central components of the AUSPIG
software system include:
• AUSPIG growth and production simulation model
• FEEDMANIA – an optimal-cost diet formulation system
• PIGMAX – a pig enterprise model and
• ‘Expert Systems’ – to analyse and interpret the model outputs.
Since its release, the licensing and support
of AUSPIG has generated more than $4
million in revenue to CSIRO and its partners.
AUSPIG remains one of APL’s primary
delivery mechanisms for incorporating
new pig nutrition information into piggery
management practices.
AUSPIG assists the Australian pig industry in
delivering improved sustainability, productivity
and product quality.
For more information, see:www.csiro.
au/AUSPIG
Contact: Mr Andrew Chalmers, Tel +61 2
6776 1326 or [email protected]
On-Farm Technology – Innovation and Integration
AUSPIG – solutions for the pig industry
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photo: Michael MacNeil, USDA
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CSIRO Livestock Industries is a leading research enterprise with extensive expertise in the areas of animal health and production. We have laboratories at Brisbane and Rockhampton in Queensland, Armidale in New South Wales, Geelong in Victoria and Perth in Western Australia.
Our animal facilities can be made available on a collaborative or commercial basis.
Our staff are experienced in the housing and handling of a wide variety of livestock and wildlife species. We have extensive experience in
running infectious disease and production trials and in undertaking work for external clients.
At CSIRO, we fully adhere to Australian and international standards for the use of animals in research. Independent ethics
committees oversee all animal research, ensuring compliance to these standards and protocols. CSIRO undertakes to continually investigate
and adopt techniques to reduce or replace the use of animals in research, and refine techniques to improve their quality of life.
Queensland Bioscience Precinct a CSIRO Livestock Industries site
Leading livestock research facilities
Major research sites
Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL)
Based in Geelong, Victoria, AAHL is one of the most
sophisticated laboratories in the world for the safe handling
and containment of animal disease agents, and critical in
Australia’s efforts to remain free of major exotic diseases.
Centre for Environment and Life Sciences (CELS)
CELS is a collaborative CSIRO research facility located in
Floreat, Western Australia with research focused on an
environmentally sustainable Australia, harnessing frontier and
enabling technologies, and increasing productivity.
FD McMaster Laboratory
Located 16km south of Armidale, NSW, the FD McMaster Laboratory
is situated on prime grazing land and comprises 2500 sq. metres of
high quality office and laboratory accommodation.
JM Rendel Laboratory
Based in one of Australia’s major beef producing regions –
Rockhampton, Queensland, the JM Rendel Laboratory undertakes
research to increase profitability and improved environmental
sustainability of the Northern Australian beef industry.
Queensland Bioscience Precinct (QBP)
The QBP is a world-class collaborative scientific environment
for biological research, development and commercialisation
and is the largest facility of its kind in Australia.
Focus on AAHLThe Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL), located in Geelong, Victoria is a national centre of excellence in disease diagnosis, research and policy advice in animal health. It is a major facility of CSIRO Livestock Industries.
AAHL undertakes
research to
develop new
diagnostic tests,
vaccines and
therapeutics for
endemic animal
diseases of
national importance. Major diseases of livestock, aquaculture
animals, and wildlife, are studied.
The laboratory is a world animal health organisation (Office
Internationale des Epizooties- OIE) reference laboratory for avian
influenza, Newcastle disease, bluetongue disease and epizootic
haematopoietic necrosis virus (EHNV), an OIE Collaborative Centre
for New and Emerging Diseases and a WHO Collaborating Centre for
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). AAHL is also a national
reference laboratory for rabies and brucella.
AAHL profile
• Disease diagnosis and the development of diagnostic tests
• Development of vaccines and therapeutics
• Veterinary skills, including epidemiology
• Virology
• Immunology
• Molecular biology
• Histology
• Electron microscopy
• Serology
• Pathology
• Protein biochemistry and proteomics
• Plant toxins
• Bacteriology and organic chemistry, particularly in
relation to natural toxins
• High level biocontainment, handling of zoonotic diseases
For further information:
http://www.csiro.au/AAHL
Research facilities
Field stations
Queensland
Belmont Research Station is a 3,260 hectare property, located
32 km north of Rockhampton, Queensland, within easy reach
of CSIRO’s J M Rendel Laboratory.
New South Wales
Arding Field Station comprises of 325 hectares of improved
native and sown pasture and is set up for a range of experimental
activities with sheep. The facilities include a purpose-built
sampling shed, sheep yards, shearing shed and an office. It has
a long-term carrying capacity of 15000 dry sheep equivalents
(average 8 DSE/ha).
Victoria
Werribee Animal Facility is certified by Australian Quarantine
Inspection Service (AQIS) and the Office of the Gene Technology
Regulator (OGTR) for Physical Containment Levels One and Two
(PC1, PC2).
Western Australia
Yalanbee Research Station is located near Perth, Western
Australia and provides the infrastructure and support for
complex field experiments for animals, soil and plant
research. The 1150 hectare property has a 200square metre
laboratory area plus offices, a walk in freezer and a post-
mortem room.
For further information contact:
Dr Marion Andrew on +61 3 5227 5745 or Marion.Andrew
@csiro.au
www.csiro.au/li
Expert staff and facilities to measure methane emissions in sheep are located in Perth
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1: Enabling technology innovation
Providing research solutions to enable Australia’s livestock and allied industries to be globally competitive
The focus of this research theme is on adapting, integrating and developing technologies and information into farm and business
systems to ensure best management practices for livestock enterprises with full integration into the information economy.
CSIRO Livestock Industries’ research is based on four research themes, each with strategic projects directed towards making
Australia’s livestock and allied industries a stronger global competitor.
Integrated livestock business systems
A livestock systems approach, including social and economic factors is used in this research to integrate results from other research areas.
Integrated on-farm systems
Research results are integrated into a package that can be readily adopted on-farm through improved management of the production animal. Application of genetic technologies is emphasised.
Australia’s internationally recognised livestock research enterprise
Improving Australia’s disease management systems and reducing the risks to trade and production posed by animal disease is central
to this research theme and includes the developmental areas of molecular diagnosis, epidemiology and vaccines.
2: Ensuring product integrity and market access
Improved control of aquatic animal disease
Immune control of ruminant disease
Reduced reliance on chemicals for control of ruminant disease
Intensive livestock production
Improved diagnosis of infectious animal diseases
Genetic approaches for increased disease resistance
Alternative technologies and the development of integrated management practices are the focus in this research to reduce the reliance on chemical control of disease.
By better understanding the immune response to infectious agents, this research aims to improve control of animal disease.
This research aims to improve the management of risks posed by disease to Australia’s aquatic animal industries through improved diagnosis and prevention.
Research is being directed towards enhanced productivity through better management of health and production of non-ruminant animals.
Using innovative technologies, this research aims to improve current diagnostic methodologies.
This research area identifies and utilises genes, gene networks and biochemical pathways that are important to the health of livestock.
Dr Gene Wijffels
Tel +61 7 3214 [email protected]
Dr Peter Walker
Tel + 61 3 5227 [email protected]
Dr John Lowenthal
Tel + 61 3 5227 [email protected]
Dr David Boyle
Tel +61 3 5227 [email protected]
Dr Kritaya Kongsuwan
Tel + 61 7 3214 [email protected]
Dr Wojtek Michalski
Tel + 61 3 5227 [email protected]
Dr Sandra Eady Tel + 61 2 6776 [email protected]
Dr Dave Henry Tel + 61 8 9333 6689 [email protected]
Research themes
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3: Understanding and transforming the animal and its productsThe focus of this research theme is to increase the value of livestock by improving the animals’ inherent capacity to deliver current and
new products by using new and emerging capabilities in molecular biology, computational mathematics and bioinformatics.
4: Achieving environmental sustainability and social acceptance
Ecoheath Livestock welfare New & emerging zoonotic diseases
On-farm food safety
Diagnosis, Surveillance and Response Group
This research group provides diagnostic
services, enhanced surveillance and the
capability to respond to risks and needs
posed by emerging and exotic diseases.
Dr Peter Daniels
Tel +61 3 5227 5272
Approaches are being developed in this research theme to increase the beneficial environmental impacts of livestock production and
anticipate and address community concerns about livestock and livestock products.
Australia’s internationally recognised livestock research enterprise
Application of quantitative genetics to economically important traits
Application of molecular genetics to economically important traits of livestock
Genes for product
quality
Advanced reproductive technologies
Enhanced on-farm
productivity
Novel products
Quantitative genetics are being used by this research group to enhance critical productivity traits and improve profitability
This group’s research is focused on the development and application of molecular genetics using genetic markers for improved livestock performance.
Identify and utilise genes, gene networks and biochemical pathways important to product quality characteristics
of livestock.
Research is directed towards increasing reproductive performance through a better understanding and application of fundamental reproductive biology.
Improving the efficiency and sustainability of on-farm production is a central focus on this research group.
This research aims to develop new commercial products through utilisation of biological pathways or products.
Dr John Henshall
Tel + 61 2 6776 [email protected]
Dr Bill Barendse
Tel + 61 7 3214 [email protected]
Dr Brian Dalrymple
Tel + 61 7 3214 [email protected]
Dr Jon Hill
Tel +61 2 6776 [email protected]
Dr Andre-Denis Wright
Tel +61 8 9333 [email protected]
Dr Greg Harper
Tel +61 7 3214 [email protected]
Research in ecohealth aims to integrate livestock production into the improved management of the environment.
Measurements and strategies are being developed by this research group to improve livestock welfare and ensure market access.
Research in this area aims to achieve better management of current and emerging zoonoses so that risk to human health and trade is minimised.
This research aims to develop and apply strategies to improve food safety by managing risks on farm.
Dr Alan Brownlee
Tel + 61 7 3214 [email protected]
Dr David Strom
Tel + 61 3 5227 [email protected]
Dr Deborah Middleton
Tel + 61 3 5227 [email protected]
Dr Chris McSweeney
Tel + 61 7 3214 [email protected]
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