ABOVE: Producers must meet the RSPCA’s stringent animal welfare requirements and undertake a rigorous assessment process to gain certification as RSPCA Approved. Photo: Hayana Fernanda At the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme, we often hear from interested individuals wanting to know more about farm animal welfare, conscious shopping and how the scheme works. There are many…
ABOVE: Mark Hogno NFPAP Indigenous Advisory Panel chair and Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, Dr Justin Perry NFPAP Scientific Advisory Panel chair and NAILSMA, Dr Heather Channon and Ricky Archer NFPAP IC chair and NAILSMA. Coordinated impact-driven feral pig management by land managers working together was the key message driven home at the National Feral…
ABOVE: The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award 2023 black-tie evening will be attended by alumni, government officials, industry and private sector representatives and media. From the 2022 event, runner up Kimberley Furness and national winner Stephanie Trethewey receive their awards. THE national winner and runner up of the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award will be announced at…
ABOVE: Pork producer Mark McLean has improved sow productivity on both Riverhaven Enterprises’ operation farms through improved farm management, genetics and staff training and development. Stockmanship is an occupation that requires expertise, endurance and empathy. Stockpeople have a direct impact on agricultural animal welfare and productivity. Unfortunately, stockpeople are undervalued and their role in agricultural…
ABOVE: A key learning distinction was made between compost – which has been matured or cured for over 16 weeks – and ‘hot mix’, which commonly undergoes only the first pasteurisation step of composting and is then used for further composting activities. Recently, I headed to Tocal to hear from global experts on the latest…
ABOVE: The report revealed the presence of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken and pork meat sold in Australian supermarkets New research highlighted recently on ABC’s 7.30 Report revealed the presence of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken and pork meat sold in Australian supermarkets. The most alarming discovery was bacteria harbouring three different variants of a gene…
ABOVE: Environmental enrichment is often assumed to improve animal welfare, even in the absence of evidence for actual improvements. Environmental enrichment is often assumed to improve animal welfare, even in the absence of evidence for actual improvements. In addition, the various definitions of EE raise varying degrees of expectations regarding improvement to animal welfare. The…
ABOVE: A report on the potential economic consequences to the Australian economy of an African swine fever incursion was released several weeks ago. pig The recent interception and seizure of 36 tonnes of prohibited goods by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry as part of Operation Avoca – together with the declaration by the…
The nineteenth biennial conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association (APSA) will be held at the Sofitel Brisbane from November 13-16, 2023. As a key supporter of research, development, education and training in the pork industry, Australasian Pork Research Institute Limited wishes to encourage individuals and groups associated with APRIL-supported projects to consider submitting their…
ABOVE: Andrew Johnson, Cam Parker, Margo Andrae, Andrew Borgmeyer, Sofroni Eglezos, Andre Kings, the author, Charley-Rose Ford, Marianne Nelson and Ashley Barnes in front of the Mt Boothby Pastoral Co grow-out unit at Tintinara in South Australia. The premier quality assurance program for pig producers in Australia is APIQ, with over 90 percent of Australian…
ABOVE: DanBred implemented new breeding goals in July 2022, which saw the previous ‘live piglets at day five’ LP5 goal split into three data points, termed ‘piglet survivability’. In last month’s APN edition, the article ‘New breeding goals to reduce piglet mortality’ from Aarhus University was published. As the article was written in 2021, I…
ABOVE: Vets can use their professional judgment based on case-by-case variables, such as the degree of the initial suspicion, sample types and the stage of the disease. To support the continued success of the Evidence of Absence Surveillance Project, the project sampling guidelines have been revised to allow veterinarians more flexibility – to use their…