New Approaches to the Control of Post-Weaning Diarrhoea in Piglets. In Australia, post?weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in piglets is a major constraint to efficient and profitable production. Increasing levels of resistance to dietary antibiotics by gut pathogens such as Escherichia coli, the bacterium implicated in PWD, is a major reason for this problem. This research will identify nutritional means of controlling PWD and increasing production after weaning. This will be achieved by strategic nutritio ....New Approaches to the Control of Post-Weaning Diarrhoea in Piglets. In Australia, post?weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in piglets is a major constraint to efficient and profitable production. Increasing levels of resistance to dietary antibiotics by gut pathogens such as Escherichia coli, the bacterium implicated in PWD, is a major reason for this problem. This research will identify nutritional means of controlling PWD and increasing production after weaning. This will be achieved by strategic nutritional interventions in the pre-weaning and (or) post-weaning periods targeted at reducing bacterial pathogens in the gut. A reduction in PWD will increase the overall efficiency of pig production in Australia and reduce antibiotic use.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the effect of nutrient-gene interaction in utero in key tissues instrumental to productivity and sustainability of the beef industry. The cattle industry occupies 43 per cent of the land mass and provides 13 per cent of rural employment. Nutritional insult in utero affects postnatal reproductive and production traits in cattle and imposes epigenetic modifications. This project investigates the effect upon genes affecting appetite, ovarian development, adipogenesis, myogenesis and pos ....Quantifying the effect of nutrient-gene interaction in utero in key tissues instrumental to productivity and sustainability of the beef industry. The cattle industry occupies 43 per cent of the land mass and provides 13 per cent of rural employment. Nutritional insult in utero affects postnatal reproductive and production traits in cattle and imposes epigenetic modifications. This project investigates the effect upon genes affecting appetite, ovarian development, adipogenesis, myogenesis and post natal growth.Read moreRead less
Relationships between insulin resistance, diet and obesity in ponies and horses. There are an estimated 1.2 million horses in Australia, and the horse industry is estimated to contribute over $6.3 billion to the economy. Laminitis is a significant health and welfare problem in Australia, as it is worldwide, causing pain and lameness, loss of use, and sometimes necessitating euthanasia. Laminitis is one of the most common reasons for horse owners to seek veterinary attention, and diet and obesity ....Relationships between insulin resistance, diet and obesity in ponies and horses. There are an estimated 1.2 million horses in Australia, and the horse industry is estimated to contribute over $6.3 billion to the economy. Laminitis is a significant health and welfare problem in Australia, as it is worldwide, causing pain and lameness, loss of use, and sometimes necessitating euthanasia. Laminitis is one of the most common reasons for horse owners to seek veterinary attention, and diet and obesity increasingly predispose to this condition. Since treatment of laminitis is difficult, prevention is crucial. The outcomes from this project will include the provision of more specific advice on dietary and exercise management to vets and horse owners to reduce the incidence and impact of laminitis on the horse industry.Read moreRead less
How to make antibiotics in pig feed redundant, naturally. Antimicrobial resistance has become a major issue in human and veterinary medicine being partially caused by the use of in-feed antimicrobials in farm animals. This project aims to completely eliminate antimicrobials from piglet feeds. The key differential approach is based on helping the physiology of the animal rather than testing interventions against bacteria. The project will consist of developing a novel nutritional strategy of natu ....How to make antibiotics in pig feed redundant, naturally. Antimicrobial resistance has become a major issue in human and veterinary medicine being partially caused by the use of in-feed antimicrobials in farm animals. This project aims to completely eliminate antimicrobials from piglet feeds. The key differential approach is based on helping the physiology of the animal rather than testing interventions against bacteria. The project will consist of developing a novel nutritional strategy of naturally (through maternal conditioning) boosting the natural appetite and the capacity to digest in piglets early in life. The anticipated outcome is that the new peri-natal program will result in minimal bacterial proliferation and diarrhoea thus, negating the need for in-feed antimicrobials in piglets. Read moreRead less
Breeding super black soldier flies at scale for sustainable food production. This project aims to address the current challenges impeding the industrial scale-up of Australian Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming across diverse feed waste substrates by generating critical on-farm knowledge. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in commercial BSF breeding designs whilst also developing and testing new animal evaluation technologies (ie, genetic & spectroscopy) through interdisciplinar ....Breeding super black soldier flies at scale for sustainable food production. This project aims to address the current challenges impeding the industrial scale-up of Australian Black Soldier Fly (BSF) farming across diverse feed waste substrates by generating critical on-farm knowledge. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge in commercial BSF breeding designs whilst also developing and testing new animal evaluation technologies (ie, genetic & spectroscopy) through interdisciplinary approaches that will accelerate industry productivity. Expected outcomes of this project include the long-term growth and competitive advantage of the Australian insect farming industry, as well as promoting the benefits of a circular economy through bioconversion of organic waste into commercially viable products.Read moreRead less
Improving the Efficiency of Utilisation of Vegetable Proteins in Diets for Dogs. Australians spend approximately $1 billion per annum on feeding dogs. Uncle Bens of Australia has a significant share of this market. Development of dog foods based on vegetable proteins offers new market opportunities domestically, and overseas. Numerous vegetable proteins are available, however anti-nutritional factors that reduce digestibility and deteriorate faecal quality might limit their use. To optimise thei ....Improving the Efficiency of Utilisation of Vegetable Proteins in Diets for Dogs. Australians spend approximately $1 billion per annum on feeding dogs. Uncle Bens of Australia has a significant share of this market. Development of dog foods based on vegetable proteins offers new market opportunities domestically, and overseas. Numerous vegetable proteins are available, however anti-nutritional factors that reduce digestibility and deteriorate faecal quality might limit their use. To optimise their dietary inclusion, physiological effects in the canine gut must be understood to avoid any negative effects. These may be overcome by enzymes and (or) processing, and would allow cost effective products to be formulated that deliver optimum health and nutrition to consumers.
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Development of a new diet to improve insulin sensitivity and manage weight in healthy cats. This project will determine if a low carbohydrate, moderate fat, high protein diet improves insulin sensitivity and reduces weight gain in cats compared to a typical high-carbohydrate grocery line diet. It will identify risk factors for weight gain such as increased fasting insulin concentration and will also determine which simple assessment of insulin sensitivity best correlates with insulin sensitivity ....Development of a new diet to improve insulin sensitivity and manage weight in healthy cats. This project will determine if a low carbohydrate, moderate fat, high protein diet improves insulin sensitivity and reduces weight gain in cats compared to a typical high-carbohydrate grocery line diet. It will identify risk factors for weight gain such as increased fasting insulin concentration and will also determine which simple assessment of insulin sensitivity best correlates with insulin sensitivity measured by a gold standard. This project should lead to the formulation of a diet designed to improve insulin sensitivity and minimize weight gain in cats, and allow for earlier identification of cats at risk of obesity.Read moreRead less
Nutrition in the Gouldian finch - developing an optimal 'life-history diet'. Native Australian birds such as the budgerigar, cockatiel, cockatoo, zebra finch and Gouldian finch dominate the pet trade with tens of millions kept across the world. Currently these birds are fed inadequate diets based on a few generic seeds (of European origin). Our study will investigate the nutritional needs of the Gouldian finch and the nutritional content of native Australian seeds, ultimately designing an optima ....Nutrition in the Gouldian finch - developing an optimal 'life-history diet'. Native Australian birds such as the budgerigar, cockatiel, cockatoo, zebra finch and Gouldian finch dominate the pet trade with tens of millions kept across the world. Currently these birds are fed inadequate diets based on a few generic seeds (of European origin). Our study will investigate the nutritional needs of the Gouldian finch and the nutritional content of native Australian seeds, ultimately designing an optimal diet that will dramatically improve the health of these captive birds. We will develop a new product based on Australian plants, which are adapted to growing in even in the poorest soils and climates in Australia and which will form the basis of a new commercial crop for domestic and international markets. Read moreRead less
Digestive Physiology of Crocodilians: Towards an Improved Diet and Feeding Regime for Use by the Farming Industry. Crocodile farming promotes the sustainable production and consumption of crocodile products without harming natural populations. The industry grosses over $15 million per year in Australia and $200 million worldwide. Costs associated with transporting and storing food are the single largest expense that crocodile farms have. Increases in the efficiency of converting food into growth ....Digestive Physiology of Crocodilians: Towards an Improved Diet and Feeding Regime for Use by the Farming Industry. Crocodile farming promotes the sustainable production and consumption of crocodile products without harming natural populations. The industry grosses over $15 million per year in Australia and $200 million worldwide. Costs associated with transporting and storing food are the single largest expense that crocodile farms have. Increases in the efficiency of converting food into growth will have positive economic benefits to the industry. Efficiencies can be produced by (1) increasing food absorption, (2) decreasing the energetic costs of digestion, and (3) producing a new food that is less expensive to ship and store. This project will directly address the first two of these and will lay the foundation for the development of the third. Read moreRead less
Early Nutrition and the Programming of Body Composition in Cattle. Australia is the worlds largest beef exporter with the net value of beef export valued at $4.6 billion. The economy of rural and regional Australia relies upon cattle production with the industry bringing a total value to these communities of $7.4 billion. Cattle production in remote Australia is becoming less viable as input costs of production increase relative to income earned and the beef industry is keen to transform produc ....Early Nutrition and the Programming of Body Composition in Cattle. Australia is the worlds largest beef exporter with the net value of beef export valued at $4.6 billion. The economy of rural and regional Australia relies upon cattle production with the industry bringing a total value to these communities of $7.4 billion. Cattle production in remote Australia is becoming less viable as input costs of production increase relative to income earned and the beef industry is keen to transform production methods. Protein is the major limiting nutrient in the Australian rangelands and this proposal will provide new information on how providing protein to cattle during critical periods in their pregnancy can 'program' the body composition of the growing calf to be optimal for the market.Read moreRead less