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Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation |
Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
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Shaping the Future is
the corporate newsletter of RIRDC. It is distributed quarterly by direct
mail to over 4,000 researchers, industry, government, farmers, libraries
and consultants. Contributions are welcome.
Phone (02) 6272 4539,
Fax (02) 6272 5877, Editor: Martin Field, ph (02) 6272 4735. email:
murray.hansen@rirdc.gov.au
In this issue:
National
Organic Conference
A
word from the Managing Director
Regulating
Infrastucture
Tropical
Fruit Increasing domestic consumption
Maximising
profits - Dairy Sheep
New
fact sheet directory
Stress
testing hens
Aussie
bushfoods get the ‘all clear’
Horse
Symposium International
On
offer - Agribusiness scholarships
Socio-economic
impacts Farm forestry
Carbon
Farming new software model
Annual
Report wins gold
RIRDC
Bookshop
An
impressive list of speakers will address the 250 delegates expected to
attend the inaugural National Organic Conference to be held at Darling
Harbour in Sydney on August 27-28, 2001.
Supported by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the Organic Federation of Australia and a range of sponsors, the conference will be an important forum for many issues regarding this rapidly expanding sector of the food industry.
2000 certified members
Currently, Australia has about 2000 certified organic producers, processors and retailers of organic food and fibre products. They operate in diverse industries, including grains and pulses, horticulture, viticulture, sugar, beef, pork, dairy and honey.
There are more than 1670 organic farmers producing a wide range of foods from about 7.7 million hectares of land in Australia - the world’s largest certified area.
$180m Australian produce
Collectively, these enterprises account for products estimated to be worth $180 million annually at the farm gate, although rapid growth in demand for organic product means this figure is forecast to increase significantly in coming years.
$40 billion worldwide
Worldwide, the organics industry is estimated to be worth about $40 billion, and has recorded growth rates of 20-50% per annum for several years.
For example, there has been sustained growth in the United Kingdom market of 40% per annum, while production is increasing at only 25% per annum – imports make up 70% of the existing UK organics market.
Speakers at the National Organic Conference will be drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with experience in practical farming, supermarket management, food policy and regulation, restaurants, food processing, international markets,trade policy, nutrition and natural resource management.
OFA awards
The conference will also recognise excellence in the industry with the inaugural Organic Federation of Australia Awards, which will be presented at the Organic Conference Dinner on Monday 27 August 2001.
For more information or a copy of the first conference brochure please visit the conference website www.rirdc.gov.au/ organicsconference or contact Merryn James (02) 6272 4205.
RIRDC also produces a quarterly organics newsletter featuring OFA and organic research news. Contact Merryn Jones if you would like to be added to the mailing list.
A
word from the Managing Director
There will be broad community interest in the inaugural National Organic Conference, supported by RIRDC and the Organic Federation of Australia, to be held in Sydney on August 27-28.
Problems with food safety in Europe and North America have made many people question current agricultural practices.
Regardless of the validity of their concerns, there is no doubt the community is troubled and this has translated into greater interest in organic produce throughout the world.
While organic foods currently account for a small percentage of total food sales in most countries, there have been strong rates of growth during the last few years.
A recent international report forecasts yearly sales growth rates of 60% per annum in some European countries. Given the large size of these markets, this represents a considerable challenge to the organic industry in terms of the supply of high quality product.
Australia has by far the biggest area certified for organic production of any country in the world, with 7.7 million hectares.
Italy has almost 1 million hectares certified organic, which represents 6.5% of that country’s total landmass. Similar percentages are recorded for Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
Clearly, the industry is enjoying rapid growth and the efforts at managing that growth in Australia will be supported by the National Organic Conference.
The conference will be opened by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Senator Judith Troeth, while speakers will include Professor John Ikerd from University of Missouri, Ken Cummins from the International Organic Accreditation Service, Mike Krockenberger of the Australian Conservation Foundation, Dr John Williams – Chief of CSIRO Land and Water, Mitch Hooke - Executive Director of the Australian Food and Grocery Council and Doug Shears of ICM Australia.
The closing address will be given by Dr Tim Flannery, author of "Future Eaters".
This is a landmark event for the Australian Organic Industry and I would urge all interested parties to attend – it’s at Darling Harbour in Sydney and will be held in conjunction with the Fine Foods Fair.
Peter Core
Cost competitiveness is essential for rural and regional Australia if it is to survive and prosper in the modern globalised world economy.
The pricing of infrastructure services in Australia is now subject to national competition policy (NCP) and related areas of microeconomic reform.
Access determinations by Commonwealth and State regulators and governments have a key role in the prices ultimately paid by users for infrastructure services.
The experience with access determinations to date reveals great variety and complexity by infrastructure type – electricity, gas pipelines, telecommunications, rail and water – and across jurisdictions (Commonwealth, State and Territories).
The findings of this study are summarised under four headings: pricing principles, costs allowed by regulators, treatment of externalities and procedure/process.
This report, titled Infrastructure Regulation - Cost Methodologies and Processes for Rural and Regional Australia, recommends that rural and regional Australia should become more pro-active in NCP regulatory processes which determine their infrastructure costs.
Rural and regional Australia also needs to ensure that appropriate pricing principles and cost methodologies are explicitly dealt with in the Federal/State National Competition Policy framework agreements to ensure that monopoly rents are not levied through inflated user charges.
TO ORDER REPORT
• free download from the
RIRDC website www.rirdc.gov.au (see ‘Global Competitiveness’ program)
• online through our ‘Eshop’
at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
• phone (02) 6272 4819
• email rirdc@rirdc.gov.au
• 2001, 110pp, Pub no 01/057,
$15
Producers of two exotic tropical fruits have found strong demand for their
crops among some ethnic communities in Australia, but have now turned their
sights on the broader community and on export markets.
Two new reports (one for each fruit) by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) aims to support efforts at increasing domestic consumption in particular.
Longans and rambutans are tropical fruits originating from Southern Asia, and production by the expanding Queensland and Northern Territory industries reached 1,200 tonnes of longans and 600 tonnes of rambutans during 2000. (Right: Rambutans)
Vietnamese and Chinese sales Almost all fruit is sold to ethnic Vietnamese and Chinese consumers in Sydney and Melbourne, although rambutan producers gained access to the attractive Japanese market late in the 2000 season, which is a development that will affect future supply to the domestic market.
The fruits are usually used as a fresh snack; a palate cleanser after meals at home and in restaurants; a religious offering; a gift, or canned as a dessert.
Demand remains strong, although they compete with lychees, stone fruit and grapes.
Current consumption by the broader Australian community is negligible, consisting mainly of small occasional purchases for decoration when entertaining.
The main reasons for low uptake of the fruit in this market are low awareness and high prices.
Demand for rambutan is likely to develop as prices fall, as has occurred with other fresh products.
The RIRDC reports found that acceptance by the broader community is likely, as first-time Caucasian consumers generally like the flavour of longans and rambutans, and would use them for fresh snacks, desserts, fruit salads, fruit platters, and fruit and cheese platters.
Specialist fruit and vegetable stores with extra sales service were identified as one of the best avenues for promoting these fruits to potential customers, although store staff will need to be provided with educational material.
Longans
Currently, all the major retail chains offer rambutans, particularly in areas with ethnic Asian populations.
Expanding distribution The increasing number of agents and retailers selling rambutans and longans, together with the expansion into the mass market, indicates an expanding distribution system.
There are an estimated 24,000 rambutan and 80,000 longan trees currently producing a crop valued at $9 million ($4.5 million each fruit) per annum.
Contact: Judy Noller Qld Dept of Primary Industries Ph: 07 4044 1617 Max Bourke RIRDC Research Manager Ph: 02 6272 3207
TO ORDER REPORTS
• free download from the
RIRDC website www.rirdc.gov.au (see ‘New Plant Products’ program)
• online through our ‘Eshop’
at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
• phone (02) 6272 4819
• email rirdc@rirdc.gov.au
• Australian Longans: 2001,
69pp, Pub no 01/025, $10
• Australian Rambutans:
2001, 26pp, Pub no 01/026, $10
A research trial involving Australia’s largest sheep dairy has shown it is possible to establish a lower-cost operation based on unhoused ewes, providing the animals have adequate access to high-protein feed sources.
The trial, run by Awassi (Aust) Pty Ltd at Cowra and the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), also identified optimum feed rations and other management considerations to maximise profitability for sheep dairy operations.
Largest sheep dairy
Australia’s largest sheep dairy has operated for four years, with up to 1,000 ewes based on the imported Awassi sheep breed being milked twice daily in world-class facilities.
While the dairy has produced up to 12,000 litres of milk per week, a predictable regular market has existed for 5,000 to 7,000 litres/week at $1.15 to $1.20/litre – primarily for the production of speciality cheeses.
Estimated cost of production (not including finance costs and drawings) is about $1.05/litre.
Principal of Awassi (Aust) Pty Ltd Tom Grant, of "Slievenamon" Cowra, said fully housed lactating ewes consumed about 5kg/day fresh (2kg dry matter) of a diet based on pasture (grass/legume) silage, cereal grain (triticale) and a high protein source (whole lupins, cotton seed meal or soybean meal) in approximate proportions of 68%:27%:5% on a dry matter basis.
"Increasing the high protein source component of the diet from 5% to 10% (dietary crude protein increased from 16.5% to 17.5%) increased milk yields by about 15% and milk fat content by about 10%," he said.
Low cost rearing
Mr Grant said one important result of the trial was the development of a low-cost system of rearing lambs (that are removed from their dams within one day of birth), based on multiple suckling of lambs by lower production/late lactation ewes.
"In 1997, we hand reared more than 1,000 ewe lambs, from day olds, as replacement ewes.
"The cost of this exercise was in excess of $50,000 or $50 per lamb when you include labour, pellets and milk powder.
"In an attempt to cut these costs we began trying to get the poor milking ewes in the flock to rear two replacement ewe lambs instead of being milked."
Researcher Contact:
Tom Grant Awassi (Aust)
Pty Ltd "Slievenamon",
Grenfell Rd COWRA NSW 2794
Phone: 02 6342 9217
Fax: 02 6342 9269
TO ORDER REPORT
• free download from the
RIRDC website www.rirdc.gov.au (see ‘New Animal Products’ program)
• online through our ‘Eshop’
at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
• phone (02) 6272 4819 for
a hardcopy • email rirdc@rirdc.gov.au • 2001, 38pp, Pub no 01/029, $10
A new addition to the RIRDC website is a directory of "AgFact" sheets, with more than 400 sheets listed according to relevant program areas.
State agriculture departments and research organisations produce many of these fact sheets and, while they come under different titles (AgNotes, FarmNotes etc), they are all designed to be short but highly informative documents.
The directory provides a "one-stop shop" to fact sheets of relevance to RIRDC research programs and all are hyperlinked for easy online access.
http://www.rirdc.gov.au/agfacts/
The egg industry faces continued criticism of the ethics of some husbandry practices, especially the welfare of hens kept in cages.
Assessment of hen welfare is difficult because it is made up of many factors, including health, production, behaviour and physiology. Welfare assessments involve measuring the level of change in some or all of these factors and a major difficulty is how much change constitutes a risk to hen’s welfare? Corticosterone is a substance released into the blood during stress and has often been used as a physiological measure of stress levels. The main difficulty with this measure is that a blood sample must be taken from the hen, which is in itself stressful to the bird.
A recent RIRDC project conducted by Dr Jeff Downing at the University of Sydney, found that it was possible to measure corticosterone in egg albumen.
As egg albumen is laid down over a period of about six hours all changes in blood levels during this period are accumulated. Initial experiments have indicated that the level of corticosterone in egg albumen is proportional to the level of stress experienced by the hen.
Measuring stress in this way means that the hens do not have to be put through the stress of having blood taken and also allows the detection of low levels of long term or chronic stress that could not be detected by blood sampling.
RIRDC is funding a second project to confirm the accuracy of this welfare-friendly method of measuring stress in laying hens.
TO ORDER REPORT
Copies of the full technical
report on this project (US-71A) will soon be available from the RIRDC web
site (www.rirdc.gov.au) or for purchase on (02) 6272 4819 at $10 (plus
$4p+h).
Commercial Australian bushfoods have been given a qualified "all clear" with regard to toxicity, although some precautions should be observed in a small number of cases, according to a new report from the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC).
The report, titled Food Safety of Australian Plant Bushfoods, said that for the great majority of the bushfoods studied, there appear to be no reports of adverse effects following normal usage and intake, despite inquiries throughout the period of the study, and no new evidence of unexpected chemical hazards has resulted from the analyses.
Bush fruits such as bush tomatoes (Solanum centrale) and seeds such as wattleseed (for example Acacia victoriae) have a reliable history of traditional use, and are especially favoured by the modern bushfood industry. Some, but not all, of the commercial bushfoods mentioned in this report have a history of traditional Aboriginal use, and/or use by early European settlers, however some traditional Aboriginal bushfoods required lengthy preparation to improve palatability and in some cases to remove toxins.
This report details possible toxicological hazards associated with bushfoods as: _ Misidentification of bushfood sources A major issue is that plant material being utilised is correctly identified. The available information on toxicity only applies to the nominated species and cannot be assumed to be relevant to even a closely related species.
Problems associated with excessive consumption Digestive or other problems may be associated with the consumption of particularly excessive quantities of unripe or very acid fruits, for example some of the aspens (Acronychia species), some bush tomatoes other than the popular Solanum centrale, some lillypillies (Syzygium species) and unprocessed Davidson’s plums (Davidsonia species) or to excessive use of very strongly flavoured, peppery and potentially irritant spices (for example, Tasmannia species).
Failure to follow recommended procedures during harvesting, handling, or preparation Harvesting, handling or preparation operations that vary from traditional practices can result in harmful or toxic constituents not being removed and included in the end food product. It is advisable for bushfood marketers to label their value-added products (and fresh material where practicable) with the name of the species used, and any advice as to requirements for cooking, removal of inedible parts, blanching, and a recommended maximum intake in the case of strong spices.
TO ORDER REPORT • free download
from the RIRDC website www.rirdc.gov.au (see ‘New Plant Products’ program)
• online through our ‘Eshop’ at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop • phone (02) 6272
4819 for a hardcopy • email rirdc@rirdc.gov.au • 2001, 87pp, Pub no 01/028,
$20
The RIRDC-Post Graduate Foundation in Veterinary Science International Horse Symposium will be held in Sydney on 4 -6 July 2001.
We are fortunate to have two of the world’s leading veterinarians – Dr Peter Rossdale, Editor of the Equine Veterinary Journal and the author of a number of important equine books, and Professor Leo Jeffcott – a world authority on lameness and back problems in horses as well as the Chair of the FEI Veterinary Committee.
The seminar costs $200 per day (including lunch, morning and afternoon teas) or $500 for 3 days.
Program and registration
details can be obtained by contacting the Post Graduate Foundation on:
ph: (02) 9351 7979 fax: (02) 9351 7968 email courses4@pgfvet.usyd.edu.au
or at www.pgf.edu.au and follow the
links to ‘your courses’.
Up to 15 scholarships worth a maximum of $30,000 each are available to Australian agribusiness people under the Government’s expanded In-Market Experience Scholarship program, the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Warren Truss, announced recently.
Mr Truss said the scholarships are part of the New Industries Development Program (NIDP), an initiative under the Federal Government’s five-year Backing Australia’s Ability strategy.
"With a total value of up to $450,000, the In-Market Experience Scholarships represent one of the largest scholarship schemes available to Australian agribusiness," Mr Truss said.
"The scholarships will allow people working in agribusiness to develop new skills, form networks and learn first-hand how to develop plans to commercialise new, high value products, services or technologies.
Application forms and guidelines for the NIDP In- Market Experience Scholarships are available from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia web site at www.affa.gov.au/agribiz or by calling the NIDP on 1300 884 588.
Applications close on 27 July 2001.
For further information on
the scholarships, please call Merryn Kennedy on (02) 6272 3785.
The rapid expansion of farm forestry must be carefully managed to ensure regional communities are the beneficiaries of associated social and economic changes, according to a new report from the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program (JVAP).
The report, titled Socio-economic Impacts of Farm Forestry, states that at a broad regional level, farm plantation forestry has the capacity to offer important economic and employment benefits associated with servicing the industry and, in the longer term, downstream processing activities.
However, it also found that while the regional impacts of farm plantation forestry can be positive, they can also mask negative economic and employment impacts at more local levels.
The report recommends a number of important strategies to maximise socio-economic benefits and minimise any negative impacts of farm plantation forestry in rural communities.
Recommendation 1: Federal and State government agencies should identify communities experiencing, or likely to experience, an expansion of farm plantation forestry. These agencies, together with local governments, should play a proactive role in assisting with long-term planning and development aimed at maximising the benefits.
Recommendation 2: There is a need for ongoing research into the impacts of farm plantation forestry on services, infrastructure and employment.
Recommendation 3: State governments should facilitate the development of Cooperative Fire Management Strategies between local governments, farmers, the plantation industry, and local fire services.
Recommendation 4: Regional databases should be established to maintain information about all aspects of the expansion of farm plantation forestry on cleared agricultural land.
Recommendation 5: There should be standardised planning provisions that can be applied to farm plantation forestry consistently across local government areas.
Recommendation 6: Relevant Federal and State government agencies should conduct ongoing research into the environmental impacts of farm forestry plantations.
Recommendation 7: Regional Plantation Committees should establish local working groups consisting of timber industry representatives and farmers in areas where extensive planting is occurring or is likely to occur.
Recommendation 8: To reduce negative attitudes and opposition to farm forestry plantations, timber companies should foster closer economic and social links with rural communities.
Recommendation 9: Regional Plantation Committees should organise regular community workshops that bring together representatives from the timber industry, relevant government agencies, and local farmers, business people and other residents.
TO ORDER REPORT
• free download from the
RIRDC website www.rirdc.gov.au (see ‘Agroforestry & Farm Trees’’).
• online through our ‘Eshop’
at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
• phone (02) 6272 4819 for
a hardcopy
• email rirdc@rirdc.gov.au
• 2001, 85pp, Pub no 01/045,
$10
In recent years there has been increasing international concern about the level of atmospheric gases that may increase the greenhouse effect, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2).
CO2 is absorbed in the production of biomass (plants), and so there is the possibility that emissions may be offset by storing CO2 ("sequestering" it) in various biological ‘sinks’.
Many countries (including Australia) are contemplating markets for rights in sequestered carbon.
In these markets, industries and other institutions may offset their emissions of CO2 by buying rights to the carbon absorbed in/by the production of biomass, chiefly timber in plantations.
"Carbon farming" is the cultivation of trees in order to sequester carbon and then to obtain tradeable rights in that carbon.
These rights can then be sold to emitters of CO2 and other interested parties.
The "Carbon Farmer" model has been developed, through funding under the Joint Venture Agroforestry Program, to assist advisers and farmers to decide whether it is worth engaging in carbon farming.
It does this by allowing people to explore the physical and financial consequences of different assumptions about the productivity and management of plantations, the costs of cultivation and administration, and the price for which the sequestered carbon (as well as the timber itself) may eventually be traded.
The outputs of this project are the Carbon Farmer model and associated manual. The model is written in Microsoft Excel 97 ® and the Visual Basic/Excel macros used in the model will not work in previous versions of Excel. The model is available for free on the RIRDC website (www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm#01- 060) or on CD-rom (you may purchase the User Manual with the CD for $30).
The manual has been built into the model, as "on-line help" accessed through numerous help buttons, and is provided as Volume Two of this project.
The user can create scenarios to suit their own circumstances, explore different situations and then compare the results. The model supplies some suggested values as well as gives a large degree of flexibility for people to input their own values.
For more information: RIRDC Research Manager Dr Roslyn Prinsley Phone: (02) 6272 4033
TO ORDER REPORT
• free download from the
RIRDC website www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm#01-060
(see ‘Agroforestry & Farm Trees’’ program)
• online through our ‘Eshop’
at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop
• phone (02) 6272 4819 for
a hardcopy
• email rirdc@rirdc.gov.au
• Vol 1: 2001, 23pp, Pub
No. 01/059, $10
• Vol 2: 2001, 75pp, Pub
No. 01/060, $20 (or $30 with CD rom, no. CD01/002)
RIRDC has won a prestigious gold award in the 2001 Annual Report Awards, a benchmark for excellence in annual reporting.
RIRDC is proud to join16 other gold award recipients in a field of over 350 Australian publicly listed companies, government bodies and not-for-profit organisations.WMC Limited was the overall winner.
If you would like a copy of our annual report please phone (02) 6272 4819.
RIRDC makes its research findings available through an active publishing program. There are more than 450 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".
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