Siecap’s agribusiness expert John Storie will attend Australia’s national beef expo in Rockhampton from 6-12 May 2018.
Beef Australia is held every three years and encompasses all facets of the country’s beef industry.
This year’s event will include:
- new trade and export opportunities through exposing the local supply chain to the international industry leaders
- more than 4,500 cattle from over 30 breeds
- a trade fair promoting more than 500 businesses
- a symposium, seminars and property tours to deliver new research information to producers
- restaurants, celebrity chefs and cooking demonstrations.
- Industry research focus: animal welfare
While the industry prepares to convene for this year’s expo, Australian researchers are undertaking ground-breaking studies focused on livestock welfare.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), through MLA Donor Company (MDC), has partnered with some of the country’s leading minds in one of the largest investments in livestock welfare research to date.
The partnership between MDC and collaborating research bodies (including CSIRO Armidale; Animal Welfare Science Centre; NSW Department of Primary Industries; and several of Australia’s leading universities) will see up to $35 million invested over five years. The unprecedented funding commitment will allow for strategic, innovative research that will lead to valuable and long-lasting outcomes.
Of particular interest is a welfare benchmarking and management project by the CSIRO, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and the University of Melbourne. Their five-year project will develop a framework for risk assessment, monitoring and data analysis in order to improve welfare management of beef cattle and meat sheep as they move through the supply chain consultants. Rather than framing welfare standards in a pass-or-fail assessment, the benchmarking project will approach welfare standards as a continuum where performance can improve and evolve.
Other research and development projects that have been approved under the partnership will look at issues including the improvement or replacement of aversive practices such as branding, dehorning and castration. Tools to improve the early detection of disease, test immunity and reduce mortality rates will also be explored.
The current R&D focus on livestock welfare will make this year’s Beef Australia expo extremely interesting. As always, our Siecap team is enthusiastic about sharing and gaining insights into supply chain standards, particularly when it comes to raising standards in one of Australia’s most prominent industries.
