TODAY is tomorrow in the new generation - was how one livestock producer described the WA Livestock Research Council (WALRC) Livestock Matters forum in Fremantle last week.
And he was spot on, as emerging scientists and agricultural students joined researchers, farmers and other industry stakeholders attending the event.
WALRC chairwoman Bronwyn Clarke said she was inspired by the number of young people in the room, who were under 30-years-old and were either still studying or just starting their careers.
Dr Clarke said it showed the industry was in a good position with those stepping up to fill the shoes of others in more senior roles.
She said networking events - such as Livestock Matters - gave producers an opportunity to highlight what research could be done in the space.
"There's information here that producers can takeaway and perhaps implement onfarm," Dr Clarke said.
"The interaction between the producer and researcher was important because livestock research in WA really depended on good relationships and communication between the two."
Harrow, Victoria, mixed broadacre livestock and cropping farmer Michael Craig kicked off the event, and told the story of science-based changes made to his business in the past five years.
Mr Craig discussed non-mulesing, DNA and EID tracking, blood testing work for abortion causing disease issues in the beef herd and weight monitoring for feed conversion efficiency ratings to compare purchased and homebred stock.
This was followed by a panel discussion, which focused on running non-mulesed ewes and was led by Orion Ag consulting director Caris Jones in conversation with Brookton farmer Ashley Hobbs, retired geneticist Johan Greeff and AgPro Management livestock consultant Georgia Reid-Smith.
A highlight of the day, was the emerging scientists' showcase, headlined by eight young guns, who have a genuine influence on the future of WA's farms.
Each presentation gave the university students - former and current - an opportunity to share their research findings.
Speakers included Department of Primary Industries Research Development (DPIRD) development officer Dayna Hutchison, livestock research scientist Claire Payne and technical officer Kirsty Cunningham, The University of Western Australia (UWA) PhD student Michael Young, Murdoch University postdoctoral research fellow Honor Calnan and WALRC scholarship recipients Murdoch University masters student Chloe Sheridan and UWA masters students Eloise Boland and Georgia Welsh.
Research focused on maiden ewe reproduction, the development and calibration of technology to measure beef carcase composition, bull breakdowns on WA farms, the impact of shade availability and heat stress on the joining behaviour of Merino sheep, water intake during joining under heat stress, identifying a grazing system that provides green feed all year round, predicting lambing dates accurately through ewe-ram interactions and whole-farm modelling capabilities for improved livestock decision making.
CSIRO senior principal research scientist Hayley Norman opened the afternoon discussion and shared the challenges, observations and next steps on the autumn feed gap research and adoption endeavor.
There was a second panel discussion hosted by professor David Pethick with professor Wayne Pitchford, who ran the Beef CRC maternal productivity program, Nannup producer and lotfeeder Matt Cammari and Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit livestock research officer Brad Walmsley.
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This looked at how cow size had increased and if size matters.
To concluded formalities, WALRC launched its new initiative, Farm-a-Friend.
The linkage program connects ag science students with farm businesses to introduce real-life farm challenges to their study program.
"We are doing Farm-a-Friend for three simple reasons - the first one is students matter, they are our future and isn't great we are able to invest in them?" said WALRC executive officer Esther Jones.
"I think the farmers benefit as well, who wouldn't benefit from a young enquiring mind asking random questions?
"And, of course, most importantly, is the research community also benefits, as researchers who understand farmers are all the better for it."
Students met with their mentor at the conference, with a 'speed dating' style meet the farmers session.
