KT project will improve access to research data
KT project will improve access to research data
By Jessica Buss
LIVESTOCK producers could soon benefit from better access to research results which will help improve animal performance and profit.
The £400,000 MAFF-funded Livestock KT – knowledge transfer project, operated by ADAS, the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research and University of Bristol – was launched in London last week.
Speaking at the launch, farm minister, Nick Brown, said research data was available to help producers, but it is not always communicated as well as it should be. This project aims to get research used by producers as well as further down the supply chain, he added.
Bridget Drew, heading the project on behalf of ADAS, said that it is frustrating that research is done and then does not get out into the industry to be taken up. She believes that this funding offers an opportunity to focus on specific topics that can make a difference to livestock incomes.
Specific topics on which livestock producers want more technical information have already been identified in a consultation project.
One of the key aims of the KT project management team is to avoid duplication with other technology transfer projects.
"We are, therefore, delighted that we have struck a chord with all the organisations involved in technology transfer," said Dr Drew.
KT collaborators include farming unions, livestock research and political organisations, vet associations, banks and the Press.
From a survey of producers, over the past two months, ranking of key issues of concern to producers has been possible.
In the dairy sector, mastitis far outstripped other concerns, said Dr Drew. "The thrust of our work now will be to try to help control environmental mastitis which is rising." Dairy producers second major concern was fertility, followed by digital dermatitis, milk pricing and the fifth topic to be focused on is grass and forage use.
"We will be concentrating on these five projects over the coming 12 months," she added.
The key technical topics identified by beef and sheep producers are grass and forage use and animal health. Cost effective feeding, bull beef and heifer finishing were other topics identified by beef producers, added IGERs Raymond Jones, with sheep genetics, optimum systems and forage conservation identified in the sheep sector.
In the pig sector the main issues are reducing production costs, achieving the genetic potential of stock by reducing disease risk, better food safety, promoting British produce and improving product quality.
Poultry producers identified health, welfare, food safety, pollution and economics of production as key concerns.
The survey also asked what led producers to make changes, listing 13 possible answers. Vets, farmer discussion groups, consultants/ advisers and the Press topped the rankings.
Now the specific issues and preferred methods of knowledge transfer have been identified, the project management team will decide how to best deliver available research results to producers over the next 12 months. *
LIVESTOCK KT
• Key issues identified.
• Many health topics.
• Will run for 12 months.
The KT project will focus on specific topics that will make a difference to incomes, says Bridget Drew.