Acceleration Grant

Rural Women’s Award and Acceleration Grant

Applications for the 2023 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award and Acceleration Grant have been extended until Wednesday November 16, 2022. With many parts of the country impacted by devastating floods, AgriFutures Australia made the decision to extend applications for the two programs to ensure women across the country have the opportunity to submit their applications. AgriFutures…

Materiality

Materiality assessment of chicken meat industry

In 2022, the Australian chicken meat industry tasked AgriFutures Australia and its Chicken Meat Program with commissioning and managing the industry’s first materiality assessment. The materiality assessment aimed to show which topics – issues, risks and opportunities – were of greatest importance to the industry and its stakeholders, and to inform sustainability efforts across the…

Wild Birds

Wild bird and chicken contact risky

Wild birds come into contact with backyard chicken flocks more frequently than people realise, creating a pathway for pathogens to transmit back and forth, according to new research from the University of Georgia in the US. Such pathways increase the risk for spill-over events that can threaten the health of all these groups – wild…

aerators

Chicken process plant reduces odours with safe aeration tech

A chicken processing plant needed aeration to reduce odours associated with its wastewater treatment system. aerators The plant had a large 350,000-litre tank with in-flows exceeding four megalitres per day. The owners also wanted a system that was easy to maintain and safe for operators. Engineers at the plant selected a Venturi aeration system that…

biosecurity

Inspection gives Aussie livestock increased confidence in biosecurity

Leaders from Australia’s livestock industries have witnessed how travellers to and from countries such as Indonesia are exposed to more than 20 biosecurity touch points, enhancing the biosecurity wall protecting Australia from exotic animal diseases, according to a press release from Australia’s meat sector, including Meat and Livestock Australia. The behind-the-scenes inspection of Sydney’s International…

poultry

Better welfare in sight for poultry

After seven long years in development, Australia’s poultry standards and guidelines document has been published and includes some welcome – and long overdue – recommendations for improvements to the welfare of hundreds of millions of birds. The standards are yet to be endorsed by state and territory agriculture ministers and ideally, will underpin state and…

Spotty liver disease in poultry

Spotty liver disease is an emerging disease in extensively housed poultry. It’s most commonly seen in free range layer hens but has also been reported in broiler breeders. The signs of disease are variable, ranging from low bird mortality with minimal impact on production to a sudden onset of significant mortality with a reduction in…

Alltech meta-analysis shows positive results

Alltech has released data from a new meta-analysis – published in Poultry Science – that demonstrates the impacts of mycotoxins on broiler productivity and the positive effect of yeast cell wall extract supplementation during a mycotoxin challenge on the performance, livability and environmental sustainability of broiler production. The first study of its kind in boiler…

Poultry Grad and Ideas Exchange

In late July, Poultry Hub Australia had the pleasure of hosting 15 eager PhD students at Poultry Grad, which was held in Geelong, Victoria. We started day one with talks from Mark Dunlop from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, Kat Matthews and Megan Craven from Deakin University and Matt Hilliar from Turosi.…

Sommerlad

Wake up to ABC Radio National

Sunday mornings I lay in bed listening to Background Briefing on ABC Radio National. Sommerlad Investigative narrative journalism at its best, it doesn’t shy away from tackling rural issues and gently coaxes you to think deeply about the subject it covers deeply over a half hour or so. By way of contrast, my working week…