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Program 2: Emerging New Industries
Investment priorities

Objective: To investigate and develop prospects for new industries in rural and regional Australia.

Expenditure in 2003–04: $4,181,312
Compared with 2002–03: $4,626,052
 

Asian Foods provide information for sustainable industry development develop new products enhance quality and productivity ensure safe use of chemicals improve cool chain management	Essential Oils and Plant Extracts improve understanding of markets improve existing products and develop new ones develop sustainable production systems facilitate regulatory approvals improve post-harvest and extraction technology	Deer increase production and processing capacity on a sustainable basis enhance information transfer develop products expand markets
Organic Produce integrate industry and food standards expand production and exports enhance communication and technology transfer within the industry and with conventional agricultural systems	Agroforestry and Farm Forestry develop strategies for widespread adoption of sustainable agroforestry develop design principles for multi-purpose agroforestry systems to meet commercial and environmental objectives develop new products from woody species in low to medium rainfall areas develop extension and education tools	Rare Natural Animal Fibres increase efficiency of fibre production on a sustainable basis enhance capability of industry stakeholders develop classing and clip preparation standards overcome limitations in processing and foster product development enhance information transfer
Tea Tree Oil improve understanding of markets for tea tree oil improve existing products and develop new ones enhance the industry’s ability to meet safety and efficacy standards provide profitable and sustainable production systems enhance the industry’s human capital	Wildflowers and Native Plants understand and develop markets improve existing products and develop new ones provide profitable and sustainable production systems enhance the industry’s human capital

2.1 Asian Foods

Objective: To foster the development of a viable Asian foods industry in Australia.Expenditure in 2003–04: $466,377Compared with 2002–03:$520,288

Background
The wholesale value of Asian vegetable production in Australia was estimated at approximately $136 million in 2002, up from $50 million in 1993–94. Grower num-bers totalled 1,675 up from 679 in 1993–94.Recently the domestic market has been an important driver of growth. Exports have also grown, but the share of production that is exported has declined over the past eight years as production has grown and competition from China, Vietnam and New Zealand has increased. Opportunities for Asian food arise out of:

• the rapidly growing markets in Asia for high quality food products as incomes in this re-gion rise
• the increasing Asian influence on cuisine in Australia
• Australian producers’ ability to undertake high qual-ity volume production and their ability to find niches that give them a competitive advantage to supply these markets.Increasing attention to industry development will be needed in the future, with greater emphasis on managing quality and the development of supply chains.
• Recognition of the Australian product as clean and green and the establishment of brands backed by reliable quality product are seen as keys to success in export markets.

Key Performance Indicators:

• number of active networks for each of the industries falling into the ‘new’, ‘emerging’ and ‘established’ categories
• number of new products with high prospectivity identified
• availability of production information
• internal rates of return on development stage projects - target is to exceed 25 per cent
• information on appropriate use of chemicals for the main chemicals commonly used on Asian vegetables
• optimal handling and packaging protocols available for the major Asian vegetables

Key long term strategies

• Industry development
• support industry development through improved information, communica-tion and development of supply chain and marketer networks
• develop new products with good market opportunities.
• Production systems
• provide troubleshooting solutions and enhance quality and productivity through research in production systems and plant physiology
• ensure chemical use is safe for workers and consumers.
• Post-harvest treatment and handling
• increase shelf life of fresh and semi-processed products
• improve cool chain management.

Key outputs in 2003–04

• published a report on production of daikon in Southern Australia. This reports on a series of trials in various locations to determine site and variety specificty for optimal production (03/091)
• supported the production and publication of the Access to Asian Foods newsletter in a new format
• published a report on industry development for Asian vegetables in North Queensland (04/018)
• improved flow of information to non-English speaking background growers in a number of States
• held an annual meeting in Brisbane to im-prove communication between industry and researchers
• commenced a review of the Asian Foods pro-gram in preparation for the development of the next five-year R&D plan.Strategic Planning

This Sub-program has its own ? ve-year R&D plan, accessible in hardcopy and on the Internet at www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/asianfd5yr.htm

2.2 Agroforestry and Farm Forestry

Objective: To integrate sustainable and productive agroforestry within Australian farming systems.

Expenditure in 2003–04: $2,065,559
Compared with 2002–03: $2,219,410

Background
Agroforestry has the potential to improve agricultural productivity, diversify farm income, ameliorate land and water degradation, maintain biodiversity and contrib-ute to the national timber supply. The Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP) was established in 1993 and now has four partners: RIRDC, Land & Water Australia (LWA), the Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation (FWPRDC) and the Murray Darling Basin Commission (MDBC).

Funding is also provided for some activities by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and the Australian Greenhouse Office. The JVAP recognises that future commercial agroforestry investments, particularly in the medium to low rainfall regions, are subject to considerably greater risk than other commercial land use enterprises with proven production systems and more transparent commodity markets. R&D intervention can help reduce this risk by improving tree management practices, by quantifying land, water, biodiversity and social responses to agroforestry systems and by developing new products from trees in low to medium rainfall areas.
trees in low to medium rainfall areas.

The JVAP has identified three main areas to achieve industry development and sustainable natural resource management. These are:

• Products – This includes screening new products, identifying their likely commercial value and im-pediments to their adop-tion, and integration into existing agricultural systems in low rainfall areas, particularly from the per-spective of multiple out-comes.
• Agricultural systems design, analysis, and integration – This includes analysis and diagnosis at a landscape scale, and integration with partners at a catchment level.
• Knowledge management – This includes capacity building, information synhe-sis, development of partnerships, and setting of strategic direction for R&D.

In addition, the JVAP has managed Bioenergy Australia (previously called the Biomass Taskforce) since 1998. Bioenergy Australia fosters and facilitates the development of biomass for energy, liquid fuels, and chemical feedstocks.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Number of viable commercial options that underpin an expansion of agroforestry
• availability of farm and catchment design information that provides clearer guidance on the placement of trees in the landscape to manage groundwater
• availability of information to farmers which allows them to quantify and predict the impact of trees on their farming systems• extent of systematic information available on financially viable species and provenances for agroforestry systems and products
• availability and uptake of design options and decision making tools
• JVAP products are widely available and used by agroforestry advisors and forest growers

Key long term strategies

• assist the implementation of farm forestry, focusing on identifying impediments and op-portunities and improving information flows
• investigate agroforestry’s contribution to more sustainable management of natural resources — for example, soil, water, biodiversity, and environmental services
• optimising the productivity of crops and pas-tures by assessing the effects of agroforestry on productivity of other agricultural enterprises
• improve direct returns from tree products through species development, including in medium and low rainfall areas, and investigate harvesting, processing and management systems
• develop cost-e? ective multi purpose agro-forestry systems to meet commercial and envi-ronmental objectives, including farm forestry design options and decision-making tools.

Key outputs in 2003–04

• FloraSearch project (stage 1) screened 392 selected species for a range of wood, oil and fodder properties and identifi ed 20 species as the most prospective for production systems in low rainfall areas of southeast Australia
• evaluated biomass energy production alter-natives in Australia for status, costs and future opportunities
• analysed wood and ? bre properties of dryland conifers for a range of products finalised a project on Western Australia Oil Mallee Code of Practice
• developed a web-based database on biomass feedstock selection for bioenergy for indus-try and government, and a framework for the sustainability of bioenergy development in Australia
• issued quarterly farm forestry market reports
• designed a tool for tree breeders for identification of natural resistance to herbivory in some eucalyptus species
• finalised a project on the trade-offs between recharge control and agricultural productivity.

Strategic planningThis Sub-program has its own ? ve-year R&D plan, accessible in hardcopy and on the Internet at www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/aft5yr.htm
 

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2.3 Deer

Objective: To foster an Australian deer industry as a profitable and efficient mainstream agricultural enterprise.

Expenditure in 2003–04: $176,084
Compared with 2002–03:$307,427

Background
The Australian deer industry is based primarily on breeding temperate deer species (fallow, red deer and elk) for production of velvet antler, venison and venison co-products. The industry has a strong export focus with about 80% of product sold into Asian and European markets. Production is concentrated in the south-eastern states with some breeding of temperate species in other states and tropical species (rusa and chital deer) in Queensland. The estimated GVP of the industry is currently about $6 million p.a. at farm gate, 70% from venison and 30% from velvet antler with some local value-adding. Venison production will fall signi? cantly in 2004–05 due to herd rebuilding after the recent drought which signi? cantly restricted industry growth. Expansion of production remains a key industry strategy for which a major limiting factor is the current pro? tability of on-farm production. With demand for the higher value hindquarter carcass cuts still in excess of sup-ply, the key to improved pro? tability for deer farmers lies in value-adding strate-gies that improve demand and returns from forequarter cuts. It will however be important to ensure that industry investment in value-added products and market development are captured for industry participants.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Updated Quality Assurance manuals and computer database program produced
• improvement in farmer returns from research of venison co product opportunities
• new Industry Code of Practice produced
• quality Assurance program expanded
• completion of venison statistic computer program
• tourist markets for value added velvet antler and venison co products identi? ed

Key long term strategies

• maintain industry focus on expanding deer numbers, particularly by stimulat-ing interest in deer production amongst farmers of traditional livestock species
• improve market demand for deer products by improving product quality and quality control systems
• improve market demand for deer products by developing new value-added venison and velvet products according to identified existing market requirements and by appropriate market development strategies
• promote utilisation and adoption of research results, particularly in deer nutri-tion, to improve the uniformity and quality of industry products and the capac-ity of producers to consistently supply them
• communicate research outcomes and promote their adoption to the deer in-dustry through strong relationships with key industry organisations
• develop animal health standards and disease control strategies for Johne’s disease in Australian farmed deer that will retain interstate market access for live farmed deer, control production losses from the disease and maintain interna-tional market access for deer products
• develop or facilitate development of commercial arrangements with industry participants and others, where appropriate, to ensure commercial exploitation of intellectual property developed with industry or RIRDC funds (for example, in biomedical applications of velvet antler extracts).

Key outputs in 2003–04

• published a complete guide to deer farming
• improved knowledge of past R&D results among deer producers
• improved understanding of the tolerance of deer to high salt intake
• Developed diagnostic tests for Johne’s disease in deer.
• Strategic Planning

This Sub-program has its own ?ve-year R&D plan, accessible in hardcopy and on the Internet at www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/deerrd1.html