SA’s $3 billion-plus livestock sector has received a major boost with the launch of a ruminant research centre based at the University of Adelaide’s Roseworthy Campus.
Launched on Tuesday at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide, the Davies Research Centre will form partnerships with industry, government and other research organisations to collaborate on research into livestock production, animal welfare and meat science.
Four full-time research staff are presently being supported by the JS Davies bequest, with further recruitment planned, but the centre has more than 50 participants across the university’s three campuses.
It is putting in place agreements with PIRSA and Meat & Livestock Australia to leverage further funding.
Davies Research Centre chair John Williams says it will undertake cutting-edge genomic and applied research.
It also hopes to attract agriculturally-relevant companies to co-locate to Roseworthy, making it a hub for livestock genetics and genomics.
University of Adelaide School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences Roseworthy Campus dean Wayne Hein is aspiring for it to be the “pre-eminent centre in Australia for animal production research focused on genetics”.
There had been considerable research worldwide on increasing beef production and feedlot beef, but he said this centre would focus on more extensive beef cattle systems, typical of pastoral SA or the South East.
Prof Hein said the university had some excellent teaching facilities but this was an opportunity to grow its research profile.
“Roseworthy as a campus has had an association with the cattle industry for a long part of its history,” he said.
“This is an opportunity to put new energy into it, re-emphasise it and take it in new directions.”
SARDI livestock and farming systems research chief Alan Tilbrook says it is proud to partner with the university in the centre.
“The red meat industries in this state make an enormous contribution to the state so R&D is very important,” he said.
“The Davies Research Centre will allow us to put more R&D effort collectively into those industries which is good for the state.
“If you look at the joint capability, it is one of the best in Australia in ruminant research and it has the potential to be the lead group.”
SARDI is the principal research institute for PIRSA.
One of SARDI’s core business areas is animal welfare and Professor Tilbrook, who is the co-director of the Animal Welfare Science Centre, said a number of projects were underway, including developing biomarkers to assess the welfare of cattle and sheep.
