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Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
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This is the corporate
newsletter of RIRDC. It is distributed quarterly by direct mail to 3,000
researchers, industry, government, farmers, libraries and consultants.
This issue has also been distributed to 30,000 state farmers federation
members. Contributions are welcome.
Editor: Tim Evans. Phone 02 6272 4735, Fax 02 6272 5877, email: time@rirdc.gov.au
PAST
ISSUES OF THIS NEWSLETTER
Innovate Australia _ Food and Fibre, is a three year program which will show families around the country the importance of rural R&D in their everyday lives.
Food and Fibre, primary industry R&D corporations are promoting the innovation and foresight underpinning further growth and development in the constantly changing business of food and fibre production in Australia today,” Senator Troeth said
Innovation leaders
“Our R&D corporations are instrumental as leaders of an innovation culture in Australia and for extending knowledge and creativity beyond traditional notions of research and development.
“The corporations, and through publications like Innovate Australia: Food and Fibre magazine, are very important in constructively promoting the benefits of R&D and innovation, especially with an increasingly sceptical community about some of our scientific endeavours,” Senator Troeth said.
More information:
http://www.innovateaustralia.com
Eva Hickman (02) 6272 3186 or
Tim Evans (02) 6272 4735
They promise to be very important for Australian agriculture following the extensive Uruguay round, as countries jockey to retain their domestic support at the expense of international reform. In the US, for example, an $8.7 billion farm relief package is being moved through congress prior to the round.
The lead-up has also proved a busy time for RIRDC’s Global Competitiveness Program. Because we are probably best known for our work with new industries, RIRDC’s other programs can sometimes be overlooked – but the effort and funding which goes into these “behind the scenes” programs should not be understated.
With RIRDC support, Andrew Stoeckel, of the Centre of International Economics, has just delivered a paper on Intellectual Property in Agricultural Trade at a special World Bank and WTO meeting in Geneva. This may not seem important to everyday Australian farmers, but if you read the report on page six, you’ll realise the broad implications.
Two reports have also recently been released in conjunction with ABARE, in the lead-up to Seattle, identifying potential threats to Australian farmers.
Multifunctionality: a pretext for protection? looks at the way countries such as Japan and the European Union push to retain agriculture support in order to maintain the so-called positive spillover effects like environmental values and rural employment. It asks if this multifunctionality is a smokescreen and highlights more efficient and effective ways to retain benefits without distorting markets.
Reforming World Agricultural Policies reviews the reform framework from the Uruguay round and proposes effective reforms to capitalise on the previous negotiations. Both papers have been used by Australian officials in the lead-up to Seattle. (see back page to order).
These reports, and many others produced in the past couple of years, provide documentation for industry and aim to provoke discussion within, from the grassroots upwards.
More information on the program’s activities is available in our Annual Operating Plan, and in our recently released Annual Report, both free by calling 02 6272 4819.
Peter Core
It is being commercially driven by Cadbury-Schweppes Australia, who are concerned about declining world cocoa stocks, with research support from RIRDC and state Agriculture agencies.
Barry Kitchen, of Cadbury-Schweppes Australia, explained that the continuing
supply problems being experienced from traditional cocoa growing countries
in South-east Asia combined with increasing demand as Asia emerges from
its economic downturn, might lead to future production downfalls.
World cocoa prices to increase
“Currently, world cocoa prices are forecast to increase significantly
over the next five to ten years,” Dr Kitchen said.
RIRDC Research Manager for New Plant Products David Evans, said the
three-year project would identify the feasibility of producing cocoa in
northern Australia, including agronomic and economic information.
It will be the first time cocoa has been looked at as a developed world production system, using mechanisation to achieve high yield, good quality and cost effective production.”
Promising yields possible
Department of Primary Industries Queensland Project Leader Craig Lemin said that limited trial work carried out in North Queensland at Cairns in the 1970s and 80s had already demonstrated that promising yields were possible. A pilot planting has also been grown successfully at a site near Darwin.
“Substantial areas across coastal northern Australia might well be suited to growing cocoa.
“We plan to thoroughly investigate the agronomic potential and economic viability of this tropical tree crop, as well as addressing current production constraints,” Mr Lemin said.
More information
David Evans, Ph: (02) 4454 3039
Oil-mallee probably didn’t come to mind, but it will if the initial results of long-running research can be projected into a commercial environment.
Economic feasibility
RIRDC has been supporting oil mallee research in WA since 1990 and the latest research from the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program is investigating the economic feasibility of an integrated mallee processing facility in the West Australian wheatbelt.
Over the past five years more than nine million oil-mallee trees have
been planted in Western Australia.
More such plantings are planned, with the aim of simultaneously achieving
landcare objectives and establishing a commercial resource.
Large market opportunities
Mallee eucalypts have always been the traditional source of eucalyptus oil in Australia; this oil has a range of pharmaceutical and other uses although the markets have so far been small. The scale of proposed planting in Western Australia will produce considerably more oil than was previously available.
To counter this markets are being developed for much of this oil as an environmentally preferred alternative to ozone depleting solvents such as trichloroethane. Large worldwide markets exist for such solvents.
Innovative wood residue uses
An exciting development is the innovative use of the large quantities of wood residues, for which several uses have been identified.
For example, by carbonising and then activating at certain temperatures they can be converted to charcoal and activated carbon, simultaneously producing heat that can be used for electricity generation.
Large–volume, high–priced markets exist for both charcoal and activated carbon, and the technology exists – at the pilot scale at least – to produce them from mallee wood residues.
The latest results from RIRDC research partners Enecon and CSIRO show that oil mallee produces activated carbon suitable for the gold and water purification industries. In both cases the product is better than anything currently commercially available.
Cost savings
Such use is also complementary to the extraction of oil from the leaves; indeed, an integrated mallee processing facility offers synergies of production and associated cost-savings that should significantly increase the overall economic feasibility of the operation.
This project is investigating the critical steps for assessing this feasibility.
The feasibility investigation is being managed by the Oil Mallee Company with funds from JVAP, Western Power Corporation and the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) in WA. Enecon Pty Ltd is also involved.
More information:
Roslyn Prinsley – General Manager – Research, phone (02) 6271 4033
The Agroforestry Calculator is a user-friendly spreadsheet-based tool for farmers to estimate their profitability on best-bet agroforestry projects. The software allows comparisons between do-it-yourself agroforestry, annuity arrangements and cropshare joint venture schemes.
It can be downloaded from http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm#Agroforestry___Farm
It results in carcasses being downgraded or in severe cases condemned, but is partly treatable through better quality assurance management, handling and slaughter techniques. Producers and processors who manage this problem and practice techniques to limit ecchymosis are rewarded with higher grades of meat, and better returns.
A recent study by David Falepau and Dr Robert Mulley at the University of Western Sydney for RIRDC, identifies the factors which cause ecchymosis by investigating slaughter systems through a series of case studies.
Slaughter procedures
The result is a set of slaughter procedures to suit the particular slaughter systems.
The experimental approach involved analysis and review of factors associated with the ecchymosis in other livestock species, collection and analysis of case study information from a range of abattoirs where deer are slaughtered.
From these analyses, the planning of experiments on techniques used for stunning and exsanguination (controlled bleeding) of deer, sex of deer, time of year that slaughter took place, and various combinations of these factors.
The report makes seven recommendations which have been presented to industry which, if implemented, are expected to reduce the incidence of eccymosis and return more to producers.
More information:
Dr Rob Mulley (02) 4570 1438
The Award is designed to recognise and encourage the vital contribution
women make to rural Australia and was launched on Friday 15 October 1999,
coinciding with World Rural Women’s Day.
$20,000 winners’ bursary
The highlight of the Award is a Bursary to $20,000 awarded to each of the seven State and Territory winners. The Bursary will assist each winner in fulfilling their personal vision for agriculture and ensure they play a greater role in the future of rural Australia, through activities that build their management, leadership and business skills.
The RIRDC Award builds the previous ABC Radio Australian Rural Woman of the Year Award. The Bursary brings a new and very exciting direction to the Award highlighting the very clear focus on encouraging rural women with potential to further achieve in agriculture.
It adds to RIRDC’s other projects and programs aimed at promoting greater participation by women in agriculture.
Recently it published a ground breaking report Missed Opportunities-Harnessing the Potential of Women in Australian Agriculture, which documented the significant contribution women make to agriculture and recommended ways of enhancing their role.
The Award is being run in partnership with the State and Territory Departments of Primary Industries and Agriculture which through the SCARM Rural Women’s Working Group will coordinate and manage the Award at a state level.
Leadership seminar
The RIRDC National Leadership Seminar will bring all State winners and up to two finalists from each State and Territory together and provide them with valuable leadership and management training, media and presentation skills and networking opportunities.
Nominations open
Following the launch, nominations are now open for a period of six weeks
and will close on Friday 26 November 1999.
Applicants are invited from across agriculture in each State and the
Northern Territory and will be judged against the following Selection Criteria.
Selection criteria
State and Territory judging of the Award and the announcement of
the State Winners will be made at State Award ceremonies to be held during
the week beginning Monday 21 February 2000.
The State Winners will be presented with their Bursary by the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry as part of the RIRDC National Leadership Seminar to be held in Canberra and coinciding with International Women’s Day on 8 March 2000.
Application forms are available from:
Despite this, RIRDC has developed a systematic program for regular quantification of the returns to the funds it invests on behalf of the Government and industries.
Last year we put the microscope over the ‘Emerging Industries’ program which produced encouraging results and we are pleased to report that this year’s evaluation of the ‘Established Industries’ program has, in most cases, produced similarly strong returns.
Evaluation of these programs adopted the approach outlined in the Guidelines for Economic Evaluation of R&D developed for RIRDC and GRDC. This approach includes two stages, first, development of a qualitative overview of all completed projects and, second, undertaking a detailed evaluation of a sample of these projects.
First stage – qualitative overview
Up to 1998/99, 431 projects had been completed in the Established Industries program. The first stage of the evaluation developed a systematic overview of all projects and preliminary assessment of their impact. This overview has proven very useful in looking at the focus and direction of each of the sub-programs.
Second stage – detailed evaluation
In the second stage, 14 of the 431 projects were chosen for detailed evaluation. These 14 projects were selected to ensure at least one from each sub-program was evaluated. In addition, they were selected with the evaluation cost in mind given the relatively limited budget. Since several of the 14 projects were a research effort only 8 formal evaluations were required.
The results indicate internal rates of return to the investment ranging from:
Rates versus performance targets
All but two projects were found to have provided a rate of return in excess of the strategic plan performance target of 25 per cent. The equivalent range for the benefit–cost ratios was 0.8 to 120 (discount rate of 5 per cent) and again all but two were greater than the performance target of 10.
The results of the analyses have been published in two detailed reports,
one covering each stage of the evaluation process:
l Impact Evaluation of RIRDC’s Established Industries Program: An Overview
of all Projects (Stage 1) Pub no. 99/90
l Impact Evaluation of RIRDC’s Established Industries Program: Specific
Project Evaluations (Stage 2). Pub no. 99/91
To order: $15 each by phoning (02) 6272 4819.
More information:
Jeff Davis, General Manager - Research. Phone (02) 6272 4152
And according to a new report from the Centre for International Economics and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, these opportunities may be lost unless Australia makes the most of its Intellectual Property in the international trade market.
The report has been produced in the lead-up to an international review of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) at the end of 1999. TRIPS sets minimum standards for Intellectual Property protection around the world.
Opportunities for establishing rules
Report authors John Asker and Andrew Stoeckel say Australia has a major opportunity to help establish rules in the TRIP agreement which will be to our advantage.
“The key areas for agriculture seem to be the protection of Geographical Indicators (GI, which identify a good coming from a particular country or region) and the extension of patent law to include all non-human aspects of biotechnology,” the report says.
Biotechnology IP gains
“Australia is likely to gain from increased recognition of Intellectual Property rights attached to biotechnology. On the other hand, an extension of the protection offered to geographical indications could represent a significant pitfall for some areas of Australian agriculture.”
However, certain areas of the cheese industry and possibly the fruit industry were likely to experience the most harm from tighter GI regulations.
Wine, cotton, wildflowers and other cheese industry sectors would likely benefit from stronger patent and Plant Breeder Right laws.
“It should be remembered that Australian industries like wine have actually benefited from regulations governing geographical indications, because they have been forced to develop their own branding and marketing strategies which have been spectacularly successful,” Dr Stoeckel said. “Those industries which adapt and take advantage of any changes will benefit.”
Dr Stoeckel said that as world markets became more developed, significant returns to producers would be in the marketing, product innovation and provision of specific services – areas that required recognition of Intellectual Property rights.
The report Intellectual Property in Agricultural Trade is available from RIRDC for $15 by calling (02) 6272 4819.
More Information:
Andrew Stoeckel, CIE, (02) 6248 6699
Lenard’s Chicken started humbly in Brisbane in 1988 and now is a franchise with more than 225 stores in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.
The company’s success has been widely documented, with a key to its growth being extensive value-adding of its products well in advance of traditional butchers and even some supermarket chains.
This has been recognised with the RIRDC Agribusiness Value Adding Award, presented last month at the annual Rabobank 1999 Agribusiness Awards for Excellence.
The Awards are offered in association with Monash University and have become the premier event for industry recognition of performance excellence exhibited by some of Australia’s top agribusiness companies.
Presenting the award RIRDC Managing Director Peter Core said: “Value-adding is now a very important part of many agricultural businesses.
“Lenards has displayed through its customer focus and strategic alliances with the poultry, and more recently pork, lamb and beef industries, the success agribusinesses can have which benefit the whole chain from producers to consumers.”
Other winners were:
For that reason the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program and the Cotton R&D Corporation joined forces to produce Growing Trees on Cotton Farms, a new publication which points cotton property owners in the right direction if they are contemplating the introduction of more trees on-farm.
The book includes the most recent research results on growing trees for the particular problems of spray drift and pest control, and incorporates research and advice from the National Windbreaks Program.
Also included are case studies from farmers in Queensland and NSW, with practical information and tips on what did and didn’t work for them.
Although directed primarily at cotton farmers, the book extends the broad general advice offered in the 1997 RIRDC bestselling publication Design Principles for Farm Forestry, which has been used widely by farmers and consultants around Australia to get the most from their enterprises.
Growing Trees on Cotton Farms is available from RIRDC for $10 by calling 02 6272 4819.
More information:
Sharon Davis, phone (02) 6271 6671
But to satisfy regulatory bodies, such claims must be supported by rigorously obtained scientific data.
Researchers at the University of Western Australia recently completed a study demonstrating what has been suspected for a long time - that tea tree oil causes only a low incidence of skin allergy.
Dr Jane Greig and her colleagues tested over 200 healthy adult volunteers for allergy to tea tree oil. Two tests were performed using ten different samples of 100% tea tree oil. Various common allergens were also tested to determine the relative reactivity of the study population.
Immediate allergy test
In the first test, nearly 50% of volunteers exhibited immediate allergy to grasses and dust-mite, indicating that the group was more reactive than the general population (where about 25% of people react to these allergens).
Only 4 people (1.8%) reacted to tea tree oil, and each to only 1 or 2 of the 10 oils tested, indicating that the responses were probably not to tea tree oil itself (although the team was unable to determine whether there was another factor responsible).
The high reactivity to common allergens adds even greater emphasis to the very low risk associated with immediate allergy to tea tree oil.
Contact allergy test
The other test was for a delayed reaction, which is often called contact allergy. The study population was again somewhat more reactive than expected, with 20% having an allergy to the metal nickel, when this would not normally exceed around 15%.
The prevalence of allergy to tea tree oil in the entire study group was 2.9%, increasing to a possible 4.8% if reactions that were indistinguishable from irritant responses were included.
The next step
The next step is to find a threshold concentration for allergy and irritancy. As tea tree oil is active against microbes at very low concentrations, it may be possible to be used at concentrations which are both beneficial and universally safe.
More information:
Dr Jane Greig or Professor Tom Riley, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre,
Ph (08) 9346 1986
RIRDC Bestsellers
RIRDC makes its research findings available through an active publishing
program. There are more than 250 publications available from RIRDC. View
and purchase them through our online
catalogue.
Many full reports are also available free as downloadable pdf, rtf and MSWord6 documents.
Many reports have been summarised in free RIRDC "Short
Reports".
Last updated: 11 November 1999
Copyright © RIRDC
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/pub/spring99.htm