World’s Poultry Congress 2008 (WPC2008)
The Poultry CRC is proud to be a sponsor of WPC2008 and I would like to draw the attention of eligible young scientists to the Youth Program being held as part of WPC2008.
The Youth Program includes a post-congress tour which will be a combination of industry visits and tourism. The closing date for applications is December 14. There is a Young Scientist Program, but it’s only for young scientists from developing countries. See the WPC2008 web site for more details.
Publicity
I have been helping Chris publicise the outcomes of the CRC. Lu Danieli and Gary Fry, of Danieli Studios in Armidale, have conducted several interviews with CRC students and researchers to prepare programs for rural TV networks and the rural press.
One on James Turnell’s Ph.D. research, in which Mingan also features, has already gone to air and appeared in rural newspapers. Other interviews coming up include UNE’s Lene Mikkelsen and Rob Turner and our Extension Officer, Geof Runge.
Lu and Gary will be attending Ideas Exchange to conduct interviews with researchers based in other locations. Chris and I will be contacting postgrads, postdocs and research scientists about this shortly. We are aiming to prepare about 8 programs on a range of CRC research projects.
Science in the Bush at UNE
Science in the Bush
The CRC once again sponsored “Science in the Bush”, part of Science Week. The grade 10 students were interested in many aspects of science. The aim is to interest young people in science, including the agricultural sciences. I talked to the students about the Australian poultry industry and embryonic development of the chicken.
Poultry Training Materials
A review of the training materials currently available to the poultry industry is on-going. The Murrumbidgee College Chicken Meat Management and Chicken Meat Management Health and Welfare are being reviewed by a person who has not only worked in the commercial chicken meat industry for about 8 years but also has a Bachelor of Applied Science, a Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training and a Graduate Certificate in Communication Management. Additional expertise will be recruited where necessary. The Murrumbidgee College Egg Industry Management and Egg Industry Management Health and Welfare training packages are being reviewed by Irene Gorman (formerly R&D Manager at AECL), with assistance from CRC/AECL Extension Officer Geof Runge. Again, additional expertise will be obtained as required.
Queensland FarmBis Project
The third meeting of the Queensland FarmBis Project Steering Committee was held in Brisbane on August 7. A comprehensive list of available training resources is being compiled with assistance from Paul Kent and Alison Spencer from QDPI&F. In addition, training providers who have the expertise to provide more “generic” training such as Information Technology, Business Management and Occupational Health and Safety (called Workplace Health and Safety in Queensland) are being identified and contacted.
Two new training packages are being developed. One will focus on basic IT skills including internet browsers, email and spreadsheets. There will be the potential for the addition of accounting packages such as MYOB or QuickBooks. We have contacted Susan Gleeson from FarmGate Training to assist us with this package and there are also several other companies in Brisbane with specific IT expertise.
The training package on Workplace Health and Safety is being developed by Paul Westbury from Sunstate Rural Training. Paul is currently doing a lot of work with Growcom and although his experience is mainly in the horticultural sector, the package focusses on basic principles including legislation, company policies, visitors and contractors, accidents and accident reporting, emergencies and hazardous events, and risk management assessments. There will also be a component on new employee inductions. Both new training packages will be tested in commercial situations as part of the FarmBis project.
Queensland Poultry Science Symposium
Chris and I attended the Queensland Poultry Science Symposium at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus in July, with the CRC one of the sponsors. It was an excellent meeting covering a range of topics. John Reeves from Fort Dodge Australia gave an update on avian influenza, followed by a presentation by Clive Jackson about the process of choosing suitable avian influenza vaccines for use in Australia. Other highlights were a presentation by Pat Blackall about antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli isolated from poultry in southeast Queensland and an analysis of organic poultry production by Michael Evans. It may still be possible to purchase a copy of the proceedings, so if you are interested, email Dr. Michael Evans.
Poultry Hub
Chris is working hard on the new Poultry Hub which has information on training that is available, including registered training organisations (RTOs) and subsidies available for workplace-based training.
Postgrads in the final stages
There are a number of CRC postgraduates who are in the final stages of their thesis preparation. This is a stressful time for postgrads and we wish them all the best for the successful completion and submission of their theses.
With best wishes,
Julie
