NAPCO supports a range of research projects of benefit to the wider cattle industry.
In 1999, NAPCO joined other major pastoral companies to work with the Beef Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) on a seven-year project that seeks to identify, among other things, the extent to which female productivity in the harsh north Australian environment is affected when genetic selection is focused on meat quality aspects such as retail beef yield and marbling.
More information can be found at www.beef.crc.org.au
WaterSmart Pastoral Production
The WaterSmart Pastoral Production project combines the best of what is known about grazing management with the best technologies in stock water storage and delivery on pastoral properties. NAPCO participates in this project with Monkira Station in the Channel Country, Queensland, being one of three demonstration sites.
The trial sites at Monkira Station demonstrate technologies addressing evaporation, renewable energy and remote monitoring of water points cut off during the wet.
The project's monitoring covers costs, reliability and benefits of new water technologies installed. This includes solar pumping, evaporation control cover, seepage control liner, new water points and a telemetry system monitoring water levels, flow rates, solar and diesel pump automation and a remote camera.
The expected benefits from the new infrastructure are more effective water usage and better economic, production and sustainable outcomes.
More information can be found at www.desertknowledgecrc.com.au/watersmart
Bovine Emphermal Fever (3-day Sickness)
Bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) is an insect borne disease that occurs at frequent intervals in beef cattle herds in northern Australia. Spread is largely independent of cattle movements and depends on insect vector populations and the direction and force of prevailing winds which in the above time period are basically northerly air flows. NAPCO is involved in an industry research project to:
· measure the effect of BEF vaccination on fertility of heifers across three regions of northern Australia;
· measure the protection conferred by a two shot weaner BEF vaccination on growth rate and carcase characteristics of steers across 3 regions of northern Australia;
· examine regional differences across northern Australia on the severity of BEF outbreaks, in terms of sampling animals from different areas across an east-west axis;
· conduct an economic analysis to determine the cost-benefit of vaccination with the current BEF vaccine; and
· use the data collected to assess whether epidemiological modelling can be used to predict outbreaks and when to pre-emptively vaccinate.