NZSAP Newsletter: August 1999

Editorial

Greetings

Following Graham's secondment to position of vice-president the newsletter has migrated north to Hamilton after many years in the south. The Annual conference was held at the Holy Cross College in Mosgiel recently and thanks must go to George Davis and the local organising committee for a very successful conference. Dr Warren Parker presented the LIC lecture and stimulated some interesting discussion on the merits of farm monitoring and benchmarking. There was excellent attendance during the Industry contract sessions on the second day. Once again the Young Members' presentations were of a very high quality, congratulations to all six finalists and to David Pachecos-Rios on his win. Several presenters embraced the electronic presentation format and congratulations to Neville Jopson and Peter Amer for ensuring that it ran without a hitch and for keeping the society up to date with the latest technology.

If you haven't received your copy of the 1999 conference proceedings - there's a good chance you haven't paid your sub! Please check your NZSAP membership subscription is current. The number in the top right hand corner of the address label on this newsletter indicates the year of last payment. Payments to NZSAP and sent to Lynne Smith, Executive Secretary will be gratefully received.

Catherine Morrow

Note from the Vice-President

Our President is overseas so this note is in lieu of a presidential contribution. As for this year's conference, I can say that I and many others enjoyed the venue. My initial impression of a monastic chill in the corridors was simply a result of the heating system being slow to get off the mark. Once it thawed out, the meeting went along very well indeed - thanks to George Davis and others of the Invermay crew.

Fortunately for the animal production scientist, the livestock industry in New Zealand keeps the mind busy by generating issues which surface in the daily news headlines. GM is no longer the by-word for a major auto manufacturer, our sheep farmers are considered to be the scourge of their counterparts in the 'big sky states' of USA and local environmentalists have been branded as treacherous for threatening to 'tell all' about the contribution of dairying to pollution of waterways. Nevertheless, all of this is trivial in comparison with today's headline - 'Population ZERO'- well, it was on page 16 of the weekend section. In spite of the dire predictions that burgeoning human population growth is an incontrovertible fact, as I have been confidently assuring students for many years, it now seems that this is wrong! According to such authorities as the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare and Professor John Clarke at the University of Durham, women in many countries including Japan, Cuba, China and Thailand, are already having too few babies to replace themselves! There are now 6 billion humans and there may be 9 billion in 2050, but the population could peak at 7.5 billion by 2040. After that it will fall! Obviously, you can guess some of the demographic consequences that will arise and, importantly for the agricultural/horticultural industries, you can see that the need to produce human food will continue to increase for a few decades yet. Personally, I have to confess that I am most intrigued by the prediction that in the year 3500 the population of Japan will be ...........one!

Graham Barrell

Award Recipeints 1999

McMeekan Memorial Award:

Dr Geoff Nicoll was the recipient of this award for work as Landcorp Farming Ltd's Genetics Manager, and in particular his technical involvement in two major initiatives, namely the InnerVision CT scanning venture and the Carwell muscling gene programmes in conjunction with AgResearch. Geoff was instrumental in the establishment of the InnerVision CT scanner facility at Invermay in March 1996. Landcorp use the InnerVision CT scanner as a tool in the selection of elite rams for their terminal sire nucleus flock, the scanner is also used for research work and by the terminal sire industry at large. Geoff's involvement with the Carwell muscling gene began with the importation of semen from Australia in 1995. He established a large resource flock which has been used to characterise the phenotypes, localise the gene and develop a DNA marker test. Work by Landcorp and AgResearch has demonstrated that animals expressing the gene have approximately 8% more muscle weight in the loin with no significant effect elsewhere in the carcass.

Air Arthur Ward Award:

Dr Clive Dalton was the worthy recipient of this award for his services to agricultural extension, specifically communication to scientists, students, farmers and the general public. Clive's professional career has spanned 40 years of which 30 have been in New Zealand. Throughout this time Clive has been continually to the fore explaining, cajoling and encouraging his audiences in diverse agricultural fields. His mediums of extension have been diverse, ranging from the spoken word on a "one to one" basis, to larger audiences, on radio, television, and to the printed word in the form of pamphlets, articles and books. He has been described as a communicator extraordinaire, who has enlightened the public on a diverse range of agricultural issues, with a genuine willingness to share his knowledge and time.

Young Members Award:

David Pachecos-Rios was the well-deserved winner of the Young Members Award. David's paper was titled "Amino acid utilisation by the mammary gland: Whole blood versus plasma free amino acid pools" by D. Pacheco-Rios, B.P. Treloar, J. Lee, T.N. Barry and W.C. McNabb from AgResearch, Grasslands Research Centre and the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Palmerston North. David has a BVSc from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and is currently completing his PhD at Massey University with the assistance of an UNAM scholarship.

Jubilee University Award:

Jubilee University awards are given to the leading third year undergraduate students in Animal Science during 1998 at the two Agricultural Universities.

Massey University Student Award:		Lorna McNoughton
Lincoln University Student Award:		not awarded

NZSAP Science and Technology Award:

Congratulations to R.D. Clarke, A.H. Kirton, C.M. Bartle and P.M. Dobbie, authors of the paper "Application of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry for ovine carcass evaluation" which was judged the winner of the NZSAP Innovation Award for 1999. The innovation award is given to the paper presented at the annual conference which in the view of the judging panel shows greatest novelty and advancement in science and/or technology for animal production.

New Members

The New Zealand Society of Animal Production warmly welcomes the following 11 new members:

Emma Beringham AgResearch, Palmerston North

Mike Fleming Carterton

John Howie Balclutha

Becky Latter Oamaru

Colin Page Whangarei

Nicole Roy AgResearch, Palmerston North

Ian Blair Blenheim

Val Hector MIRINZ, Hamilton

Philip Ingram Palmerston North

Stuart Morgan DRC, Hamilton

Carolyn Powell Walton

Resignations

Resignations were accepted from 6 members, leaving a current membership of 521.

NZSAP Annual Conference 2000

The Annual Conference will be held in Hamilton in June 2000. Tentative dates are 26-29 June and the venue will be Hamilton Gardens Pavilion, given the unavailability of empty Catholic Seminaries in the Waikato area. This is the Diamond Jubilee Conference so the intention is to be a little more upmarket than usual. The Local Organising Committee can be contacted through daviss@agresearch.cri.nz

Steve Davis

The call for abstracts will be included in the October newsletter. The deadline will be Friday 12 November 1999. So get writing!!!

Sam Peterson

Animal Science Award Reports

Cesar Pinares-Patino Massey University, attended the 8th World Conference on Animal Production (WCAP) in Seoul, Korea in July 1998. Cesar presented the paper "Persistence on inter-sheep variation for methane production" which received interest from researchers from other countries. The symposium and contributed papers covered most aspects of animal production, mainly concerned with intensive production systems but also highlighted the ethics of animal agriculture and perceptions of the public. Cesar visited small farms in Korea and was impressed with the efficiency of the traditional low-input mixed cropping system. He also visited the National Livestock Research Institute in Suwon, noting the high level of research attention given to Korean native livestock species.

Scott McDougall Animal Health Centre, Morrinsville used the Animal Science Award to partially fund a three month visit to the laboratory of Dr Woody Pankey at the University of Vermont, USA (March-May 1999). A field trial was undertaken to study the interrelationships of various methodologies of diagnosis of subclinical and clinical mastitis of small ruminants. Additionally the prevalence and incidence of bacterial mastitis in dairy goats and sheep in the first month of lactation was evaluated. Scott also presented a paper at the North East section of American Dairy Science Association and American Animal Science Association at the University of Maryland and visited the USDA Research Station at Beltsville, Maryland.

Chris Burke of the Dairying Research Corporation, Hamilton writes, "Thanks to an Animal Science Award from the NZSAP I was able to visit with three laboratories in the US with the view of securing a suitable PhD position. An update on this is that I have been successful in my application to Ohio State University (OSU) where Dr Mike Day bravely agreed to be my supervisor. The OSU has offered me an Associateship to make the PhD financially possible and I will be departing from DRC in mid-August to begin this exciting venture."

Recent grant recipients

Animal Science Awards have been granted to the following members:

Andy Bray to present a paper and represent NZSAP at the European Association for Animal Production, 23-26 August 1999 in Zurich, Switzerland.

David Pacheco-Rios to present a paper at the 8th International Symposium on Protein Metabolism and Nutrition, 1-4 September 1999 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Marc Ulyatt to visit university and research institute facilities involved in Animal Science in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, after attending the 36th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Animal Science as an invited speaker, 26-29 July 1999 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

NZSAP Award Applications

The Animal Science Award is to promote and advance Animal Science and Production. Specifically it encourages early career development and supports contact with AAAP activities. Applicants must normally have been a member of NZSAP for at least one year prior to application and be a current financial member. The application format is available from the Executive Secretary to whom applications should be sent by 31 January 2000 for consideration in March 2000. The application format is also available on the NZSAP website.

Applications are also open for the International Congress on Animal Reproduction (ICAR) Award. This award encourages participation and attendance at the ICAR conference to be held in Stockholm in July 2000 (see upcoming events for details). Applicants must normally have been a member of NZSAP for at least one year prior to application and be a current financial member. Application format is the same as for the Animal Science Award and is available from the Executive Secretary to whom applications should be sent by 31 October 1999 for consideration in December 1999.

Award Applications

The Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST) is calling for nominations for the 13th Khwarizmi International Award (KIA). The aim of the award is to afford recognition to outstanding contributions in fields such as engineering, agriculture, basic sciences, medical sciences, humanities, etc. The purpose of the award is to reward and honour the scientists whose contributions provide solutions to major problems. The winners receive a monetary prize and a round trip air ticket to Iran for the official ceremony in February 2000. The deadline for submission is 1 October 1999. Application forms and details are available from the Executive Secretary. Dr Anis Rahman of the Grazing Ecology Group in Grasslands Division of AgResearch was the second winner of the 12th Khwarizmi International Award in 1999 for his research on "Reducing Environmental Impacts of Agriculture".

Genesis Electricity Otago Science Fair

The Otago Science fair was held in early August. This year there were a reasonable number of exhibits that looked at Animals. Exhibits that received NZSAP support (with a broad topic area in brackets) were:

Forms 1 & 2

"Vermi wormies" (Nutrition - intakes of vermiculture diets containing different levels of citrus).
"Sweet Tweats" (Nutrition - feeding preferences).
"Do you enjoy mouldy cheese?" (Product handling).

Forms 3 & 4

"Sea monkeys" (Aquaculture - environmental effects on Brine shrimp).
"Say cheese" (Product development - making cheese from flavoured milk. Raspberry cheese anyone?).
" The wishes of a horse" (Behaviour - environmental effects).

Form 5 to 7

"Young and pregnant" (Reproduction - hoggets. This was a comprehensive recording study that looked at 8 different aspects of hogget mating. Not scientifically brilliant, but an excellent preliminary study with good appreciation of the rigour needed to apply scientific constraints to further test a series of observations ).
"Booze for lambs" (Nutrition - an in vitro study of silage additives).

There were all the usual behaviour studies, nutrition studies looking at food preference of pets etc. It was good to see one mouse maze study that had 'ethics approval' in the form of a letter from the local Vet. Another that tickled my fancy was a study of the effects on mouse behaviour of food colouring vs. non-coloured food (n=1 per treatment). This one was compromised by the continued escape of the hyperactive mouse on the coloured stuff!!

Grant Shackell

Upcoming Events

Queenstown Molecular Biology Meeting, Queenstown, 15-20 August 1999.
Contact email: jmasters@es.co.nz

New Zealand Grassland Association Conference, Napier, 5-7 October 1999.
The Grassland Association Conference will be followed by a symposium on Ryegrass Endophyte: an essential New Zealand Symbiosis in Napier on 8 October. Programme consists of spoken papers and panel discussions on endophyte science, selection and relationship to production (sheep and dairy). Contact: Dr Derek Woodfield, Tel 06 356 8019 or email: woodfieldd@agresearch.cri.nz

Agribusiness New Zealand Congress, Christchurch, 8-9 November. 1999.
"Adding value to the Food and Agribusiness Chain". Contact: Mick Calder, P.O. Box 5517 Wellington or email: mcalder@iconz.co.nz or visit the website: http://www.agribusinessnz.org.nz

Joint AWAC/ANZCCART Conference, Wellington, 18 -19 November 1999
A conference entitled "Inovation, ethics and animal welfare: Public confidence in science and agriculture" will be held at Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, Wellington. Further information from Mrs Gill Sutherland, The Royal Society of New Zealand, PO Box 598, Wellington; Phone 04 472 7421; Fax 04 473 1841. Email: Sutherland.g@rsnz.govt.nz. Registrations close 15 October.

NZ Institute of Chemistry Annual Conference, Wellington, 21-24 November 1999.
Contact email: Margaret.Brown@vuw.ac.nz

New Zealand Microbiological Society Annual Conference, Dunedin, 23-26 November 1999.
Contact email: greg.cook@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

Physiological Society of NZ Conference, Wellington, 8-10 December 1999.
Contact email: wshsbr@wnhealth.co.nz

Animal Science and Production, Sydney, 2-7 July 2000
The 9th Animal Science Congress of the Asian Australasian Association of Animal Production (AAAP) Societies is to be held in Sydney in conjunction with the 23rd Biennial Conference of the Australian Society of Animal Production (ASAP). There are also several satellite meetings immediately before or after the AAAP/ASAP Congress. For more information and registration contact the Sydney Organising Committee for Animal Production, Department of Animal Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Tel + 61 2 9351 2464; fax + 61 2 9351 3957; email: secretary@asap.asn.au
Contributed papers and posters are sought in any area of animal production, its science, technology and practice. Papers can either be one page (extended abstract) or four pages (approx. 3000 words) and can be either an oral or poster presentation. Authors are strongly encouraged to submit via the Congress website www.asap.asn.au or contact the editor: Dr Grant Stone, Department of Animal Science, University of Sydney. The deadline if you are intending to contribute is 30 September (title, authors, brief summary). Note that the papers are not due until 26 November 1999, just the notice of intention. The guide to authors for papers are available on the website www.asap.asn.au

14th International Congress on Animal Reproduction (ICAR), Stockholm, 2-6 July 2000
The ICAR 2000 is being organised by the Societies for Theriogenology in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and will be held in Stockholm. For more information contact the Congress Secretariat, P.O. Box 5619, S-114 86 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel +46 8 459 6600; fax +46 8 661 9125; email: icar@congrex.se or visit the Congress website at www.congrex.com/icar

First Announcement: 5th International Deer Biology Congress, Qu�bec City, Canada, 25-30 Aug. 2002.

Special Interest Groups

At the 1998 AGM, a motion was carried that Special Interest Groups (SIGs) be formed, which will have an active role in determining the structure of the Annual Conference and providing expert commentary on behalf of the Society. Such discipline groups have already existed in an ad-hoc and informal manner, sometimes even arranging meetings to coincide with participation at the NZSAP Annual Conference. The Management Committee has agreed to trial SIGs for a period of two years.

A Special Interest Group is led by one or more champions. Not all members will wish to belong to a SIG, and some members may be actively involved in more than one SIG. It is envisioned that SIGs will be dynamic groupings with new ones being formed and old ones adapting (merging together or splitting) or becoming extinct.

If you didn't do so at the Annual Conference please fill in the form enclosed with this newsletter and send it to Lynne Smith. A list-server will be constructed for each group and you will be contacted by e-mail.

Occasional Publications

NZSAP Occasional Publication #12

Reproductive Management of Grazing Ruminants in New Zealand
Edited by E. D. Fielden and J. F. Smith

Substantial knowledge from New Zealand based research on managing reproductive performance within the herd or flock is a key element to the improved efficiency of New Zealand farming systems.

This knowledge is drawn together within this publication.

A multi-author approach has been used and all authors are experts in their particular field.

This publication of 220 pages contains chapters on:-
Hormonal Control of the Reproductive Processes; Comparative Reproductive Performance; Seasonal Factors Influencing Reproductive Management; Modifying Reproductive Processes; Reproductive Management of Dairy Cattle; Sheep; Beef Cattle; Deer; Goats; Camelids; Monitoring Reproductive Performance as an Aid to Management; Future Developments in Reproductive Technology for Livestock Species; and has been aimed at all those with a serious interest in the efficient reproductive management of domestic ruminants in New Zealand.

See the Occassion Publications page for prices and ordering information.

&NBSP;

SPECIAL OFFER!

The NZSAP is offering a special package deal of:-

Occ. Pub. # 11 "Meat Production and Processing" plus
Occ. Pub. #12 "Reproductive Management of Grazing Ruminants in NZ" plus
Occ. Pub. # 13 "Labcoats to Gumboots"

for NZ$50 (Australia,NZ and Pacific) or US$50 (Rest of The World)...a saving of $25.

See the Occassion Publications page for ordering information.

Annual subscriptions and membership

** MEMBERSHIP FEES **

Members: The 1999 annual subscription is now due! For full members from New Zealand and Australia the fee is NZ$55.00 (reduced to NZ$ 27.50 for students and retired members). Members residing overseas (except Australia) pay US$55.00.

** CREDIT CARD PAYMENT **

NZSAP now has the facilities to accept payment via credit cards.

VISA and MASTERCARD only.

This can be done by submission of the card Name; card Number; card Type and card Expiry Date by either mail, fax, or Email to the NZSAP Executive Secretary detailing what and who the payment is for and including contact postal addresses and phone/fax numbers etc.

CARD SWIPE facilities for these two cards will be available at future meetings.

Payment by Electronic transfer is also available to some clients but these are only accepted under strict conditions. Contact Lynne Smith for further details.

Non-members: An invitation is extended to those involved in the field of Animal Production to apply for membership in the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. The Society is concerned with all aspects of Animal Production and in particular:

promoting communication and collaboration between those involved in animal production;
promoting the application of sound practices in animal production;
promoting the scientific study of animal production;
holding a regular conference as a forum for presentation of technical and applied topics in animal production; and
publishing conference proceedings and other occasional publications relevant to animal production.

1998/99 Management Committee

See Committee contacts page

About this issue

This newsletter is compiled, copied and distributed at AgResearch Ruakura.

Any contributions should be forwarded to:

Catherine Morrow
AgResearch Ruakura,
Private Bag 3123,
HAMILTON

Email: morrowc@agresearch.cri.nz

last updated 4 October 1999

Emma Beringham	AgResearch, Palmerston North
Mike Fleming	Carterton
John Howie	Balclutha
Becky Latter	Oamaru
Colin Page	Whangarei
Nicole Roy	AgResearch, Palmerston North
Ian Blair	Blenheim
Val Hector	MIRINZ, Hamilton
Philip Ingram	Palmerston North
Stuart Morgan	DRC, Hamilton
Carolyn Powell	Walton