Gardiner Foundation announces R&D funding awards

The Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation has announced the inaugural recipients of its major research and development funding initiative.

Five projects received a combined total of $AUD19 million over a five year period, with $5 million in direct contributions from the Foundation, and the remainder from collaborators on each project.

The projects, which have been chosen to provide a competitive edge for the Australian dairy industry, were selected from 34 applications by a panel chaired by Prof Paul Nestel, head of cardiovascular nutrition at the Baker Medical Research Institute.

A key feature of the program was that projects be based on collaborative teams of researchers from all areas of the scientific community. "We believe that scientists who have not previously worked with the dairy industry could have insights that will take it in exciting new directions," said Nestel.

According to Prof Graham Mitchell, one of the directors of the Foundation, the projects would address a wide range of issues reflecting the needs of the dairy industry.

"They include projects to select better cows and improve their milk production, grow better pastures, manage dairy wastes more effectively and ensure that milk and milk products are free from harmful micro-organisms."

The projects awarded funding include:

• BovDArT -- a novel low-cost genetic profiling system for advanced breeding platforms in Victorian dairy cattle Project description: The use of genetic profiling tools to rapidly scan embryos to identify potential bulls with gene profiles matching national breeding goals. Consortium members: University of Sydney Centre for Advanced Technologies in Animal Genetics and Reproduction (Reprogen), CRC for Innovative Dairy Products (CRC-IDP), Genetics Australia (partner in CRC-IDP), Diversity Arrays Technology, Australian Dairy Farmers Federation (partner in CRC-IDP). Project leaders: Prof Herman Raadsma (Reprogen), Dr Andrzej Kilian (CAMBIA), Dr Kyall Zenger (CRC-IDP).
• Mining Australian biodiversity to improve profitability of the Victorian dairy industry Project description: A novel study of aspects of reproduction unique to Australian mammals to identify genes and bioactive molecules of value to the dairy industry. Consortium members: University of Melbourne's Department of Zoology; University of Melbourne's School of Dental Science, The CRC for Innovative Dairy Products (CRC-IDP), Massey University (New Zealand). Project leaders: Dr Kevin Nicolas (University of Melbourne, Department of Zoology), Dr Paul Donnelly (CRC-IDP).
• Development and implementation of candidate gene-based markers in outcrossing forage species Project description: The use of modern molecular tools to select high value traits in perennial ryegrass and white clover, potentially able to cut the time needed for development of new cultivars by half. Consortium members: Department of Primary Industries, Victoria -- Plant Biotechnology Centre; Department of Primary Industries, Victoria -- Pastoral and Veterinary Institute, Hamilton. Project leaders: Dr John Forster (DPI, PBC), Dr Kevin Smith (DPI, PVI).
• Food bio-security for Victorian dairy products Project description: Development of new strategies to prevent the occurrence of pathogenic organisms in milk and maintain the industry's excellent reputation for safety. Consortium members: University of Melbourne, Institute of Land and Food Resources; Food Science Australia; Murdoch Children's Research Institute; Australian Starter Culture Research Centre Limited; Australian Animal Health Laboratory; Dairy Food Safety Victoria. Project leaders: Professor Margaret Britz (University of Melbourne), Dr John Coventry (Food Science Australia).
• Closing the loop: An holistic approach to the management of dairy processor waste streams Project description: An holistic approach to managing waste from dairy processing to lower processing costs and to reduce the need for land fill and contamination of the environment. Consortium members: Department of Primary Industries, Victoria -- Ellinbank Research Institute; Food Science Australia; Deakin University Geelong; Victoria University of Technology; RMIT University. Project leaders: Dr David Halliwell (DPI, Ellinbank), Lloyd Simons (Food Science Australia).