THE WA Livestock Research Council (WALRC) met last week to finalise its set of research and extension priorities to feed into Meat and Livestock Australia's (MLA) investment planning cycle.
"This annual workshop represents the most significant piece of work that the council undertakes," said WALRC chairman Tim Watts.
"The responsibility is a big one, as the process has direct influence over the scope and direction of MLA levy funded projects that will get funded in the next 12 months, here in the southern half of WA," Dr Watts said.
The process is not just about providing a ranking of priorities but also about providing a strong rationale for them, drawn from the consultation process that the organisation undertakes with producers throughout the year. In the 12 months to June this year WALRC has directly interfaced with more than 1000 growers, either via face-to-face meetings and events, or via the recent virtual farm tours and associated youTube channel that evolved out of COVID-19 restrictions.
"What occurs at these producer meetings is we consistently hear at a high level what the issues might be, from a range of autumn and winter feedbase gap issues, through to reproductive health matters and the challenge is then for us to put the detail into this that addresses research and or extension gaps that will help progress productivity issues," Dr Watts said.
The WALRC priorities will be collated alongside issues raised by sister organisations Southern Australia Livestock Research Council (SALRC) and Northern Australian Beef Research Council (NABRC) to form the guidelines for the next Research project call out of MLA.
The priorities completed by the WALRC council will be made public next month.