Research Programme 2003

Background

The main thrust of the Food Programme is directed towards developing the base of expertise and information in generic technologies to assist the Irish food industry to achieve consistent quality and guaranteed safety, allied to product and process innovations. The programme covers the full spectrum of the innovatory process, ranging from market studies through strategic research to technology development services and training programmes. The priorities in 2003 are mainly funded under the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM), but also include Teagasc, food industry and Fifth Framework Programme funding.

EU Objectives

The objectives of the food research and associated technology development services and training programmes are to ensure the highest standards of safety, quality and nutrition in food products and provide the necessary scientific and technological enabling capacity in food products and ingredients.

2003 Programme Priorities

Dairy Production – Moorepark Research Centre

Grassland: The focus of grazing management is to provide a supply of high quality grass over a long grazing season while avoiding wastage and inefficient utilisation and maintaining animal and sward productivity. Increased availability of early-spring grass is needed. A new initiative to increase the supply of grass in spring is starting in 2003. The evaluation of the environmental implications of our production systems has become a more important component of the programme. Low stocking rate/low nitrogen input systems continues to be evaluated.

Strategic use of nitrogen offers the possibilities to reduce the surplus labile pool of soil nitrogen without effects on grass growth. This component of the programme is being strengthened in 2003. The studies on tiller dynamics in the sward and grass variety evaluations will provide valuable data for modelling grass growth under grazing regimes and for developing a grass index. Mid-summer pasture digestibility, especially with early and intermediate heading varieties and lower nitrogen inputs, is still a constraint to high performance from pasture. Work in this area continues.

The emphasis on the regional dimension of milk production is also continuing. This focuses on the development of strategies to enhance performance at pasture and reduce the environmental risk associated with grassland farming on high water table soils. A field station at Ballyhaise Centre, Co. Cavan is now included in the regional programme. Studies on labour efficiency is continuing and the factors affecting human/technology interfaces are being strengthened to include ergonomics.

Nutrition and Supplementary Feeding: The overall focus to the research for spring- calving systems of production in 2003 is to provide new knowledge which will allow high genetic merit cows produce high yields of quality milk efficiently while also having good reproductive performance. Nutrition strategies to increase the CLA content of milk are also being investigated further.

While spring calving is the dominant system of milk production, there is a very important but smaller production system based on autumn-calving cows. The genetic merit of cows in this system is generally high. The better use of grass in this system needs further research. Also, high output systems where high milk yields dilute costs, need to be developed further. The use of higher quality conserved forages such as maize silage and whole crop cereal silage, and optimum concentrate input, needs to be evaluated.

Dairy Breeding and Reproduction: With the objective of identifying the “best” cow type for the Irish production system, priority is being given to the following areas in 2003:

• Comparisons of the biological and lifetime economic efficiency of different strains of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows;
• Investigations into the occurrence of genotype by feeding system interactions for milk yield, condition score, live weight and fertility in pasture-based systems of milk production;
• Estimates of the genetic variances and co-variances between body condition score, live weight, other type traits, milk yield and fertility under seasonal calving systems;
• Comparisons of the biological and economic efficiency of various dairy breeds and their cross breeds in seasonal calving grass-based systems;
• Models of alternative breeding strategies in order to maximise genetic gain (profitability) in the Irish dairy industry.

The focus is also on developing capabilities in biotechnology for animal breeding.

The Dairy Herd Reproductive Efficiency Programme in 2003 is addressing the current issue of poor reproductive performance by understanding the underlying causes and by developing appropriate remedial strategies. The focus is on:

• Management strategies to overcome the low fertility in high yielding spring and autumn calving dairy cows;
• A greater understanding of the differences between strains and breed of dairy cow in reproductive physiology and performance under grass based systems of milk production;
• A greater understanding of the mechanisms responsible for normal and abnormal oocyte and embryonic development and growth in dairy cattle of different ages and nutritional status;
• Elucidation of the mechanisms involved in the reproductive – nutritional metabolic and hormonal axes of dairy cows differing in energy balance and milk production and the relationship with follicular and endocrine dynamics and subsequent fertility.

Animal Health and Welfare: Research in animal welfare is focused on the identification of objective indicators to quantify animal welfare. Particular emphasis is placed on

• The identification of ways in which cow health and welfare can be improved;
• Establish the incidence of diseases of major economic significance in Irish herds;
• The development of non-antibiotic prophylactics for mastitis.
• The study on specific bacteriophages in the prevention and treatment of bovine mastitis will continue.

The programme in 2003 also focuses on the further development of capability in biotechnology.

Animal Biotechnology: With the establishment of the Moorepark Biotechnology Centre and the appointment of two molecular geneticists, it is planned to commence a new programme on genetic markers for beef and dairy cattle.

Beef Production – Grange Research Centre

Grassland and Conserved Forages: The role of high sugar grasses in animal production is being assessed, with initial emphases on conserved forage and on how sugar levels are affected by fertiliser type and application rate. This study is part of an EU Fifth Framework programme.

Animal production from alternative conserved forages, such as moist and crimped grain is also being undertaken. In animal grazing studies, the focus is on early and late season grazing and managing swards throughout the year to give a better match between grass growth and animal feed demand. Research continuing on beef production from intensive and extensive grass -based systems.

Animal Health and Welfare: Work is continuing on assessing the effect of outwintering beef cattle on drained wood mulch pads on animal performance, carcass fat content, welfare parameters and nutrient loss to the environment. Work is taking place on developing objective scientific markers of stress in beef cattle. Research is also continuing on determining the effects of long haul transport to Europe and the combination of weaning and transport stress on suckler weanlings using the welfare assessment protocol developed at Grange. Studies are planned on modifying slatted floors to improve animal comfort and performance.

Animal Breeding and Reproduction: The research programme is focused on various aspects of nutrition and reproductive performance, including postpartum interval, conception and embryo survival rates. It also focused on the development of reproductive technology for more efficient heat detection to allow an increase in the usage of AI and therefore of high genetic merit sires. New research approaches, involving molecular biology, are being harnessed in a number of the projects in order to get a better understanding of reproductive biology to ultimately increase cow and herd reproductive efficiency. Studies to evaluate the optimum content of continental breeding in the suckler cow herd will continue, with emphasis on the measurement of overall beef production efficiency.

Sheep Production – Athenry Research Centre

Grassland: Studies on grazing systems for lowland sheep production are being continued with the main focus on all-year-round grazing, including outdoor lambing, compared with a conventionally managed grass-clover system. The assessment of the environmental impact of these lowland sheep systems is a central element of this work, with detailed monitoring of N leaching, P run-off and soil displacement and permeability.

Animal Breeding and Reproduction: The application of DNA technology to sheep breeding is continuing, with detailed studies on the association between prion protein (PrP) genotype and reproduction and growth traits. The major objective in relation to growth traits is to establish the relationship between Lean Meat Index and PrP genotype.

The studies of major gene effects on ovarian function and on parasite resistance is being continued in collaboration with AgResearch New Zealand, INRA in France and the Veterinary Faculty in UCD. Evaluation of the potential impact of the Lean Meat Index of terminal sires on lamb performance in lowland production systems will be extended to include sires from the Charollais and Suffolk breeds.

A collaborative project has been established with UCD to define the basis for the large ewe-breed differences in conception rate to cervical AI of frozen-thawed semen. It is also planned to establish a bank of frozen semen, representing rams whose frozen semen yields extreme values for conception rate, as a resource for developing in vitro methods for identifying rams that give high pregnancy rate with frozen semen.

Animal Health and Welfare: The technology for direct on-farm assessment of faecal egg counts in sheep needs decision rules about when anthelmintic treatment is required to prevent negative effects on lamb growth. Studies are being undertaken under defined grazing systems to establish the necessary guidelines. Parasitological investigation of unexpected high faecal output by ewes after winter housing will be undertaken and work will be expanded on the parasitological monitoring of the organic systems at Athenry. Studies are being initiated on the potential for analysis of vocal behaviour of sheep as an indicator of welfare status. The objective is to establish bioacoustic markers of stress which can be used to evaluate sheep responses to winter housing conditions, lambing difficulty and various management regimes and conditions.

Hill Sheep: The interaction between hill sheep and different vegetation types and physiographic areas is being assessed in detail using Global Positioning System technology via receivers attached to individual ewes within the production system at the Teagasc Hill Sheep Farm at Leenane, Co. Mayo. These data are being supplemented by direct assessment of grazing behaviour to yield a complete description of how sheep utilise the vegetation resource in hill areas. A study to develop a habitat map of the hill sheep farm at Leenane is proposed to complement the behaviour studies.

Technology Transfer: The programme on Technology Evaluation and Transfer is continuing and the collaborating farms are involved in evaluating the production impacts of LMI rams and of rams with resistant and susceptible PrP genotypes. A new study to establish the incidence of parasite resistance to anthelmintics is being included in this programme.

Pig Production – Moorepark Research Centre

Animal Nutrition: Priority continues to be given to improving production efficiency while ensuring that meat quality is of the highest standard. Research is continuing to address environmental concerns by developing nutritional and management strategies to reduce nitrogen excretion. Phase feeding programmes for finishing pigs are being examined in both liquid and dry feeding situations. The impact of phase feeding on nutrient excretion and animal performance is also being evaluated.

Animal Health and Welfare: Current EU proposals envisage increased space allowances for growing pigs and a ban on individual penning of breeding sows. Research on sow-housing continues to focus on long-term effects of housing systems on sow welfare and longevity using behavioural and hormonal indices, and the development of more objective welfare indices for pregnant sows. Research on controlling Salmonella continues to focus on the role of probiotics and organicacids as alternatives to antibiotics.

Crop Production – Oak Park Research Centre

Cereals: A long -term experiment aimed at developing a least cost and sustainable system of cereal production is being continued in 2003. Particular emphasis is placed on economic efficiency, food safety and protection of the environment. In conjunction with Johnstown Castle, research on nutrient losses from the system to water is being carried out.

The minimum tillage project, which examines the technical and economic feasibility of a non-ploughing soil cultivation system for growing cereals, is continuing. The effects of such systems on reduced pesticide usage, biodiversity of soil fauna and improvements in soil productivity is being quantified. Research is also being conducted on establishing present machinery and labour costs on tillage farms and developing future optimum systems against a background of increased costs.

A project aimed at the determination of mycotoxins in cereal grains caused by field fungi and how they are affected by fungicide use is being carried out. Work on the occurrence of mycotoxins in stored grain, flour and cereal -based products is also being undertaken. Agronomic studies aimed at reducing unit costs of production of grains is focused on the assessment of new varieties, including hybrids, and development of management practices which will exploit their genetic potential. The development of novel methods for the harvesting and storage of high moisture cereal grains, which would minimise crop losses, reduce costs and give greater flexibility to growers and merchants, particularly during wet harvests, is commencing in 2003.

Potatoes: The potato breeding programme is being continued with the objective of developing improved varieties for seed export and the domestic market. The programme is stressing: the selection of new potato varieties with increased emphasis on tuber diseases and resistance to eelworm. Research on the assessment of pathogen resistance development to blight fungicides is also being carried out.

The use of decision-support-systems (DSS) has shown that satisfactory control of late blight in potatoes can be obtained using up to 30% less fungicide than conventional routine-spraying. Research in 2003 will focuses on refining the DSS system to enhance the reliability of performance of the system and to extend this concept to cereals.

Grass and Clover Breeding: The programme on breeding white clover is being continued. A number of new selections are showing good promise and some will supplement the already successful Oak Park varieties, Aran and Avoca. A new variety, Chieftain, already on the English Recommended List of Varieties, will be comercialised. Ryegrass breeding is continuing with several new breeding lines showing excellent promise. Seed multiplication and commercialisation of the existing varieties bred at Oak Park is being progressed.

Organic Production: In conjunction with Johnstown Castle Research Centre, a new project on organic crop production is being carried out in 2003. The research is aimed at increasing the productivity of organic tillage crops, particularly cereals and protein crops, required as feed in organic meat and milk production systems.

Biotechnology: In 2003, research is concentrating on desk studies focusing on environmental and biodiversity risks associated with the introduction of genetically modified arable crops in Ireland. This includes a baseline survey of native wild brassica species including DNA characterisation. The assessment of pollen movement, dispersal and incorporation into pollinated crops and wild plants is also being undertaken.

Work is getting underway to establish linkage relationships between molecular markers (tags) and particular traits of importance in grass, clover and potatoes Depending on the degree of linkage, these markers may make it possible to trace quantitative trait loci (QTL's) in plant breeding (marker assisted selection). The techniques will complement the work of the existing breeding programmes, and make the selection of parents more precise so that favourable genes and gene combinations can be accumulated over recurrent cycles of selection. The overall aim of the work is to enhance the efficiency of selection for certain characters of importance in grass, clover and potato breeding.

Vegetables and Fruit: Research is continuing to focus on the development of integrated crop management systems (ICMS) to improve productivity and make the industries more environmentally friendly. This includes work on the development of forecasting systems for pests and diseases.

2003 Programme Priorities

As in previous years, the programme includes a wide range of analytical/diagnostic services, commissioned research and consultancy and a range of training courses in food and horticulture.

The Dairy Products Research Centre will continue to develop its programme of product and process innovation, central to which is a proactive involvement with food companies in technology transfer. As part of this, the subsidiary company, Moorepark Technology Ltd. continues to be actively marketed as a commercial pilot plant service for product development.