In this section:
Collaboration at Struan
SARDI – University of Adelaide collaboration at Struan Research Centre
Ass Prof Dr W.S. Pitchford and M.P.B. Deland
Researchers from The University of Adelaide and CSIRO have had a long history of collaboration with research staff at Struan Research Centre. This included work on water turnover rates in cattle, trace element supplementation, phalaris poisoning of sheep and cattle, cattle crossbreeding and muscle development. In 1984, Dr Larry Cundiff from Clay Centre USA was invited to South Australia to recommend improving the outcomes from beef cattle research funded by the J.S. Davies Foundation through the University of Adelaide. Although there had been some collaborative work with CSIRO based researchers (Dewey, Siebert), a key recommendation was the introduction of fellowships to enable post- graduate students to work closely with Department of Agriculture staff, working in beef cattle research and extension. Of particular interest was the combination of a higher level of statistical skills of the university based fellows with the field resources of the Department of Agriculture and in particular, Struan Research Centre and it’s staff. Dr Scott Newman was the first of these fellows who worked on the data from the crossbreeding work being conducted at Struan, Wanbi and Wandilo. Other fellows Prof Cindy Bottema (gene mapping) and Dr Stefan Heindleder (epigenetics) have continued this collaboration and Dr Wayne Pitchford has maintained the collaboration with Mick Deland since 1992 commencing with the Southern Crossbreeding project and gene mapping herd.
Research projects
Lifetime production project
The lifetime production of cattle of half Hereford breeding was conducted at Struan, Wanbi and Wandilo sites. Sire breeds used included Shorthorn, Brahman, Sahiwal, Charolais, Jersey, Simmental and Friesian.
Davies Cattle Gene Mapping Project
Prof. Cynthia Bottema (Davies Beef Research Fellow) and Dr Wayne Pitchford in 1992 initiated the "Davies Cattle Gene Mapping Project". The project involved mating cows on university owned properties followed by their transfer to either feedlots or Struan Research Centre where they were finished ready for slaughter. The first calves were born in autumn 1994. The early phase of the project demonstrated large differences in the parent breeds (Jersey and Limousin) for well over 20 traits. These include aspects of meat quality such as fatty acid composition. All live animal data were collected, meat samples processed, and primary data analysis completed. The project is part of a worldwide effort to map the cattle genome, and complements other beef cattle gene mapping programs. This project has several important features that distinguish it from all other beef cattle mapping projects:
- the breeds (Jersey and Limousin),
- the herd design (double backcross),
- the herd size (one of largest in the world with almost 800 gene mapping progeny),
- the additional measurements (fat and protein metabolic traits, feed intake),
- the only herd in two environments (Australia and New Zealand), and
- the only herd with two feeding regimes (grain and grass finishing).
The Mapping Project has strong national and international collaborations and has ongoing funding to commercialise gene markers. The project has provided the basis for many PhD projects.
New Zealand Collaboration
In 1994, Prof. Pitchford initiated a key collaboration with Ag Research, New Zealand. This collaboration has greatly increased the power of the Gene Mapping Project by duplicating the experiment in New Zealand.
Southern Crossbreeding Project
Early in 1993 Prof. Pitchford initiated a collaboration with Dr Raul Ponzoni and Mr Mick Deland from SARDI. This collaboration led to the establishment of the "Southern Crossbreeding Project" at Struan Research Centre. As with the Mapping Project, the first calves were born in autumn 1994. The project comprised seven sire breeds of diverse biological type (Belgian Blue, Limousin, South Devon, Hereford, Angus, Jersey and Wagyu) crossed to Hereford cows. Cattle from the Gene Mapping and this project were combined for the finishing phases of the project and a feeding facility established at Struan to allow measures of individual feed intake.Differences were detected in most traits examined including fatty acid composition and muscle Vitamin E levels. In addition, genetic parameters for within-breed improvement have been estimated. The last cattle were slaughtered in autumn 1999 and information continues to be extracted from the outstanding data set.
Links with industry
Staff from Elders Ltd. became involved in the Mapping and Crossbreeding Projects during 1995. This was mutually beneficial because Elders' staff could improve their cattle visual assessment skills and it could speed extension of results to industry. Visual assessment work was done in collaboration with Mr Bill McKiernan, NSW Agriculture. The level of industry interest in the project was high because the cattle were from a wide range of biological types and performance was recorded from conception to carcass including aspects of eating quality. The relationship with Elders also aided the involvement of A.W. and P.R. Davis Pty. Ltd. who provided the funds to enable cattle from both research Projects (Mapping and Crossbreeding) to be grain finished in a feedlot.
Korean Beef Project
The initial involvement with Elders Limited led to a successful collaborative research grant (now termed linkage grant) from the Australian Research Council. This project was completed at the end of 2000. This Project extended the fat metabolism studies by doing taste testing and measuring additional traits such as tenderness. Thus the projects investigated performance all the way from conception to consumption. The project also involved obtaining meat and fat samples from Korea native cattle (Hanwoo) for comparison with Australian raised cattle. The aim of the project was to develop mechanisms to raise preferred beef for the Korean market. It was a project that had both strong scientific merit as well as practical application which will lead to increased profitability of Australia's beef industry. In 1997 Prof. Pitchford received a scholarship from the Australia-Korea foundation to travel to Korea with Mick Deland, SARDI. The project identified methods to produce "Hanwoo-style" beef and these are being developed through the Cattle and Beef Quality Cooperative Research Centre (Beef CRC), Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment, CSIRO, and Meat and Livestock Australia.
Leather Quality Project
In 1997, Prof. Bottema and Dr Pitchford developed another commercial project. This was funded by Michell Leather and utilised hides from both the Davies Gene Mapping Project and Southern Crossbreeding Project. The aim of the project was to map a gene(s) causing a hide defect that is common in cattle in southern Australia. Unfortunately the project was discontinued because of financial difficulties within Michell Leather.
Cooperative Research Centre for Beef Genetic Technologies: Maternal Productivity
This project involves collaboration between The NSW Department of Agriculture research station at Trangie,WA Department of Agriculture research station at Vasse (WA), and SARDI’s Struan Research Centre as well as supporting projects at The University of Adelaide an in private herds throughout Australia. It commenced in 2006 with cattle sent from Trangie being sent to Vasse and at Struan in 2007. The project is investigating the effects of selection for feed efficiency and fatness on maternal productivity.
Research grants
1993-1995 Pitchford, W.S., Deland, M.P.B. (SARDI) and Ponzoni, R.W. (SARDI).
$159,000 from South Australian Cattle Compensation Trust Fund.
1996 $27,000 from South Australian Cattle Compensation Trust Fund.
Genetic variation in meat quality traits (Southern Crossbreeding Project)
1995-1998 Speck, P.A. (AgResearch, NZ), Bottema, C.D.K. and Pitchford, W.S.
$1,550,000 from Foundation for Science, Research and Technology, NZ, Mapping genes for beef quality.
1995-1997 Pitchford, W.S. and Deland, M.P.B. (SARDI).
$250,000 from A.W. and P.R. Davis Pty. Ltd. (Commercial cattle co.)
Feedlotting research cattle from Davies Gene Mapping Project and Southern Crossbreeding Project
1997-1999 Pitchford, W.S., Bottema, C.D.K. and Siebert, B.D.
$350,000 from Australian Research Council Collaborative Research Grants Scheme and Elders Limited.
ARC provides matching funds committed by Elders Limited. Genetics of beef quality traits: fat metabolism.
1997 Pitchford, W.S.
$1000 travel scholarship from Australia-Korea Foundation.
Undertaken in February-March 1998 for Pitchford and Deland to travel to Korea to look for possible collaborations.
1997 Bottema, C.D.K. and Pitchford, W.S.
$10,000 from Michell Leather.
Assessing Vertical Fibre Hide Defect in Leather.
1999-2001 $60,000 from Michell Leather [Terminated].
Characterising and mapping VFHD in cattle.
1997-2001 Bottema, C.D.K. and Pitchford, W.S.
$1,200,000 from J.S. Davies Bequest to the University of Adelaide.
Davies Cattle Gene Mapping Project.
1999-2001 Pitchford, W.S., Bottema, C.D.K. and Speck, P.A.
$260,000 from Meat and Livestock Australia.
Mapping feed intake genes.
1999-2006 Bindon, B et al. (NSW Ag, CSIRO, QDPI, UNE, Uni Adel, SARDI, AgVic, AgWest, Murdoch Uni).
$16,000,000 from Federal Government.
Beef Quality CRC Mk II (specific amounts listed below)
2001-05 $80,000 for work on Vitamin A effects on marbling.
$200,000 for mapping QTL for feed efficiency.
2007- CRC3 Genetic impacts on maternal productivity in variable temperate environments.
