The infectome of NSW dairy calves, a genomic microbial surveillance . Infectious diseases are the main cause of disease and mortality in calves. The knowledge of the diversity of infectious disease-causing agents in NSW dairy cattle is not comprehensive. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to redress this knowledge gap using untargeted microbial genomic sequencing to characterise and identify known and emerging enteric and respiratory pathogens in dairy calves. We will determine the occ ....The infectome of NSW dairy calves, a genomic microbial surveillance . Infectious diseases are the main cause of disease and mortality in calves. The knowledge of the diversity of infectious disease-causing agents in NSW dairy cattle is not comprehensive. Thus, the immediate goal of this proposal is to redress this knowledge gap using untargeted microbial genomic sequencing to characterise and identify known and emerging enteric and respiratory pathogens in dairy calves. We will determine the occurrence and distribution of their microbial species across all NSW dairy regions. This will enable the Australian dairy industry to improve animal health and productivity, and diagnostic capacity, which will allow farmers to make informed management decisions about disease control strategies. Read moreRead less
Early life nutrition to improve feed efficiency in commercial dairy goats. This project aims to improve the productivity and welfare and reduce resource waste in commercial dairy goat kids. The Australian dairy goat industry is expanding (~20% per annum) yet there is little research to overcome hurdles to improving milk and meat production. There is also increased societal pressure to improve sustainability, reduce waste and maintain animal welfare. By investigating nutritional methods to improv ....Early life nutrition to improve feed efficiency in commercial dairy goats. This project aims to improve the productivity and welfare and reduce resource waste in commercial dairy goat kids. The Australian dairy goat industry is expanding (~20% per annum) yet there is little research to overcome hurdles to improving milk and meat production. There is also increased societal pressure to improve sustainability, reduce waste and maintain animal welfare. By investigating nutritional methods to improve productivity of male (for meat) and female (for milk) kids, this project will generate new knowledge relevant to Australian and international goat production systems. This project will assist goat producers to make decisions that maximise animal productivity with flow on benefits to manufacturers of goat products. Read moreRead less
Sustaining chicken-meat production with alternative protein sources. This project aims to secure sustainable chicken-meat production by the radical reduction or even elimination of imported soybean meal as the primary protein source in Australian broiler diets by its replacement with feed-grade amino acids and local feedstuffs. This project will expand our comprehension of starch/glucose and protein/amino acid digestive dynamics in poultry diets based on wheat, the primary feed grain in Australi ....Sustaining chicken-meat production with alternative protein sources. This project aims to secure sustainable chicken-meat production by the radical reduction or even elimination of imported soybean meal as the primary protein source in Australian broiler diets by its replacement with feed-grade amino acids and local feedstuffs. This project will expand our comprehension of starch/glucose and protein/amino acid digestive dynamics in poultry diets based on wheat, the primary feed grain in Australia; however, wheat does inherently possess nutritional disadvantages. Expected outcomes include soybean meal-free feed formulations for the Australian chicken-meat industry to enhance the affordable and environmentally viable production of chicken-meat coupled with improved bird welfare and flock health. Read moreRead less