2013 Research Opportunities - PRODUCTION
Timing, nature, extent and impact of diseases on dairy goat health and production in Australia
The dairy goat industry in Australia is rapidly changing as a consequence of the increased popularity of goat cheeses and the unprecedented demand for goat’s milk. The dairy goat industry is predominantly pasture based and is therefore confined to the high rainfall, agricultural areas of the country. While this offers cost of production advantages, it represents a potential threat to the industry as it increases the susceptibility of goats to intestinal parasites and footrot. Diseases like internal parasites, mycoplasmosis, clostridial diseases, CAE, CLA and Salmonellosis are known to affect goats however the impact of these or other conditions has not been qualified or quantified in the Australian dairy goat industry. The intensification of the dairy goat industry coupled with climate change (floods and drought) might result in an increased incidence of these conditions. This project will monitor the incidence, timing, impact and nature of diseases in Australian dairy goat farms: this will be correlated with the changes in environmental and climatic conditions to generate models and predict future trends. This project will focus on epidemiological studies on dairy goat diseases and how different regional/state environmental conditions, husbandry calendar of events and management techniques influence the incidence, prevalence, susceptibility and impact of diseases of different dairy goat breeds. Particular attention will be given to the increased parasite infection risks due to global changes, in particular climate change, which poses new challenges to traditional methods of dairy goat husbandry and the need for new solutions to ensure sustainable livestock production in future years.
Other Information
The project is based at the Camden campus. The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in science, agriculture, veterinary science or equivalent, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to perform laboratory and field based studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) for Australian and New Zealand residents. For international applicants, the student must have a scholarship which covers full tuition fees and a living allowance. In addition, a ‘top-up’ of the living allowance may be negotiated with the successful student.
This project is supported by the Dairy Goat Society of Australia (DGSA) Research Foundation.
Supervisors:-
Dr Pietro Celi
Dr Peter White
Development of biosecurity procedures to control and prevent Mycoplasma infection in dairy cows
Mycoplasma bovis is gaining prominence in the Australian dairy herd as an emerging pathogen with significant implications for the health and welfare of cattle. The clinical manifestation of disease can be variable and may affect cattle of any age. While the current incidence of outbreaks is modest, isolation and culling are routinely utilized due to the ineffective nature of treatment options. Consequently, the disease has a profound financial impact on affected properties and is a significant risk for farms that inadvertently purchase culled cows. Following the successful development of molecular diagnostic techniques for the detection of Mycoplasma bovis by this laboratory, the aim of this project is to utilize these and other analyses to further understand the disease process and mechanisms of transmission. An important component of the project will be the development of sampling strategies followed by focused surveys of pathogen incidence in different age groups of cattle within both infected and putatively negative herds. We anticipate that the outcomes will include development of biosecurity guidelines to assist in limiting the transmission of this disease between dairy herds.
This project will form part of a larger industry-funded project and is based at the Camden campus about 60 minutes drive from the main Sydney campus. It provides an excellent postgraduate student training opportunity with potential to gain skills in molecular biology and immunological techniques and to interact with clinical veterinary staff to understand the diseases as it presents in the clinical setting on farms.
Further Information:
It is anticipated that the student appointed to this project will be a veterinarian or an animal/veterinary bioscience graduate. A tax exempt stipend of approximately $23,729 p.a. for 3 years is available with potential for a tax exempt “top up” dependent on the skills and experience of the successful candidate. Applicants must be Australian or New Zealand citizens or permanent residents of Australia.
Supervisor:
Associate Professor Paul Sheehy
Co Supervisors:
Dr Katrina Bosward
Associate Professor John House
Associations between stress, egg quality and other welfare measures in laying hens maintained in different housing systems
Our group has developed a non-invasive means of measuring the extent of stress experienced by laying hens. This is done by measuring corticosterone concentrations in egg albumen. In recent work the concentrations of corticosterone in albumen was determined in eggs collected from different housing systems. Early in the production cycle there were found to be differences between farms, with flocks showing distinct patterns of stress during this time. These early differences were linked to differences in egg production and mortality rate with production decreased and mortality increased when the corticosterone concentrations increased. The project objectives are to evaluate the link between stress in laying hens and other welfare measures but also to determine if there are effects on egg quality.
Supervisor: Dr Jeff Downing
Students would be encouraged to apply for a Poultry CRC scholarship.
Nutrient distribution on farms with Automatic Milking Systems (AMS)
Opportunity exists for a student project to investigate the impact of AMS and more specifically voluntary cow traffic on the distribution of nutrients within the farm system. Effluent deposited on laneways is of concern since it cannot be captured, stored and distributed on paddocks and it can pose environmental management challenges. With an AMS the cows voluntarily traffic around the farm system. To date there has been no known work conducted on the impact of this voluntary traffic on nutrient distribution. It is possible that the volume of effluent deposited on laneways is reduced since the cows are not being herded to the dairy as a group. On the other hand the volume may be increased as cows have the opportunity to loiter on laneways as they move through the system at ‘cow pace’.
Supervisor: Dr Kendra Kerrisk -
Co-supervisor: A/Prof. Yani Garcia
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture or veterinary science, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to work with data analysis and undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).
Grazing of forage crops and different pasture species in automatic milking systems
This PhD project will investigate the interactions at the animal-plant interface when cows moving voluntarily in an automatic milking system are given access to grazable forage crops and different pasture species. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop grazing management guidelines for some key forage crops that may be used in AMS systems in Australia in different seasons. The project may involve direct collaboration with researchers at Michigan State University in USA and may require spending at least one Australian autumn-winter in USA.
Supervisor: A/Prof Yani Garcia
Co-supervisor: Dr Kendra Kerrisk - / Dr Santiago Utsumi (Michigan State University)
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture or veterinary science, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to work with data analysis and undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).
Using forage crops to enhance cow traffic in automatic milking systems
This PhD project will investigate the use of different forage crops to enhance cow traffic of cows moving voluntarily in automatic milking systems (AMS). The successful candidate will develop a program to understand the interactions between time of the day and distance to the paddocks for different grazable forage options across all 4 seasons.
Supervisor:A/Prof Yani Garcia
Co-supervisor: Dr Kendra Kerrisk -
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture or veterinary science, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to work with data analysis and undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award). A possibility exists for outstanding Australian or NZ candidates to apply for a FutureDairy scholarship (AU$30,000).
Dynamic simulation of cow traffic in Automatic Milking Systems
This PhD project will develop a dynamic model capable of representing the basic aspects of cow traffic system in a pasture-based automatic milking system (AMS). The successful candidate will work with dynamic simulation platforms to develop an ad hoc model and/or investigate the potential adaptation of existing models.
Supervisor: A/Prof Yani Garcia
Co-supervisor: Dr Kendra Kerrisk -
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture, veterinary or IT/computer science, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be willing to work with simulation modelling but also undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).
The use of n-alkanes and other internal markers to estimate intake of dairy cows fed complex mixes of pasture and forage diets
Plant wax markers can be used to estimate pasture/forage intake and diet composition based on the faecal recovery of these markers. This PhD project will develop techniques to better estimate actual faecal recovery of n-alkanes and other long-chain carbon compounds in cows fed complex diets comprised of pasture and forage crops and grains. The project will be largely based on analytical procedures related to the n-alkane technique, although controlled studies will be carried out to test different techniques/hypothesis.
Supervisor: Dr Ravneet Kaur Jhajj -
Co Supervisor: A/Prof Yani Garcia
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture, veterinary or chemistry, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be prepared to work in a laboratory but also undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).
Application of NIR in the nutritive evaluation of dairy cow diets
Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis is commonly used to determine nutritive value of feed-stuffs in recent years. Commercially, it is important that farmers on individual farms have accurate and reliable results. This project will develop techniques to improve the application of NIR systems to assess the nutritive value of dairy cow diets. The project is laboratory based.
Supervisor: Dr Ajantha Horadagoda -
Co-supervisor: Dr Ravneet Kaur Jhajj - / A.Prof Yani Garcia
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture, veterinary or chemistry, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be prepared to work in a laboratory but also undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).
Carbon sequestration of high yielding complementary forage rotations (CFR)
This PhD project will investigate aspects of carbon sequestration and carbon balance in high yielding CFR systems. The CFR comprise double or triple crop rotations capable of producing over 40 t DM/ha per year.
Supervisor: Dr Rafiq Islam -
Co-supervisor:A/Prof Yani Garcia
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture, veterinary or chemistry, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be prepared to work in a laboratory but also undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).
Improvement of nutritive value of maize silage for dairy cows
Maize silage is a major component of complementary forage rotation (CFR) system which yielded over 25 t DM/ha out of a total of 40 t DM/ha from CFR. This PhD project will investigate aspects of improving nutritive value particularly metabolizable energy content of maize silage without compromising yield of maize.
Supervisor: Dr Rafiq Islam -
Co-supervisor: A/Prof Yani Garcia
Further Information:
The successful candidate must have completed an undergraduate degree in agriculture, veterinary or chemistry, have research experience (Honours or Master’s degree), good analytical and communication skills, and be prepared to work in a laboratory but also undertake field studies.
The successful applicant must apply for and be awarded a scholarship (stipend) for example, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or IPA (International Postgraduate Award).