The Poultry Co-operative Research Center, or Poultry CRC, is a joint venture established and supported under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centre Programme.
 | |
| Company type | Not For Profit Cooperative Research Centre |
|---|---|
| Industry | Poultry farming |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Armidale, New South Wales, Australia |
| Website | Poultry CRC |
The Poultry CRC's major challenge was to help Australia achieve sustainable, ethical poultry production in the face of population growth and climate change.
In July 2008, the Poultry CRC won the World's Poultry Science Association (WPSA) Industry/Organization Award at the World's Poultry Congress in Brisbane in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the development of the poultry industry. In August 2012, the Poultry CRC was awarded the WPSA's Education Award at the World's Poultry Congress in Brazil for their exceptional contribution to poultry education. In addition, the Poultry CRC received an Australian Collaborative Innovation Award in May 2012.
Structure of the CRC
Poultry CRC was an unincorporated joint venture among seven essential participants and was governed by a skills-based board. It manages its research and development programme through a public company, Poultry CRC Ltd. Poultry CRC is headquartered at the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, and has an extensive collaborative network comprising researchers, educators, and support staff from its participating organizations. The original Poultry CRC was established on 1 July 2003, with the subsequent CRC being extended to 2017.
Essential Participants
- Australian Egg Corporation Limited[1]
- Bioproperties Pty Ltd[2]
- Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Livestock Industries[3]
- Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (formerly DEEDI) Queensland[4]
- Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) Chicken Meat Program[5]
- University of Melbourne
- University of New England
Other Participants
- Active Research Pty Ltd[6]
- Alltech Biotechnology[7]
- Aviagen[8]
- Baiada Poultry[9]
- Cordina Chicken Farms[10]
- D.A. Hall & Co.[11]
- Deakin University
- Feedworks[12]
- FSA Consulting[13]
- Golden Cockerel[14]
- Hazeldene's Chicken Farm[15]
- Hy-line[16]
- Inghams Enterprises[17]
- La Ionica[18]
- Monash University
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI)[19]
- Northern Poultry Cluster[20]
- Nutreco[21]
- Pepe's Ducks[22]
- Red Lea Chickens[23]
- Scolexia[24]
- The South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI)[25]
- Ohio State University
- University of Adelaide
- University of New South Wales
- University of Queensland
- University of Sydney
- University of Western Australia
- Zoetis[26]
- Zootechny[11]
Poultry CRC Research Programs
Three integrated programes addressed the challenge of meeting increasing demand for "clean and green" poultry products and maintaining food security in the face of climate change and population growth.
Research activities focused on three key areas:
- maintaining poultry health and enhancing bird welfare;
- improving resource utilization and reducing environmental impacts of poultry production; and
- controlling poultry product-associated food safety issues and enhancing egg quality for consumers.
Programme 1, Health and Welfare, aimed to maintain a sustainable, healthy, and welfare-conscious supply of poultry products despite newly emerging pathogens, increasing environmental concerns about production, and changing consumer demands. For many diseases, current vaccines fail to offer complete protection. Changes in production, including reduced reliance on antibiotics and increased use of free-range systems, require a complete reconsideration of protection strategies. The CRC brings together the world's best researchers and capability providers in diagnostics, animal health products, and welfare to develop a holistic solution. This programme of highly integrated projects builds on the success of the first CRC while adding key capabilities, such as vaccine delivery methods, mass sequencing of antigens, and therapeutics.
Programme 2—Nutrition and Environment—addressed resource utilisation and reduction of environmental impacts, including the emission of odours and glasshouse gases (GHG).
Program 3—Safe and Quality Food Production—focused on controlling food-borne illnesses related to poultry products (i.e., Campylobacter for chicken meat and Salmonella for eggs) and addressed major consumer dissatisfaction associated with inconsistency in egg quality.
Thirty-five postgraduates were integrated within the three Programmes' research projects, involving immediate and direct interaction with end-users. The CRC expected several to find direct employment with industry, some through its internship programme.
Areas of research expertise
- Animal welfare
- Digestive physiology
- Environmental impacts
- Feed manufacture and formulation
- Immunology and microbiology
- Molecular and quantitative genetics
- Nutrition
- Vaccines and diagnostics
