THE Dairy Futures Cooperative Research Centre will wind up this week, ending a long-standing industry and research partnership to improve dairy herds and pastures.
Among the biggest legacies are the steps made in genomics for breeding decisions and a range of pasture-breeding innovations.
CRC chief executive officer David Nation said this partnership helped build practical science on a large scale.
“We can test the merit of any bull or cow against the DNA profiles from tens of thousands of cattle from across all states of Australia,” he said.
“The final delivery of herd improvement innovations means farmers will be able to use genomics with confidence, accessing young sires and making faster progress with herd improvement.”
He said the CRC had achieved its goal to double the rate of genetic gain, while the CRC estimates it has delivered more than $100 a cow each year in value from improved herds.
CRC chief scientist and executive director of the Biosciences Research branch of Agriculture Vic German Spangenberg described the progress made in pasture breeding as the most profound change in more than 30 years.
“Our major achievement is the invention of a hybrid breeding technique for ryegrass breeding,” he said.
“This will unlock a 20 per cent yield advantage in hybrid ryegrass varieties and also make it easier for plant breeders to use genomic selection and add novel endophytes in new pasture varieties.”
Dairy Australia’s Managing Director Ian Halliday said that the CRC model has been a great example of industry and research sectors working together.
“Each year our $2 million investment of farmer levies resulted in $20 million of R&D activity and enabled very large research projects to deliver some of the most positive and permanent changes to dairy herds and dairy pastures,” he said.
While the funding for the Dairy Futures CRC finishes June 30, a new round of funding from Dairy Australia and the Vic government will begin a five-year initiative called DairyBio.
“DairyBio will continue the partnership between industry and research sectors, make the most of the rapid progress in bioscience, and deliver commercial-ready solutions for a broad span of new innovations,” Mr Halliday said.
“We are pleased to continue to deliver solutions for Australian farmers that will drive down the cost of production and improve the quality of pastures and herds,” Prof Spangenberg said.
