Primary industries - Case studies

Can cows milk themselves?

Yes they can! And its all happening on Sydneys doorstep.

The pilot milking system is located at the Industry and Investment NSW Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI) at Camden.

The facility will see dairy cows voluntarily move into milking bails whenever they need to be milked and then return to the paddock.

Researchers involved in developing the automated milking system (AMS) at Camden say the cows have adapted extremely well, and the team is delighted with the progress shown to date.

The technology means farmers will not be tied down to the strict routines previously associated with dairy production and can be freed up to tend to other necessary activities on their farms. It can also help improve per-cow milk production, by reducing stress in the animals.

Automated dairy systems are used in some European countries, but this project is focused on adapting existing methods to Australias pasture-based dairy industry.

The project is a partnership between Industry and Investment NSW, Dairy Australia, University of Sydney and DeLaval. It also receives support from the University of Melbourne, DPI Victoria, Dairy Industry Development Company and Dairy Research Foundation.

Outcomes from the three-year research and extension project will eventually be rolled out to the national dairy industry.

Further information on the automated milking system is available from the FutureDairy website.

(Source: I&I NSW website)

 

Exploration survey to highlight NSW petroleum potential

A $1.48m seismic survey highlighting the petroleum potential in New South Wales is now underway in the states Northwest Slopes and Hunter regions.

The survey is part of the $8m NSW Government-funded New Frontiers Initiative, which continues the Governments program to attract exploration investment to the state.

The 205 km high resolution survey will take place around Narrabri, Gunnedah, Tamworth, Liverpool Plains, Upper Hunter, Muswellbrook and Singleton using state-of-the-art Vibroseis technology.

This technique creates low-impact seismic waves which travel down through the earth and are detected by sensitive monitoring equipment spread out along the surface.

This data allows geoscientists to actually 'see' the geological features deep below the surface and determine whether the region has oil and gas potential.

Industry and Investment NSW geoscientists will evaluate information obtained from this survey.

The New Frontiers Initiative follows on from the highly successful $30m, seven year Exploration NSW program, which generated increased exploration interest in NSW, setting the scene for an exploration and development boom in the state.

(Source: I&I NSW website)

 

How the moon affects fish activity

New light has been thrown on the relationship between the moon and fish activity by Industry and Investment NSW (I&I NSW) scientists.

I&I NSW research scientist Michael Lowry said information collected as part of the I&I NSW Gamefish Monitoring Program had unearthed a greater understanding of the interaction between moon phase and key species targeted by offshore anglers.

"Results showed significant relationships between catch rates and lunar phase for black marlin, blue shark, shortfin mako, dolphin fish and yellowfin tuna," Dr Lowry said.

"Physiological differences between fish species appears to explain what is happening within the marine environment in response to the lunar phase.

"Prey fish dive deeper to avoid the light of the full moon, but some predator fish are unsuited to spend a long time in deeper, colder waters."

Dr Lowry said swimming depths have been found to be much deeper around the full moon for bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, sword fish and school sharks - all of which have an ability to maintain body temperature in cooler waters.

"In contrast, billfish like black marlin remain in the surface waters during a full moon, with occasional short dives of up to 200 m," he said.

"They are surface feeders despite the lunar migration to depth of many prey species.

"As a result, billfish forage over a wide area which increases their chances of taking a bait and being caught by anglers."

(Source: I&I NSW website)

 

Predicting climate change response

A unique experiment which aims to predict how Australian eucalypt forests will respond to greenhouse-induced climate change within the next 100 years is taking shape on the western Sydney skyline.

Twelve six-metre high 'whole tree chambers' have been erected on the University of Western Sydneys Richmond campus as part of a research collaboration known as the Hawkesbury Forest Experiment.

Industry and Investment NSW (I&I NSW) research scientist, Dr Craig Barton, says the aim is to predict how eucalypt forests growing in typical Australian conditions will react to rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere.

Each of the controlled atmosphere chambers will contain a spotted gum (Corymbia maculata) sapling, and is designed to expand to up to 10 metres tall as the trees grow over the next three years.

The atmosphere inside half of the chambers will be altered so that it contains 700 parts per million of carbon dioxide - double that currently found in the earths atmosphere.

Because water, as well as CO₂, is a key factor in a plants growth, half the trees will have high quantities of available water, while the other half will have limited access to water.

Dr Barton said that extra CO₂ could cause a tree to grow more efficiently, with less water.

"However, wood production and stem growth could increase, possibly leading to a denser canopy.

"One impact of this could be to stop rainfall reaching the soil and other parts of the ecosystem."

During the experiment scientists will monitor such factors as tree growth rates, carbon storage potential and water use.

Dr Barton said that "one of the potential effects of increased CO₂ in the atmosphere is to reduce the amount of water lost by plants for the same amount of carbon fixed into sugars for plant growth and maintenance.

"Any increase in water use efficiency has potential implications for species distribution, water yields in catchments, forest growth and carbon sequestration."

Dr Barton said the data collected will be used to test and develop models that emulate the impact of higher CO₂ on whole forests.

The Hawkesbury Forest Experiment is a collaboration between the University of Western Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Technology (Sydney), I&I NSW and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

The Australian Greenhouse Office is contributing $1.2 million to the project.

(Source: I&I NSW website)