Program overview

Strategies and Expectations

Key strategies for 2010-11

• Initiate at least one new project aimed at improving the efficiency with which feed is converted to chicken meat
• Initiate new projects aimed at developing new or improved diagnostic tests to assist in the control of two poultry disease agents
• Provide training / workshops to assist industry to implement improved animal welfare standards and food safety and biosecurity practices
• Investigate the potential environmental impacts of free range chicken farms
• Investigate strategies for reducing dust and odour emissions from chicken farms
• Initiate research to evaluate a net energy system for formulating chicken diets.

Expected key outputs for 2010-11

• Development of protocols for the safe composting of mass chicken mortalities in an emergency disease incident
• Information fed back to industry nutritionists on the actual and near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) predicted energy contents of commercial grain samples
• An enhanced, more accurate test for predicting the energy content of cereal grains to become available
• Publication of at least four final reports
• Information on the opportunities available to industry to turn waste streams into energy made available to industry
• Information to become available on the status of Australian chicken flocks with respect to at least one key poultry disease agent and one key food safety pathogen.

Expected key outcomes for 2010-11

• Improved control of several infectious diseases of Australian poultry flocks as a result of new diagnostic tests
• Industry able to demonstrate chicken meat's modest environmental footprint relative to other protein sources and capitalise upon the favourable product image supported by this information
• Greater engagement of smaller industry players in RIRDC activities, particularly training, resulting in more consistent achievement across industry of appropriate standards of animal welfare, food safety and biosecurity
• Improved poultry nutrition R&D capacity available to the Australian chicken poultry industry
• More efficient feed utilisation and improved productivity across the industry, resulting from enlightened feed formulation practices and better information on the nutrient profile of feed ingredients
• Enhanced preparedness for any future emergency poultry disease outbreak.