Proof of concept study to improve the quality and safety of kangaroo meat

The harvesting of kangaroos for human and pet food consumption has become a significant domestic and export industry. Kangaroo meat is low in fat and contains polyunsaturated fats which are known for their health benefits.

Regional development, commercialisation and target adoption of new integrated management techniques for Sheep industry

This Sheep CRC2 project is directed towards regional development of, support for, commercialisation and target adoption of, new integrated management techniques, which will lift productivity and better match product with market specification. The outputs and benefits will help support and improve the productivity and profitability of producers remaining in the industry, and support industry in the current move towards one in which both meat and wool will be joint drivers of industry productivity.

Sustainable Beef Industry Improvement and Innovation

This project ensures Queensland's involvement in Beef CRC Project 5.4 Accelerated Adoption through Sustainable Beef Profit Partnerships (BPP). The project researches, develops and achieves measurable improvements in business and industry productivity, profit and efficiency.

Promoting kangaroo as a sustainable option for meat production on the rangelands of Australia

Implications •As kangaroo meat is sourced from native wildlife, conservation of the species is important in developing sustainable meat harvesting. Landholders, conservationists, and commercial meat producers need to work together to achieve this goal. •The production of high quality meat products from field-harvested carcasses can be augmented through a better understanding of the impact that field conditions and carcass handling have on final meat eating quality. •Food safety is also paramount, with measures taken to minimize the impacts of parasitism and microbial contamination. Any breaches of inspection protocols can only serve to undermine consumer confidence and viability of the industry.

Establishment of an Australian mild onion industry - the sensory component

In recent years, there has been increasing interest from growers, merchants, supermarkets and consumers in the establishment of a national mild onion industry. Imperative to the success of the emergent industry is the application of the National Mild Onion Certification Scheme that will establish standards and recommendations to be met by growers to allow them to declare their product as certified mild onions. The use of sensory evaluation techniques has played an imperative role throughout the project timeline that has also included varietal evaluation, evaluation of current agronomic practices and correlation of chemical analysis data. Raw onion consumer acceptance testing on five different onion varieties established preferences amongst the varieties for odour, appearance, flavour, texture and overall and differences in the level of pungency and aftertaste perceived. Demographic information was obtained regarding raw and cooked onion use, frequency of consumption and responses to the idea of a mild, less pungent onion. Additionally, focus groups were conducted to further investigate consumer attitudes to onions. Currently, a trained onion panel is being established to evaluate several odour, flavour and aftertaste attributes. Sample assessments will be conducted in January 2004 and correlated with chemical analyses that will hopefully provide the corner-stone for the anticipated Certification Scheme.

Developing a Beef Cattle Nutritional Management Education Package for Producers in Northern Australia

Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and the Queensland Beef Industry Institute (QBII) used the marketing process Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to determine the education needs of beef producers in northern Australia with regards to beef cattle nutrition management. This is the first time that such a process has been conducted in this sector of the industry. 290 producers from across Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia were interviewed. The results of this process provide considerable insights into issues of concern to northern producers in terms of beef cattle nutrition and how education, extension and research organisations can ensure that they meet the needs of their target audience. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Growth and Carcase Characters of Progeny from Caprine Feral Does Mated to Boer or Feral Bucks in Western Queensland

In recent years significant numbers of Australian goats have been harvested from the feral population to supply a strong demand for export of meat. In addition large numbers of feral does have been domesticated to increase breeding herds in western Queensland. Introduction of the Boer breed to Australia as a specialist meat goat may provide a genetic means for improving the productive performance of the Australian feral. The present paper reports growth and carcase attributes of feral and Boer x feral genotypes born in 1998 and birthweight of those born in 1999. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Survival and Growth of Damara, Dorper, Dorset, Rambouillet, South African Meat Merino First Cross Lambs in Semi Arid Queensland

The recent introduction to Australia of superior sheep meat breeds from South Africa provides a basis for improving the quality and amount of sheep meat grown in Queensland’s semi arid area. Alternatively suitable breeds from existing Australian stocks of dual purpose and traditional terminal meat sheep may bring the desired attributes required by the market place. There has been no critical assessment of sheep meat breeds suitably adapted to the rangeland environment of western Queensland. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Adaptability of Damara, Dorper and Traditional Meat Sheep Breeds in Semi-Arid Queensland

Reproductive rate is a major contributing factor to the profitability of a sheep meat enterprise. Low reproduction rate is a feature of sheep husbandry in semi-arid Queensland. High ambient temperatures are implicated in poor fertility (Moule 1970) where variation in response can be due to breed and to animals within a breed (Hopkins and Stephenson 1978). Breeds recently imported from South Africa were selected in arid environments and may be better adapted to pastoral conditions of northern Australia than traditional breeds. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia. This study will investigate (a) the thermoregulatory ability of Damara, Dorper, Poll Dorset, Rambouillet, South African Meat Merino and Queensland medium wool Merino rams prior to joinings in the autumn and spring of 1999, 2000 and 2001 and (b) the association between thermoregulatory parameters (rectal temperature and respiration rate) and ewe fertility. Results for the initial autumn joining are reported in this paper.

Fibre Transfer in Merino Ewes Mated with Damara, Merino or Dorper Rams in Central Western Queensland

Considerable concern has been expressed by the Australian wool industry regarding the contamination of the clip with coloured or kempy fibres from imported breeds of sheep. As part of the evaluation of imported sheep meat breeds in western Queensland, a study is examining fibre growth and transfer of fibres and the potential to cause physical contamination of Merino fleeces. The breeds of concern in this study are the Damara, a fat-tailed breed with a hairy, coloured fleece and the Dorper which has both pigmented fibres and a kempy fleece which is shed cyclically. Three groups of Merino 27 ewes were mated to Merino, Damara and Dorper rams respectively and fibre transfer to the Merino ewes during mating, from lambing to weaning and during grazing, assessed. Both a direct field method and a laboratory method (Hatcher 1995) are being used. Those measured by direct count were measured immediately after joining and 2, 4 and 8 weeks subsequently. and the other ewes were shorn and sampled and measured in the laboratory using the dark fibre detector. This paper presents preliminary findings of those ewes monitored by the direct field method. Animal production for a consuming world : proceedings of 9th Congress of the Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies [AAAP] and 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production [ASAP] and 17th Annual Symposium of the University of Sydney, Dairy Research Foundation, [DRF]. 2-7 July 2000, Sydney, Australia.

Aseptic Processing of Meat Products

Aseptic processing involves sterilising the product (most meat products being low-acid foods containing particulates) and package separately, and filling under sterile conditions. Advantages include better product quality compared with canned products, lower transport and storage costs compared with frozen products, and virtually no restriction on package size. Problems include ensuring adequate heat penetration into the particles to ensure sterility, preventing separation of particles from the carrier liquid, and retention of particle structure and shape. Particulate foods can be sterilised in scraped-surface heat exchangers. Other methods involve heating the particles separately, and combining them during filling. The effects of aseptic processing on meat product quality (colour, flavour, texture, and mutrition) are outlined in this paper.

Climate information needs of Gascoyne-Murchison pastoralists: a representative study of the Western Australian grazing industry

The Gascoyne-Murchison region of Western Australia experiences an arid to semi-arid climate with a highly variable temporal and spatial rainfall distribution. The region has around 39.2 million hectares available for pastoral lease and supports predominantly catle and sheep grazing leases. In recent years a number of climate forecasting systems have been available offering rainfall probabilities with different lead times and a forecast period; however, the extent to which these systems are capable of fulfilling the requirements of the local pastoralists is still ambiguous. Issues can range from ensuring forecasts are issued with sufficient lead time to enable key planning or decisions to be revoked or altered, to ensuring forecast language is simple and clear, to negate possible misunderstandings in interpretation. A climate research project sought to provide an objective method to determine which available forecasting systems had the greatest forecasting skill at times of the year relevant to local property management. To aid this climate research project, the study reported here was undertaken with an overall objective of exploring local pastoralists' climate information needs. We also explored how well they understand common climate forecast terms such as 'mean', median' and 'probability', and how they interpret and apply forecast information to decisions. A stratified, proportional random sampling was used for the purpose of deriving the representative sample based on rainfall-enterprise combinations. In order to provide more time for decision-making than existing operational forecasts that are issued with zero lead time, pastoralists requested that forecasts be issued for May-July and January-March with lead times counting down from 4 to 0 months. We found forecasts of between 20 and 50 mm break-of-season or follow-up rainfall were likely to influence decisions. Eighty percent of pastoralists demonstrated in a test question that they had a poor technical understanding of how to interpret the standard wording of a probabilistic median rainfall forecast. this is worthy of further research to investigate whether inappropriate management decisions are being made because the forecasts are being misunderstood. We found more than half the respondents regularly access and use weather and climate forecasts or outlook information from a range of sources and almost three-quarters considered climate information or tools useful, with preferred methods for accessing this information by email, faxback service, internet and the Department of Agriculture Western Australia's Pastoral Memo. Despite differences in enterprise types and rainfall seasonality across the region we found seasonal climate forecasting needs were relatively consistent. It became clear that providing basic training and working with pastoralists to help them understand regional climatic drivers, climate terminology and jargon, and the best ways to apply the forecasts to enhance decision-making are important to improve their use of information. Consideration could also be given to engaging a range of producers to write the climate forecasts themselves in the language they use and understand, in consultation with the scientists who prepare the forecasts.

Developing African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) germplasm and its management for a sustainable forest plantation industry in northern Australia: Progress and needs.

The demonstrated wide adaptability, substantial yield potential and proven timber quality of African mahogany (Khaya senegalensis) from plantings of the late 1960s and early 1970s in northern Australia have led to a resurgence of interest in this high-value species. New plantations or trials have been established in several regions since the early 1990s -in four regions in north Queensland, two in the Northern Territory and one in Western Australia. Overall, more than 1500 ha had been planted by early 2007, and the national annual planting from 2007-2008 as currently planned will exceed 2400 ha. Proceedings of two workshops have summarised information available on the species in northern Australia, and suggested research and development (R&D) needs and directions. After an unsustained first phase of domestication of K. senegalensis in the late 1960s to the early 1970s, a second phase began in northern Australia in 2001 focused on conservation and tree improvement that is expected to provide improved planting stock by 2010. Work on other aspects of domestication is also described in this paper: the current estate and plans for extension; site suitability, soils and nutrition; silviculture and management; productivity; pests and diseases; and log and wood properties of a sample of superior trees from two mature plantations of unselected material near Darwin. Some constraints on sustainable plantation development in all these fields are identified and R&D needs proposed. A sustained R&D effort will require a strategic coordinated approach, cooperative implementation and extra funding. Large gains in plantation profitability can be expected to flow from such inputs.

Development of key soil health indicators for the Australian banana industry

To improve the sustainability and environmental accountability of the banana industry there is a need to develop a set of soil health indicators that integrate physical, chemical and biological soil properties. These indicators would allow banana growers, extension and research workers to improve soil health management practices. To determine changes in soil properties due to the cultivation of bananas, a paired site survey was conducted comparing soil properties under conventional banana systems to less intensively managed vegetation systems, such as pastures and forest. Measurements were made on physical, chemical and biological soil properties at seven locations in tropical and sub-tropical banana producing areas. Soil nematode community composition was used as a bioindicator of the biological properties of the soil. Soils under conventional banana production tended to have a greater soil bulk density, with less soil organic carbon (C) (both total C and labile C), greater exchangeable cations, higher extractable P, greater numbers of plant-parasitic nematodes and less nematode diversity, relative to less intensively managed plant systems. The organic banana production systems at two locations had greater labile C, relative to conventional banana systems, but there was no significant change in nematode community composition. There were significant interactions between physical, chemical and nematode community measurements in the soil, particularly with soil C measurements, confirming the need for a holistic set of indicators to aid soil management. There was no single indicator of soil health for the Australian banana industry, but a set of soil health indicators, which would allow the measurement of soil improvements should include: bulk density, soil C, pH, EC, total N, extractable P, ECEC and soil nematode community structure.

The efficacy of a vitamin D3 metabolite for improving the myofibrillar tenderness of meat from Bos indicus cattle

The influence of a once only administration of a metabolite of vitamin D3 (HY [middle dot] D(R)-25-hydroxy vitamin D3) on myofibrillar meat tenderness in Australian Brahman cattle was studied. Ninety-six Brahman steers of three phenotypes (Indo-Brazil, US and US/European) and with two previous hormonal growth promotant (HGP) histories (implanted or not implanted with Compudose(R)) were fed a standard feedlot ration for 70 d. Treatment groups of 24 steers were offered daily 10 g/head HY [middle dot] D(R) (125 mg 25-hydroxyvitamin D3) for 6, 4, or 2 d before slaughter. One other group of 24 steers was given the basal diet without HY [middle dot] D(R). Feed lot performance, blood and muscle samples and carcass quality data were collected at slaughter. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron and Vitamin D3 metabolites were measured in plasma and longissimus dorsi muscle. Warner-Bratzler (WB) shear force (peak force, initial yield) and other objective meat quality measurements were made on the longissimus dorsi muscle of each steer after ageing for 1, 7 and 14 d post-mortem at 0-2 [deg]C.There were no significant effects of HY [middle dot] D(R) supplements on average daily gain (ADG, 1.28-1.45 kg/d) over the experimental period. HY [middle dot] D(R) supplements given 6 d prior to slaughter resulted in significantly higher (P (R)) by phenotype/HGP interaction for peak force (P = 0.028), in which Indo-Brazil steers without previous HGP treatment responded positively (increased tenderness) to HY [middle dot] D(R) supplements at 2 d when compared with Indo-Brazil steers previously given HGP. There were no significant effects of treatment on other phenotypes. HY [middle dot] D(R) supplements did not affect muscle or plasma concentrations of calcium, potassium or sodium, but did significantly decrease plasma magnesium and iron concentrations when given 2 d before slaughter. There were no detectable amounts of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 in the blood or muscle of any cattle at slaughter.