Transcript 3. Meat Dale Miller

Dr Dale Miller
Research Sub-program Leader
Tasmanian Red Meat Industries
• $240M from
livestock (06/07)
• ¼ of gross farm
gate value of Tas.
agriculture
• 2500 commercial
beef and sheep
meat producers
Tasmanian
Agricultural Land
Red Meat Producers
manage a significant
proportion of the state’s
natural resources.
Source: Prof. Tony Norton
Current Red Meat Industry Issues
Global
National
Local
Availability of credit
Producer’s declining terms of
trade
Rationalisation of industries
Climate change
Climate change & Government
policy
Drought management & pasture
decline
Rising demand for food
Demand for healthier, smarter
foods
Biosecurity & food quality,
including GM usage
Demand for sustainable, clean, &
ethical farming
Public scrutiny of animal
production systems incl. welfare
& environment
Response to reduced sheep
numbers
Rising oil values
Rising fertiliser and energy costs
Alternative enterprises/use
Trade liberalisation
Reliability of water supplies
Availability of skilled labour
Financial Benchmarking Project
Global
National
Local
Availability of credit
Producer’s declining terms of
trade
Rationalisation of industries
Rising oil values
Rising fertiliser and energy costs
Alternative enterprises/use
Aims: improve farm business management decisions
and develop industry level financial data.
• 3-year statewide project, funded by DPIW
• aim for 200 businesses, ends 2010
• identify drivers of profitability & areas for improvement
• promote benchmarking as a business management tool
Spatial analysis of farm attributes and profitability
Global
National
Local
Climate change
Climate change & Government
policy
Rationalisation of industries
Demand for sustainable, clean, &
ethical farming
Public scrutiny of animal
production systems incl. welfare
& environment
Response to reduced sheep
numbers
Aims: relate profitability to bio-physical attributes of farms
using GIS, to develop industry decision support tools
• 2-year project, funded by MLA & UTAS, ends mid-2009
• Masters student – Sarah Gatenby
• proof of concept then scaled up to industry level questions
Increase sheep breeding performance
Global
Demand for sustainable, clean, &
ethical farming
National
Public scrutiny of animal
production systems incl. welfare
& environment
Local
Response to reduced sheep
numbers
Aim: to improve neonate lamb survival rates
• studies of metabolic maturity at birth, funded by MLA
• national review on genetics and epigenetics, Sheep CRC
• dual-purpose winter cereal crops for shelter
and improved ewe nutrition in early lactation, MLA ?
Increasing meat production through irrigation
Global
Rising oil values
National
Rising fertiliser and energy costs
Local
Alternative enterprises/use
Reliability of water supplies
Aim: develop grazing systems for irrigated winter cereals
• studies on SR, grazing method, residuals after grazing
• funded by MLA (08/09), Grain and Graze (07/08)
• benefits = diversify income & spread costs, faster turnoff,
pasture rest periods, fill winter feed supply gap.
Development of sustainable grazing systems
Global
Climate change
Demand for sustainable, clean, &
ethical farming
National
Climate change & Government
policy
Public scrutiny of animal systems
incl. welfare & environment
Local
Drought management & pasture
decline
Rising fertiliser and energy costs
Aims: develop productive, low input, mixed perennial
pastures & an understanding of selective grazing
• study newly developed TIAR pasture species – Eric Hall
• 3-5 year project, seek funding from AFF, CFOC and MLA
• WUE, resilience, productivity, nutritive quality & species
integration plus diet selection and persistence
Contact Details:
[email protected]
(03) 6336 5340
0409140804