APRIL

Welcome to the third edition of APRIL News for 2022.

The APRIL Annual General Meeting (for Ordinary Members of the Company only) and Stakeholders’ Forum will be held on Tuesday 15 November 2022, 1 pm – 5:30 pm, at the Marriott Hotel, corner of Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne, Victoria. The conclusion of the Stakeholders’ Forum will be followed by a networking function.

The Stakeholders’ Forum program is still in development but will be available here, https://apri.com.au/news-and-media/, in 2-3 weeks. The Forum will cover some of APRIL and APL’s research and development, education and training, and commercialisation activities, presentations from invited speakers, and a number of other presentations. An agenda will be sent closer to the date. There will be opportunities for questions and comments.
A Heat Stress and Seasonal Infertility Technical Forum, featuring a number of review presentations and updates on APRIL-and APL- supported projects covering this topic, is being held via Zoom on Wednesday 19 October 2022 between 1:00 and 3:30 pm (AEDT). For further details and information, please contact Dr Charles Rikard-Bell, Manager, Commercialisation and Research Impact (0439 513 723; Email: c.rikardbell@april.org.au).

This edition’s Research and Innovation piece provides an update on a new Transformational Project that is now underway, as well as details of the new APRIL Innovation Award.

Education and Training features two recently completed postgraduate theses from Dr Tanya Laird and Emma Goode, from Murdoch University and the University of New England, respectively, and provides some information regarding the new APRIL Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme.

The Research Snapshot focuses on the Final Report received for project A3B-102, Nutritional supplementation to increase the number of pigs weaned and fertility of sows which farrow and are mated during summer/early autumn (A/Prof Will van Wettere, The University of Adelaide).

Commercialisation in this edition describes some recent results examining energy values in sprouted grains from the 2021-22 harvest, as well as a call for Expressions of Interest in the further development and potential commercialisation of portable NIR technology for the rapid assessment of water quality.

Our Member Focus this edition features Professor Paul Verma, from PIRSA-SARDI and The University of Adelaide.

Towards the back end of 2022, and closing in January 2023, APRIL will be announcing an open and competitive call for Innovation Projects. Innovation Projects, which are negotiable to 12 to 18 months in duration and have a maximum budget of ~$75,000, are designed to support ‘out of the box’ ideas for smart, new approaches to tackle current and emerging challenges of the pork industry.

Innovation Projects must demonstrate originality, uniqueness and creativity, establish new concepts or challenge existing ones, address significant challenges or critical barriers to progress, and be able to improve or apply new theoretical concepts, methodologies or tools that will benefit industry.

To kick-off APRIL’s new Strategic Plan, up to $750,000 will be available for this round of Innovation Projects. Please note, Project Leaders will only be considered for a new project if reporting on their current projects is up to date.
A new section for future APRIL Newsletters will be for employment and education and training opportunities from Members. If there is an announcement you’d like to include in the Newsletter, please contact me.

As always, we would welcome receiving APRIL-related information and upcoming events from our Members’ for possible inclusion in the Newsletter [subject to space (preferred length is 100-150 words) and content], as we see this as an important communication forum between Members also.

Please note though that news of APRIL activities has priority, and items of an advertorial nature are not permitted.
Finally, New Zealand Pork are thanked for their support of APRIL.

Sincerely,
Dr John Pluske
CEO and Chief Scientist
j.pluske@april.org.au

Research and Innovation

A new Transformational Project, Novel approaches for combatting antimicrobial resistance in Australian pigs: Exploring nature’s antimicrobial arsenals, naturally derived feed additives and natural bacterial flora to combat resistant bacteria, is underway through Murdoch University, with Professor Sam Abraham as Project Leader.

The overarching aim of this project is to determine the origin, transmission pathways and public health impact of newly emergent, critically important antimicrobial-resistant (CIA-R) Escherichia coli in pigs in order to develop novel control strategies for the pork industry. This project will use advanced high throughput robotics and genomics to understand the extent of the AMR in Australian pigs, significantly maximising the impact of novel integrated control strategies based on nature’s antimicrobial arsenal. Using naturally-derived feed additives, phages, and natural bacterial flora, the outcomes will enhance our understanding of AMR and development of commercially viable solutions. The anticipated outcomes will address one of the most pressing and globally significant animal and public health issues at the moment, namely the development and dissemination of resistance to last-line human use antimicrobials in food-producing animals.

Partners in this Transformational Project are SunPork Solutions, Rivalea (Australia) Pty Ltd., Feedworks Pty Ltd. and Australian Pork Limited, with Tecan Australia Pty Ltd. as a project subcontractor. Thank you to all those contributing and participating in this important project.

One of APRIL’s strategic imperatives is to seek leverage of its funds against additional investment in priority research, education and training, and commercialisation programs to achieve necessary scale for key industry outcomes. In this regard, APRIL continues its Kickstart program for the 2022/23 financial year, which is aimed at providing financial support to individuals/organisations to put together a project submission that seeks significant external funding.

More details of the scheme can be found here, or by contacting Dr John Pluske (j.pluske@april.org.au). Applications are open at any time.

APRIL Innovation Award

A new initiative from APRIL is the Innovation Award.

The purpose of the Innovation Award is to tap into the resourcefulness, know-how, and ingenuity of the many people that work in the pork industry, to demonstrate innovations, e.g., new products, new methodologies, new services, that the industry can adopt to improve performance and efficiencies, and that might result in commercialisation opportunities.

The Innovation Award winner(s) will be selected by an industry-based panel and will be announced at the APRIL Stakeholders’ Forum in Melbourne on 15 November 2022. The Award winner(s) will be eligible to be invited to attend and eligible to receive a cash prize (as per the Terms & Conditions).

Applications must be received by 5 pm AEDT, 21 October 2022. Please direct any queries and send applications to: Dr Charles Rikard-Bell, Manager, Commercialisation and Research Impact (0439 513 723; Email: c.rikardbell@april.org.au)

Further details relating to the purposes of the Award and How to Apply, as well as the Terms & Conditions, can be found here.

Education and Training

Congratulations to Dr Tanya Laird and Emma Goode, from Murdoch University and the University of New England respectively, for the successful completion of their postgraduate theses.

Dr Tanya Laird’s PhD thesis (Novel approaches for managing and controlling antimicrobial resistance in pigs; supervisors Professor Sam Abraham and Drs Mark O’Dea and Shafi Sahibzada) examined various aspects of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in E. coli in pigs and nutritional interventions (in the forms of Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products and Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation products) for the control/reversal of AMR. A study also looked at the combination of bacteriophages and competitive exclusion clones in vitro as a novel and targeted approach for the control of extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant E. coli.

Dr Laird’s thesis was part of project A1-101, Novel approaches for reducing antimicrobial resistant and pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria in the porcine gut, led by Professor Sam Abraham (Murdoch University).

Emma Goode’s Master of Science in Agriculture thesis (Seasonal fertility of the sow can be predicted by sow-factors; supervisors Professor Susanne Hermesch and Dr Kate Plush) explored the identification of indicative traits of fertility, sow parities most affected by season, and the months of reduced breeding success. Emma’s thesis was part of project A3B-104, Seasonal fertility: a novel approach to alleviating seasonal infertility in sows, led by Dr Kate Plush (SunPork Solutions).

Dr Laird is currently employed in Diagnostics and Laboratory Services at the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), and Emma is parenting and farming in South Australia and an active member of the Kapunda and Light Agricultural Show Committee.

To build further upon APRIL’s current education and training investments and assist in further building human capacity for the pork industry, a call seeking applications to support its education and training programs (including the new Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme; see below) will be made in November, 2022. This will also include opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students/potential students interested in pursuing a project as part of the current CRC-Project (CRC-P), Eliminating Pig Tail Removal to Improve Welfare and Industry Sustainability.

Applications and information for APRIL’s education and training awards will be able to be found here.

APRIL Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme

At its June meeting, the APRIL Board approved the APRIL Post-Doctoral Fellowship Scheme. This Scheme will complement the existing Industry Placement Program (IPP), and assist in providing more opportunities for individuals to become further involved in the pork industry.

The Scheme’s main objectives are to: (i) attract and retain high calibre early career researchers for the benefit of the pork industry; (ii) provide Post-Doctoral Fellow recipients with the time and support to develop their demonstrated research potential and track record; and (iii) assist in establishing a Post-Doctoral Fellow with a successful career trajectory.

Applications and guidelines for the scheme will be open to an individual, on a full-time or part-time basis, who has completed their research doctorate (PhD) studies (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) and has less than 3 years of relevant post-doctoral work experience (or pro-rata equivalent).

Research Snapshot

APRIL has received a Final Report for project A3B-102, Nutritional supplementation to increase the number of pigs weaned and fertility of sows which farrow and are mated during summer/early autumn (A/Prof Will van Wettere, The University of Adelaide).

A collaborative study between The University of Adelaide, Rivalea (Australia Pty Ltd.) and Feedworks was conducted to determine the effects of arginine supplementation with or without betaine from 7 days prior to farrowing until the first post-weaning oestrus, on piglet mortality and growth prior to weaning, as well as sow reproductive performance post-weaning.

This study consisted of two replicates, one in summer and one in winter/spring (spring), with four dietary treatments applied from farrowing shed entry until first post-weaning oestrus: (i) Control, standard diet; (ii) Betaine, standard diet plus betaine (0.2%); (iii) Arginine, standard diet plus arginine (L-arginine; 1.0%); (iv) Arginine plus Betaine, standard diet plus arginine (1.0%) and betaine (0.2%) (n = 130 sows per treatment per seasonal replicate).

Numerous reproductive and lactation indices were measured including in the following lactation.

Major Project Outcomes

1. During summer, the inclusion of arginine in sows reduced piglet mortality, adding arginine and betaine to sow diets improved subsequent reproductive performance, while the addition of betaine (regardless of the presence of arginine) also improved subsequent reproductive performance.
2. Regardless of the inclusion of betaine in the diet, arginine reduced piglet mortality between fostering and day 3 of lactation from 19.8% to 14.7% (P < 0.01), reduced the number of piglets which died from fostering to weaning (2.20 ± 0.13 versus 2.55 ± 0.13; P = 0.06), and reduced the number of live born piglets which died prior to weaning (2.86 ± 0.15 versus 3.33 ± 0.15; P < 0.05).
3. Subsequent reproductive performance:
4. Arginine and betaine together reduced the weaning to remating interval (P < 0.05) from 5.6 to 5.1 days, increased the number of piglets born alive from 12.3 to 12.9 piglets/litter, and decreased the number of piglets born dead from 1.7 to 1.0 at the subsequent litter (P < 0.05).
5. When the main effect of betaine was analysed, its inclusion increased the number of piglets born alive at the subsequent litter from 12.3 to 12.8, and decreased the number and percentage of still born piglets from 1.64 to 1.18 and 10.9 to 8.1%, respectively (P < 0.05).
6. For treatments applied in spring, there were no benefits of including either betaine and arginine, either together or separately, in the diets of sows from pre-farrowing to remating during spring, on measures recorded during the first and second lactation. Stillbirth rates were higher at the first farrowing, and litter size on day 25 of the first lactation was lower following supplementation of betaine and arginine separately (P < 0.001). This result appears to be contradictory to the bulk of the available literature, and may, therefore, require further validation.

Check the APRIL website here, for details relating to Project Summaries and Final Reports.

Commercialisation

Wheat energy contents and the falling number value

The 2021-22 eastern Australian harvest caused an estimated 40-45% of wheat grown in NSW being downgraded to feed wheat due to pre-harvest germination caused by an unusually wet summer. Unfortunately, the feed grain quality data reported in the AusScan Early Harvest Reports were not able to compare sprouted and normal wheats. The falling number value is used by industry to determine the degree of sprouting in suspected wheat samples, but its relationship to energy contents for pigs and broilers is unknown.

AusScan Online conducted a study in which 23 samples of sprouted grain from the 2021-22 harvest were analysed for falling number, test weight and energy values, with the objective being to determine whether the degree of sprouting – as indicated by the falling number – is relevant to the predicted energy content of the wheat. A higher falling number value indicates non-weather-damaged grain, whereas a lower value is more indicative of sprouted grain.

The results showed acceptable values for pig faecal digestible energy (DE) content and broiler apparent metabolisable energy (AME) content ranging from 13.5 to 14.0 MJ/kg and 12.5 to 13.0 MJ/Kg across the range of falling number values, respectively. A total of 21 samples were classified as sprouted grain and would have been downgraded to feed wheat, despite having acceptable DE and AME values.

The results help to emphasise that sprouted wheat in most instances has an equivalent nutritional value to normal wheat, and that the falling number value can be of little to no consequence when considering grain energy contents for feed formulation purposes.

Expressions of Interest – Improving an NIR Calibration of Rapid Assessment of Water Quality

APRIL is seeking Expressions of Interest from a suitable partner (or partners) to support further development/testing and potential subsequent commercialisation of a miniaturised, NIR technology that can rapidly assess (less than 60 seconds) more than 13 water quality parameters including alkali metals, heavy metals and microbiology.

Water quality and its management represents a significant challenge to the livestock industries. Rapid, on-site testing of water quality will enable timely, cost-effective decision-making. By having access to this simple yet robust technology, livestock producers and technical decision-makers will be better placed to understand their individual water quality challenges and in turn implement appropriate actions to ensure not only optimal animal productivity, health and welfare but also economic benefits and efficiencies.

Furthermore, this technology is translatable across other agricultural and industry sectors where rapid diagnostics are needed.

Further specific information can be found here or by contacting Dr Charles Rikard-Bell, Manager, Commercialisation and Research Impact (0439 513 723; Email: c.rikardbell@april.org.au).

Member Focus -Professor Paul Verma 
(PIRSA-SARDI, The University of Adelaide)

I am a reproductive biologist with a research focus on assisted reproductive technologies and biotechnology and am keen to translate my research into real world outcomes. After obtaining my PhD at The University of Adelaide, I joined BresaGen Ltd, working on generation of pigs for organ transplantation (xenotransplantation). This sparked my interest in, and led to working on, pig reproduction for three decades, during which time I have wonderful memories of travel to Bunge Meats (now Rivalea) in Corowa, NSW for embryo transfer experiments. Subsequently developing an interest in stem cells, I moved to Monash University for 10 years, being appointed Professor and Program Leader, Stem Cell Biology. Mentoring bright young students was a highlight of my time in academia, supervising 11 PhDs and 14 graduates, resulting in >90 publications and featuring in Nature (2003)! During this time, I was fortunate to also be appointed to the NH&MRC Cellular Therapies Advisory Committee (CTAC); Scientific Advisory Panel, Australian Bone Marrow Donor Registry; and Panel Chair Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF).

Joining SARDI in 2012, I work with pigs and sheep, using reproductive technologies and precise genome editing (CRISPR-Cas9) to manipulate livestock production traits and develop biomedical models. For the last three years I have enjoyed leading the Pigs & Poultry Group and developing greater ties with industry. Having recently been appointed Acting Program Leader for Livestock Sciences, I intend to continue exploring and developing innovative biotechniques to solving industry challenges, including precise identification of the reproductive state of the sow, enhancing fecundity and growth rate in pigs, and developing a ‘lab on a chip’ for pig welfare monitoring.

Conferences, Events, Important Dates

1. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, 31 October-2 November 2022 (Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre).

2. APRIL AGM and Stakeholder Forum, 15 November 2022 (Marriott Hotel, corner of Exhibition & Lonsdale Streets, Melbourne, Victoria).

3. APL Delegates and Members’ Forum, 16 November 2022 (Melbourne).

4. APL Annual General Meeting, 17 November 2022 (Melbourne).

5. Evoke AG, 21-22 February 2023 (Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia).

6. American Society of Animal Science Midwest Meeting, 12-15 March 2023 (Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, Madison, Wisconsin.

Research and Innovation

A number of new projects have been fully executed recently, as follows:

1. Investigating the impact of circulating creatine concentrations in gestation on vitality and survivability of low birth weight piglets [Dr Tanya Nowland, Affiliate Associate Lecturer (The University of Adelaide) and Research Scientist – Pig Reproductive and Welfare (SARDI)]. Other project partners are Feedworks Pty Ltd., Rivalea (Australia) Pty Ltd., SARDI, The University of Adelaide and AlzChem Trostberg GmbH.

2. Brain measures of positive welfare in pigs (Professor Alan Tilbrook, The University of Queensland). Other project partners are SunPork Solutions, Deakin University, and The University of Western Australia.

3. Use of progesterone and GM-CSF to improve the fertility of extended semen (A/Prof Mark Nottle, The University of Adelaide). The other project partner is Rivalea (Australia) Pty Ltd.

4. Heating up the house: Evaluating the effect of novel monitoring and heating systems on the productivity, welfare and economics of farrowing houses (Dr Maria Jorquera-Chavez, Rivalea).

5. Use of an inhibin vaccine to increase litter size in pigs [Professor Paul Verma, Affiliate Professor (The University of Adelaide) and Science Program Leader – Pigs and Poultry (SARDI)]. Other project partners are The University of Queensland and Dr. Paul Tolstoshev.

Congratulations to all those involved in the successful projects, and we look forward to seeing the outcomes from the projects and the benefits to the Australasian pork industry.

APRIL is pleased to announce that together with The University of Adelaide and supported by Dr Barry Lloyd, it has been awarded a Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) AgTech Growth Fund grant from the Government of South Australia. The project, Smart sensors for enhanced animal welfare monitoring and outcomes, will build upon previously-funded APRIL research in multiplexed, smart, portable on-chip sensing technologies to rapidly and economically detect and assess multiple pain and welfare biomarkers in pigs.

Total project budget is $159,445 comprising a cash request from PIRSA of $54,000, consortium cash contributions of $47,000 and consortium in-kind contributions of $58,445. Dr Abel Santos (The University of Adelaide) and Professor Paul Verma (Leader Pigs & Poultry, Livestock Sciences, South Australian Research and Development Institute) will lead the project.

APRIL thanks the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, Government of South Australia, for supporting this project (https://pir.sa.gov.au).

One of APRIL’s strategic imperatives is to seek leverage of its funds against additional investment in priority research, education and training, and commercialisation programs to achieve necessary scale for key industry outcomes. In this regard, APRIL continues Its Kickstart program for the 2022/23 financial year, which is aimed at providing seed funding to individuals/organisations to put together a project submission that seeks significant external funding, such as the projects shown in the previous table.

More details of the scheme can be found at https://apri.com.au/research/funding-opportunities/, or by contacting Dr John Pluske (j.pluske@april.org.au). Applications are open at any time.

Finally, and in an interesting piece of news released in May (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/genetic-technology-bill-enabling-innovation-to-boost-food-security), a bill – the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill – was introduced into the House of Commons. The Bill (“A Bill to make provision about the release and marketing of, and risk assessments relating to, precision bred plants and animals, and the marketing of food and feed produced from such plants and animals; and for connected purposes”) seeks to “remove unnecessary barriers to research into new gene editing technology, which for too long has been held back by the EU’s rules around gene editing, which focus on legal interpretation rather than science – hindering the UK’s world leading agricultural research institutions”.

The new (proposed) regulations will create a category for genetically edited crops and animals, separate from those which govern genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Education and Training

A project consortium led by SunPork Pty Ltd. and involving APRIL is interested in hearing from potential research students wishing to be involved in the current 3-year CRC-Project (CRC-P), Eliminating Pig Tail Removal to Improve Welfare and Industry Sustainability. The overall aim of this research project is to provide information to enable pork producers to make objective decisions with confidence as to whether they can raise pigs with intact tails.

A number of different opportunities exist for undergraduate and postgraduate students/potential students interested in pursuing this opportunity, as follows:

1. Scholarship Awards for Honours students.
2. Support for DVM/undergraduate Veterinary Science projects.
3. Support for MS/MSc/MPhil students, where a research project is an incorporated component of the program of study.

Eligibility

Eligibility varies according to the different scheme being applied for. Make sure the Guidelines associated with each opportunity are read thoroughly before starting and submitting an application.

How do I apply?

Information concerning the different education opportunities, including Guidelines and application forms, can be found below. Completed applications should reach APRIL by the closing date, and the outcomes will be announced after the closing date.

The APRIL Education Advisory Committee will assess all applications against criteria including the academic record and curriculum vitae of the applicant, the applicant’s research potential including the research proposal, alignment with the CRC-P, evidence of industry endorsement/relevance, a personal statement from the applicant, the supervisor(s) track record, and a communication and delivery plan (if appropriate).

APRIL will determine the number of, and the amount of, any grant awarded.

Further information on the range of Awards available can be found here: https://apri.com.au/education-and-training-opportunities/.

Applications should be lodged electronically by the closing date to Dr Charles Rikard-Bell, c.rikardbell@april.org.au. Questions on any of the Awards should be directed to Dr John Pluske, j.pluske@april.org.au.

Applications close: 8 July 2022.

Commercialisation

An exciting project instigated by Dr Charles Rikard-Bell, involving APRIL, Aunir and HoneAg (https://www.honeag.com), is currently exploring the feasibility of using a hand-held (mobile) near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device to allow the rapid determination of grain quality for feeding to pigs and chickens. Portable NIRS devices potentially offer greater flexibility at a lower capital cost for end-users.

In the last edition of the Newsletter, a call for applications for a Commercialisation Project was made, i.e., Reducing variation in lifetime performance: Collection, storage and distribution of grain samples for in vivo and in vitro experiments, assessment of related grain chemical and physical characteristics, and management of the research data produced from experiments to improve the AusScan Online NIR calibrations.

I am pleased to announce that the Board approved (in principle) an application addressing this Commercialisation Project from The University of Sydney, which will continue their long association with the Pork CRC/APRIL in supporting AusScan Online.

In further AusScan Online news, a research proposal, Layer specific NIR calibration for predicting metabolizable energy of grains, from Dr Reza Barekatain at SARDI, was approved recently by Australian Eggs. The results of this 30-month project using wheat, sorghum, barley, triticale and maize will strengthen the current layer AME calibration, and be available for use by the layer industry thereafter through Aunir.

Research Snapshot

APRIL is supporting a number of projects related to heat stress and seasonal infertility (https://apri.com.au/research/supported-projects/). Unfortunately, progress in some of these projects acceded to Covid and hence progress has been delayed, but APRIL is now receiving a number of reports providing some interesting outcomes. One such project, Hot and bothered! Long term impacts of late pregnancy heat stress on sows and progeny (Project Leader: Dr Kate Plush, SunPork Group, and involving staff and students at The University of Melbourne), is examining the impacts of heat stress in gilts during the last week of gestation on aspects of farrowing performance and piglet survival.

In work to be presented by Mr Weicheng Zhao, PhD student (The University of Melbourne), at the 34th Australian Association of Animal Sciences (AAAS) Conference, Cairns, Queensland, the imposition of cyclic heat stress (30°C daytime; 28°C nighttime) from day 110 of gestation until farrowing completion demonstrated numerous negative impacts on production. Sows were susceptible to this heat stress regimen in the last week of gestation, demonstrating lower daily feed intake and increased stress responses, for example, higher respiration rates, higher rectal and skin temperatures.

Heat-stressed sows farrowed more stillborn piglets and fewer liveborn piglets. There was a carry-over effect of sow heat stress on neonatal piglets, as evidenced by a higher liveborn mortality rate and a shorter small intestine length in the surviving piglets. These findings suggest that sow heat stress during late gestation and farrowing had an immediate negative impact on both sows and their offspring.

Check the APRIL website, https://apri.com.au/research/project-reports/, for details relating to Project Summaries and Final Reports.

Member Focus – Dr Jeremy Cottrell (The University of Melbourne)

My introduction to pigs came at 16 years of age when I was fortunate enough to work in a wildlife park in North Queensland. For over 5 years I looked after our pigs in the “friendship farm”, who lived a very safe distance from the parks’ other reptilian attractions down the hill! After finishing undergraduate studies at James Cook University, I embarked on a PhD at Werribee, based at the then Victorian Institute of Animal Science (VIAS). Although my studies were not on pigs, the collaborative nature of research and the volume of pig projects completed at the on-site experimental piggery meant that I absorbed a tremendous amount of experience working with pigs that cultivated a lifelong fondness for the wider industry.

After completing my PhD studies, I followed a number of paths, but pig-based research has remained a mainstay. For example, my Post-Doctoral Fellowship was at the Children’s Nutrition Research Centre (Houston, TX), who, contrary to what the name suggests, have completed numerous fundamental studies on intestinal development and amino acid metabolism using the piglet as a model. Further, after my return to Australia, I worked in the biotechnology industry where we used pigs for preclinical drug delivery models.

However, joining The University of Melbourne in 2014 has marked a tremendously rewarding period of my career where I have been able to focus my experience on pig research. Over that time, I’ve covered a diverse range of projects from the developing foetus to meat quality, nutrition or even biomedical research. But perhaps my greatest contribution has been to the understanding of heat stress, particularly in its effects on the gut. We’ve applied these findings to sows, where we’ve shown that heat stress reduced the number of muscle building blocks in developing piglets, which is a handbrake on growth. In 2020, I joined the APRIL R&D Advisory Committee as The University of Melbourne representative.

Conferences, Events, Important Dates

1. 12th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, 3-8 July 2022; Rotterdam, The Netherlands (https://wcgalp.com).
2. 34th Australian Association of Animal Sciences (AAAS) Conference, 5-7 July 2022; Cairns, Queensland, Australia (https://www.animalscienceconference2022.com.au).
3. NZPork Conference, 25-26 July 2022; Christchurch, New Zealand.
4. 19th Asian-Australasian Association of Animal Production (AAAP) Animal Science Congress, 23-26 August 2022; Jeju Island, Korea (http://www.aaap2022.org).
5. 73rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Animal Production (EAAP), 5-9 September 2022; Porto, Portugal (https://www.eaap2022.org).
6. 7th EAAP International Symposium on Energy and Protein Metabolism and Nutrition (ISEP 2022), 12-15 September 2022; Granada, Spain.
7. 2022 Feedworks Conference “Making Waves in Animal Production”, 14-16 September 2022; Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort, QLD.
8. TropAg International Agriculture Conference, 31 October-2 November 2022; Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (https://tropagconference.org/).
9. APRIL Stakeholder Forum, November 2022 (date and venue yet to be decided).

Full article available via AgriFutures GrowAG below.

Welcome to the final edition of APRIL News for 2021.

First, I would sincerely like to thank all of the presenters [David Baines (NZ Pork Industry Board), Dr Mark O’Dea (DPIRD WA), Dr Alice Weaver (SARDI), Dr Rob Smits (APL), Lauren Staveley (SunPork Solutions), Steve Lydeamore (Anatara Lifesciences), Dr Ricardo Esquerra (Ridley) and Dr Tom Harrison (Apiam Animal Health)] and attendees who participated in APRIL’s Stakeholders’ Forum, on 15 November.

Again, and unfortunately, the Forum could not be held in a face-to-face format as was going to occur, in association with the 18^th biennial conference of the Australasian Pig Science Association (APSA) in Brisbane. Nonetheless, in excess of 75 registrants tuned in for the event, and participated in questions and answers and feedback. This remains an important annual event to exchange important industry information and experiences and provide updates and overviews on APRIL projects.

Please let me know if you would like any further information from the Forum.

The Stakeholders’ Forum was preceded by APRIL’s Annual General Meeting, and congratulations to Neil Ferguson (Westpork Pty Ltd.) for being re-elected to the APRIL Board.

I mentioned in the last Newsletter that a consortium, with SunPork Pty Ltd. as the Lead Applicant, had applied for a Round 11 CRC-Project (CRC-P) titled, Eliminating pig tail removal to improve welfare and industry sustainability. In early September, SunPork Pty Ltd. was advised that the CRC-P had been supported by the Australian Government. Other partners in the 3-year project are APRIL, Australian Pork Limited, PIC Australasia P ty Ltd., Rivalea (Australia) Pty Ltd., RSPCA Australia, The University of Melbourne, The University of Queensland, and the University of New England.

The application requested, and received, an Australian Government cash investment of $2,892,374 over 3 years, which combined with the project partners’ cash contribution of $1,638,742 ($750,000 from APRIL), has been able to leverage an additional $3,345,078 of combined in-kind contributions from the partners. The project directly addresses a key Transformational Project objective in APRIL’s Strategic Plan., and will also provide opportunities for support and training for a number of Honours students, postgraduate students, and early-career scientists.

This month’s Research Snapshot focuses on a project conducted at Murdoch University that measured immune responses to four different Streptococcus suis vaccine preparations, using an Australian cps2 ST25 strain of the bacterium.

Our Member Focus this edition is on Dr Taya Clarke, from Westpork Pty Ltd. Please read on for further information.

As alluded to above, the APSA conference (APRIL was co-Platinum sponsor) was held this year in hybrid format, with ~ 75 attendees being able to be present in Brisbane for the event. The meeting attracted less abstracts and a smaller audience than in previous years, but nevertheless and given the current circumstances, it was very pleasing to see the attendance and high level of participation, and appreciate the exchange of ideas and scientific and practical information that occurred. The session on the final morning contained a number of papers related to the ‘single diet’ feeding concept supported in part by APRIL, which attracted considerable discussion.

A total of 15 abstracts from APRIL co-funded projects will soon be published in animal-science proceedings.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year, and extend my thanks and appreciation to Dr Charles Rikard-Bell and Geoff Crook from APRIL, Dr Tony Peacock (Chair) and fellow Directors, to Australian Pork Limited, and to everyone involved in APRIL projects and interactions, for support, feedback, and generosity of time during this difficult year.

Finally, thanks are extended to The University of Adelaide and Flinders University for supporting APRIL with their memberships.

Sincerely,

Dr. John Pluske
CEO/Chief Scientist
M: 0410 436 871
E: j.pluske@april.org.au
www.april.org.au

Research and Innovation

A request for applications for APRIL Innovation Project and Industry Priority Project proposals closed on 1 October 2021. A total of 10 proposals (six Innovation Projects and four Industry Priority Projects) was received, with the APRIL cash requested, the external cash pledged, and the facility funding (cash) requested being $1,403,004, $948,809 and $745,520, respectively, between 2021/22 and 2023/24. The APRIL Board met on 12 November to consider the recommendations of the Research & Development Advisory Committee for project support, and five projects were supported subject to a range of modifications and changes. The projects will be highlighted in the next Newsletter.

One of APRIL’s strategic imperatives is to seek leverage of its funds against additional investment in priority research, education and training, and commercialisation programs to achieve necessary scale for key industry outcomes. In this regard, APRIL will continue its Kickstart program for the 2021/22 financial year, which is aimed at providing seed funding to individuals/organisations to put together a project submission that seeks significant external funding. More details of the scheme can be found at https://apri.com.au/research/funding-opportunities/, or by contacting Dr John Pluske. Applications are open at any time.

A reminder please that Project Leaders provide a Project Cash Expenditure Report and Project Quarterly Report for the quarters finishing 30 September 2021 and 31 December 2021 (and for some projects, 30 June 2021 and 31 March 2021). If needed, the Project Quarterly Report and Project Cash Expenditure report templates can be found at https://apri.com.au/research/project-reporting/. A growing number of projects have not reported their expenditures; hence, I would strongly encourage Project Leaders and administrators to submit reports for outstanding monies. However, any payments will not proceed without an accompanying Project Quarterly Report.

Education and Training

APRIL is pleased to announce two recent education awards provided to Emma Goode and Katelyn Tomas, from the University of New England and The University of Queensland, respectively. Emma was supported with a postgraduate scholarship to assist with her Masters by Coursework program, which related to potential predictive factors to identify sows that are better able to breed during the challenging summer-autumn seasons. Katelyn Tomas was awarded a postgraduate ‘top-up’ scholarship for 2 years to assist with her PhD studies examining the long-term effects of maternal behaviour and human contact early in life on pigs’ tendency to respond to stress.

To build further upon APRIL’s current research and education and training investments, APRIL is currently seeking applications to support its education and training programs and assist in further building human capacity for the industry. Applications for APRIL’s education awards and Industry Placement Program are now open and close 28 January, 2022. Please visit https://apri.com.au/education-and-training-opportunities/ for more details and application forms.

With a growing number of student projects being completed, the APRIL website has been updated to allow student project reports to be accessed; please visit https://apri.com.au/student-project-reports/.

Commercialisation

A key part of this year’s Stakeholders’ Forum was an emphasis on APRIL’s commercialisation activities. Attendees at the Forum heard a general overview provided by Dr Charles Rikard-Bell (APRIL) and then presentations provided by Steve Lydeamore (Anatara Lifesciences), Dr Ricardo Esquerra (Ridley) and Dr Tom Harrison (Apiam Animal Health) on products and technologies in the Australasian pork industry.

In this context, Dr Rikard-Bell commented that the APRIL pipeline has some promising technology and some excellent research partners and commercial proposals to validate technologies prior to commercialisation and adoption. Potential opportunities exist for the industry with (i) real-time, in-field water quality assessment, (ii) rapid measurement techniques to detect the presence and concentration of boar taint compounds at processing, and (iii) a ‘lab on a chip’ for pen-side assessments of welfare and pain. Please contact Dr Rikard-Bell if you would like any further information.

This harvest, APRIL will continue an initiative started during the 2020/21 harvest and provide periodic Early Harvest Reports to key customers. AusScan Online collates a significant number of scans from different regions across Australia every month. The report aids nutritionists in providing a rapid assessment of the new season’s energy values for each grain type across different regions in Australia for different animals. To this end, we anticipate the start of in vivo studies at The University of Melbourne (significantly delayed due to Covid-19) to upgrade the pig digestible energy calibrations in AusScan Online.

Research Snapshot

A Final Report has been received from Murdoch University [Dr Mark O’Dea (now at Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, WA) and Associate Professor Sam Abraham] that measured immune responses to four different Streptococcus suis vaccine preparations, using an Australian cps2 ST25 strain.

Bacterial cultures of a cps2 ST25 S. suis strain were prepared at concentrations of 1×10⁹ colony forming units (cfu)/ml and 1×10¹⁰ cfu/ml, and inactivated using either (i) formalin, (ii) binary ethylenimine (BEI), (iii) lysozyme/detergent or (iv) heat treatment (60°C for one hour, with gentle agitation). Eight weaner pigs were assigned to each vaccine group, including a negative control group, and received 1 ml of vaccine preparation intra-muscularly on days zero and 14 after weaning. Blood was collected from each pig on days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 for measurement of serological response, and pigs were weighed on days 0, 7, 14 and 21. Analysis of total immunoglobulin, IgM, IgG1 and IgG2 was performed using ELISA.

The heat-inactivated vaccine using a dose of 1×10¹⁰ cfu/ml produced the most robust immune response as measured by total Ig and IgG1. Using sample to positive ratio as a proxy of antibody level, mean optical density (OD) levels were higher than all other treatment groups. Higher mean OD sample/positive ratio for heat-inactivated vaccine using a dose of 1×10¹⁰ cfu/ml was seen for the IgG1 subtype, with a significant (P<0.05) difference when compared to lysozyme and BEI at 1×10⁹ cfu/ml and BEI at 1×10¹⁰ cfu/ml. The IgG2 sample/positive ratio was also higher overall for heat-inactivated vaccine at 1×10¹⁰ cfu/ml. However, a significant (P<0.05) difference was only seen between this and BEI at 1×10⁹ cfu/ml. There were no statistically significant differences when assessing IgM.

Titration of serum samples from day 0 and day 35 was performed for all 1×10¹⁰ cfu/ml vaccine preparations. The heat treatment vaccine showed a significant increase in total Ig measured, with a four-fold increase in antibody titre over this period, and both the heat treatment and formalin vaccines showed ≥4-fold titre increases in IgG1 measured.

The researchers concluded that a S. suis heat-treated vaccine preparation could elicit IgG antibody responses that were superior to other preparations tested, including the currently and commercially used formalin inactivation method. The use of heat inactivation is a potentially simple and cheap method for bacterin production, and would likely be a feasible option for large scale vaccine production following field trials to assess protective efficacy.

Check the APRIL website, https://apri.com.au/research/project-reports/, for more details on this project, as well as other Project Summaries and Final Reports.

Member Focus – Dr Taya Clarke (Westpork Pty Ltd.)

Taya started her journey working with animals at a young age, with her parents active in wildlife conservation and rehabilitation. She studied Animal Science at The University of Western Australia, completing an Honours project in 2008 working with sheep.

Taya then went overseas for 2 years, living and working in Oxford, UK at the Food Animal Initiative, working in poultry research under Dr Marion Stamp-Dawkins. Upon arriving back in Australia, Taya undertook a PhD at Murdoch University, investigating sow welfare and behaviour. Throughout her studies, Taya worked with the RSPCA Australia as an Approved Farming Scheme assessor, visiting many different farming schemes all over Australia. This is where she learned that good welfare comes in many different forms. When her PhD was completed, she began a role as Technical Manager with Westpork in 2015. In the 6 years since beginning with Westpork, Taya’s role has evolved to manage all facets of animal welfare, APIQ accreditation, and she also oversees all research trials conducted on Westpork farms.

Outside of her role at Westpork, Taya sits on a number of committees, including the APRIL R&D Committee, Pork Innovation WA, Pork Industry Training WA, DPIRD Biosecurity Consultative Committee and APSA. Although there isn’t much time to conduct her own research, Taya believes in keeping informed about new science, and is always on the lookout for innovation that can be adapted to on-farm practice.

Westpork is a founding member of APRIL, and Taya believes it is integral for research to be industry supported so that it stays relevant and drives improvement for the Australian industry. The collaborative nature of Australian pig research is also integral to keeping research innovative.

Employment Opportunity – APRIL Early Career Scientist

APRIL is seeking an Early Career Scientist who has completed (or nearly completed) their doctorate studies having less than 5 years of relevant postdoctoral work experience (or pro-rata equivalent) to work in a multi-disciplinary project across different organisations and cultures, including on-farm work, to address strategies to eliminate tail docking in the Australasian pork industry. The position is offered as a full time, 3-year fixed term contract, and will be available January/February 2022.

Please visit here for further details. Applications close 22 December. For any further information, please contact APRIL CEO/Chief Scientist Dr John Pluske.

Events and Important Dates

1. American Society of Animal Science Midwest meeting, 14-16 March 2022; Omaha NE (https://www.asas.org/sections/midwest-section/meetings).
2. British Society of Animal Science Annual Conference, 12-14 April 2022; EMCC Nottingham and Online (https://bsas.org.uk/conference).
3. 15^th International Symposium on Digestive Physiology in Pigs (DPP2022), 17-20 May 2022; Rotterdam, The Netherlands (https://dpp2022.com).
4. ZeroZincSummit 2022, 22-23 June 2022; Copenhagen, Denmark (https://www.tilmeld.dk/zerozincsummit2022). The call for Abstracts for this meeting is now open until 31 December 2021.
5. International Pig Veterinary Society Congress (IPVS), 21-24 June 2022; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (https://ipvs2022.com/pt/).