Welcome to another edition of eChook. Poultry CRC research for 2010 onwards is now that much closer with members of the Science Committee and End-User Advisory Committee now finalised. The selection process for research proposals is merit-based, as it is in the current CRC. Research proposals will be assessed on the basis of their scientific merit

The Australian poultry industry’s capacity for managing some of its most important endemic diseases has received a boost thanks to the enterprising work of a young Poultry CRC scientist at the University of New England (UNE). Dr Katrin Renz, a Research Fellow with UNE’s School of Environmental and Rural Science, wants to improve methodologies for

Australian school students from across the country have been busy feeding and watching their chooks as part of the World’s Poultry Science Association (WPSA) 2009 Schools Poultry Education Competition. Students and teachers from three states – Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia – participated in this year’s hands-on industry education project to help improve the

A net energy system that could lead to a smaller environmental footprint and commercial advantage for Australia’s chicken meat producers is the focus of a nationwide collaboration funded by the Armidale-based Poultry Cooperative Research Centre (Poultry CRC). The net energy system essentially advocates a new way of approaching poultry diets and feed formulation, allowing nutritionists

Since the ground-breaking discovery by a Poultry CRC PhD student that alpha-toxin does not cause the devastating bacterial disease, necrotic enteritis (NE), another toxin, NetB, has emerged as the likely culprit. One of the researchers working on the CRC project focussed on the development of a vaccine against NE, Dr Trudi Bannam, is focussing on the

Poultry CRC researcher and veterinarian, The University of Melbourne’s Dr Joanne Devlin, is one of six young Victorian scientists to win a prestigious 2009 Victoria Fellowship. The Victoria Fellowships, each worth $18,000, were first awarded by the Victorian Government in 1998 to recognise young researchers with leadership potential and to enhance their future careers, while

Welcome to another edition of eChook. The answers were blowin’ in the wind at the CRC’s Ideas Exchange held at Manly’s picturesque Q Station earlier this month. The spectacular backdrop to the current CRC’s final Ideas Exchange offered impressive views from Sydney’s North Head, but the extreme weather besieging the east coast was a bit more

In 2006, the Poultry CRC contracted a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), to look at the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process and how it can be applied more effectively for people involved in poultry production. Over the last 3 years, the CRC, in conjunction with Farm Gate Training & Consulting (the RTO) and Michael Williams (a training

Postgraduate / Postdoctoral / Intern Update Congratulations to Kylie Hewson for winning the DAFF Science and Innovation Award for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, sponsored by AECL. Kylie received her award at a dinner at Parliament House in Canberra with her husband, Trent, Angus Crossan, Greg Parkinson and me to cheer her on.

There’s more kudos for Poultry CRC scientists at CSIRO Livestock Industries, with both a veteran and a newcomer winning accolades for their achievements. Poultry CRC Program Manager, Dr John Lowenthal, was one of ten exceptional senior scientists to receive the 2009-10 Newton Turner Career Award. The award, which was established in 2008, is designed to further

Welcome to another edition of eChook. Poultry industry personnel and scientists involved in poultry R&D will come together in Sydney next week for the CRC’s fifth and final Ideas Exchange. This year’s meeting will be held at Manly’s refurbished quarantine station from Wednesday 7th October. The theme for this year is The River of Ideas, reflecting the journey from CRC

Welcome to this special edition of eChook. The Steering Committee of the Poultry CRC II, comprising representatives from the CRC’s seven Essential Participants, has appointed Dr John Lowenthal as Manager for Program 1 (Health and Welfare), Dr Tim Walker as Manager for Program 2 (Nutrition and Environment), and Dr Patrick Blackall (pictured) as Manager for Program 3 (Safe and Quality Food Production).

Australia’s leading poultry vets are helping the CRC develop its suite of affordable and fast DNA-based tests for poultry diseases. The number of CRC-developed rapid diagnostic tests is growing steadily, giving poultry producers around the country access to cutting-edge biotechnology and useful results in hours rather than days. “The PCR-based tests developed by the CRC give the