Report on the Horizons in Livestock Sciences Conference held 28th-30th October, 2008 in Christchurch, New Zealand
Bronwyn Prosser
Both New Zealand and Australia have large agricultural export industries, accounting for over 50% of New Zealand’s exports[i] and over 25% of Australia’s exports[ii]. With such a large proportion of national earnings tied up in the agricultural sector, these antipodean nations are eager to maintain their position in the global food supply, expanding outside of their natural role as an off-season supplier of produce. Scientific advancesare closely watched for any advantages they may bring to the agricultural sector in terms of increasing quality and production efficiency.
Horizons in Livestock Sciences is a near-annual conference hosted by the national agricultural governmental research agencies of Australia and New Zealand, Australia’s CSIRO- Livestock Industries, part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and New Zealand’s AgResearch, a government-owned research and development agency charged with serving the agricultural and biotechnology industries. Each conference focuses on the impact of science on agriculture, within a specific framework.Past themes have looked at the effect of the impact of the new biology, gene silencing and therapeutic innovations, redesigning animal agriculture, and research for the farm of the future.
The theme of the 2008 conference was ‘The future of agriculture – value or volume?’. The conference was divided into three topics, each comprising two sessions: Drivers of change; Cutting edge science for future animal agriculture; and Industry transformations – case studies; followed by a panel discussion on the theme.
The conference opened with a Powhiri, a traditional Maori welcome, followed by a welcome from the deputy mayor of Christchurch extolling the virtues of the city. The Hon. Jim Anderton, New Zealand’s Minister of Agriculture kicked off with a speech highlighting the importance of agriculture to New Zealand’s economy, followed by a presentation from Rod Oram, a business commentator on ‘the economic and political context for the future of animal agriculture’ illustrating the position of Australasia within the world and the current competitors, possible future directions for greater trans-Tasman cooperation and the barriers to such cooperation. The opening session ended with Dr Rosalind Gibson talking on ‘The role of animal source foods in achieving food security’ detailing the nutritional benefits of animal source foods, namely milk and meat, and the micro-nutrient deficiencies prevalent in areas of the world where animal source foods are not widely available.
DRIVERS OF CHANGE
Drivers of change focussed on the public and their interaction with or expectations of the agricultural industry. Drivers of change can be separated into demands and constraints, and a session was devoted to each.
One of the biggest demands from customers is to know where their food has come from. Customers want to be able to trace from fork back to the farm. Tagging animals only allows traceability while the animal is alive, as during processing the animal is taken apart.
OnTrace is an industry based not-for-profit organisation based in Ontario, Canada dedicated to developing tracing systems for the food production industries. Its main foci are premise identification, product identification and movement tracking and aids the food producers in Ontario to develop and implement traceability strategies.
Manny Noakes of CSIRO Human Nutrition, illustrated the importance of animal source foods in a healthy balanced diet. In particular she focussed on the nutritional value, in the form of micronutrients available, present in meats and other animal source foods as being greater than many of the ‘superfoods’ when compared per 100g of food, and also for the number of kilojoules ingested. Dr Noakes balanced this by looking at the worries expressed by the media of the risks or costs of eating animal source foods as opposed to non-animal products. In particular the connections made between red meat and colon cancer – negligible risks compared to the risks conferred by excess alcohol consumption, having a relative with colon cancer or suffering from obesity- were addressed.
The final speaker on the demands as drivers of change was Dr Clint Laurent of Global Demographics. Much of the future demand and the origin of that demand is dependent on the emerging markets. Established wealthier markets, such as North America and Europe are set to decline in importance as younger markets, such as South America and India, grow in population and wealth. As these countries become wealthier the demand for meat and other animal products increases.
The final session for the day was focussing on constraints as drivers of change with the first talk focussing on the public’s opinions and understanding of food issues. Consumer concerns are about food safety, production methods, diet and heath and they expect these concerns to be met by the food industry with improved products. The majority of consumers little understand what this involves at the level of production and are reluctant to pay more to ensure animal welfare and food safety, instead expecting to continue to pay low prices for their food.
Environmental constraints are set to be the one of the biggest concerns as the global population increases by half by the year 2050. Dr Morgan Williams of Future Steps, a sustainability consultancy firm, outlined these constraints and his vision for working within them. Limits to the availability of water, land and soil quality all place demands on agricultural producers. The way these resources are managed is set to be the great challenge of the next few decades, particularly in developing measures to recover waste product for reuse.
Dr Marcos Fava Neves of the University of Sao Paulo reported on the ‘quiet agricultural revolution’ in Brazil. In the past decade Brazil has gone from a net importer to a major global exporter of beef products, and is currently the number one exporter of a number of agricultural products from soya beans, to orange juice, to beef. Brazil, like New Zealand and Australia, has opposite seasons to the world’s major markets, and in addition is only using approximately 10% of available agricultural land space. Brazil is well placed to deliver volume to the world, and Australasia is well placed to deliver the expertise to make it happen - already having experience in production and the global connections to the markets.
CUTTING EDGE SCIENCE FOR FUTURE ANIMAL AGRICULTURE
The second day of the conference focussed on how scientific advances are already having in impact on the agricultural industry. Genomic markers are already being developed for breeding selection within the dairy industry, linking markers to lactation genes. Knowledge taken from the sequencing of the bovine genome is being used to focus research efforts on improving aspects of meat producing animals such the fatty acid profiles and micronutrient availability.
RNAi technology, the use of ribonucleic acid (RNA) to silence genes, is being used by a group at CSIRO to develop Avian Influenza resistant chickens. Proteomics is allowing the mechanisms behind the photoyellowing of wool to be identified. The wool research industry was prolific in the 1960’s, while under pressure and competition from polymer-based fabrics, and developed innovations such as machine-washable wool. The innovationsdeveloped in wool in the sixties show how scientific research can be applied to industry.
INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATIONS
Case studies of industry transformations led the discussion on the final day. Fonterra is New Zealand’s largest company and represents over 10,000 dairy farmers. Fonterra was formed from a merger of the New Zealand Dairy Board, the body responsible for marketing New Zealand’s dairy products globally, and the New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies, two companies representing over 95% of dairy producers. In the 1970’s New Zealand supplied milk products to the world in a fairly straightforward manner. Milk products would be produced in New Zealand and shipped to the markets. Today Fonterra continues to supply product overseas but also controls the movement of products between other regional markets making it the world’s leading exporter of dairy products. Fonterra is investing increasing amounts in Research and Development to develop tools to mitigate the environmental impact increasing the intensity of land use. Fonterra is an example of a high volume producer from Australasia taking on the world.
At the opposite end of the New Zealand market is Synlait, a small cooperative focussing on high-value products. Although a new company, Synlait aims to eventually produce all products to customer requirements by adapting their practice at every level of production and to be able to track every product back to the farmer that has produced the raw material.
Rissington Breedlines is a breed stock company dedicated to using scientific methods to develop high performing lamb and cattle breedlines. Rissington Breedlines is a prime example of the high value market that New Zealand can excel at, with their breedlines being sold in the UK and South America as well as New Zealand.
Australian Country Choice is another example of a very focussed industry. It is a meat processing company with a single client, the Australian supermarket chain Cole’s. By having a single client the company can focus on supplying the quantity and quality of beef demanded by the Australian consumer and the technology to be able to track that beef product from the consumer back to the producer.
Untouched World is an ethical fashion brand with UN recognition for its sustainability. Untouched World looks for materials that give the greatest usability and resilience for the least environmental impact. In particular they make use of possum fur. The brushtail possum is a native of Australia that was introduced to New Zealand in the 1830’s and is now the biggest environmental threat to forests and native animals. The fur of the possum is incredibly soft and when made into thread will not pill. When combined with merino wool, it gives rise to garments that are soft, warm and long wearing. Utilising possum fur simultaneously creates wonderful garments and helps reduce the number of possums damaging the environment. The company also has a charitable trust for the education of young people on environmental issues who go on to become environmental leaders themselves.
The final presentation on industry transformations was from a Merino breeder from New South Wales, Australia. Katrina Blomfield talked on the problems faced within the industry without any focus on how the industry could improve its prospects. In the process she highlighted the disconnect between farmers, the producers of wool, and the potential customers for wool products.
A discussion panel of Industry CEO’s then debated the conference theme of ‘The future of agriculture: value or volume?’ Ultimately the panellists were generally in agreement. Both are needed. New Zealand is well placed to provide value products; products aimed at niche markets or markets where specific traits are desired. It has the expertise that can be exported to places such as South America enabling it to also deliver volume. Australia is better placed to produce volume given its much larger land mass.
During the conference I attended a harbour cruise and the Conference dinner. During these events, and at meal times, I was able to make contacts within CSIRO and AgResearch. In particular I met people who are likely to be able to recommend positions to me on my return to New Zealand. Although little was of direct relevance to the project I am currently working on, the topics discussed were very interesting. Since returning I have also shared some of the presentations with others within the Animal Science Research Group.
My poster on my work relating to the survivability of yeasts in rumen fluid was well received. It had relevance to the particular work of some of the researchers at CSIRO with whom I had discussion on it applicability.
I would like to thank the selection committee for providing the Arthur Hosier/Meyer Sassoon award to me. I would also like to thank my sponsors ABVista who contributed to my travel costs.
[i]Statistics New Zealand.
[ii]