Award Report

NZSAP May 1996: Award Report At the April meeting of the NZSAP Management Committee, 5 applications for the Jubilee and Animal Science fund were received, and three were approved (see later in this issue). A updated summary sheet presented at the meeting by Jock Macmillan showed that NZSAP will have distributed $42,430 since February 1994 in Animal Science and Jubilee Awards. This sum has helped 21 NZSAP members travel overseas to present papers and visit foreign research centres.

The re-organisation of the awards is continuing and those that attended the 1996 Annual General Meeting heard some of the suggestions presently being considered. Jock Macmillan reported back from a subcommittee considering the financial component. Briefly, he suggested that an Animal Science Award Fund of some $200,000 be created using NZSAPís existing investment accounts and the majority of awards (McMeekan, AH Ward, Young Members and Animal Science) will be distributed from the interest income obtained. The intention is that about half the expected yearly income would be distributed at each of the March and October Management Committee meetings. The AGM authorised the incoming Management Committee to investigate the setting up of such a fund. Similarly, final details about modifications to the various awards is presently in progress. Readers are also referred to the "snippets" section in this newsletter about further details of two new awards that have been suggested.

Dr Ian Brookes, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, Massey University has reported on his trip to USA while on sabbatical leave last year. The trip which was supported by an NZSAP Animal Science Fund Award. The report covered the ASDA conference and general observations about the use of grazed pasture for dairy production in the USA. In particular he visited Cornell and obtained of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System computer models and the Spartan ration balancing systems and he intends to use both these computer models in teaching and extension at Massey. He noted that only two institutions he visited in the USA has active programmes investigating dairy grazing systems. These were Penn. State University and US Dairy Forage Research Center. After the ASDA conference he visited 2 large Dairy farms in the vicinity of Ithaca New York. Where he stated

"The use of modern technologies was very evident with the use of computerised monitoring of production, heat detection, automatic drafting, manure disposal and BST. Ration evaluation was achieved through the use of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System which was also being adapted to monitor the environmental effects of diet on manure output"

Ian spent a large amount of his sabbatical in Vermont in the North eastern part of USA. His observations about dairy farming in this region emphasised small herds (average 80 cows) and indoor housing. Despite a milk price 50% higher than that received by NZ dairy farmers, high costs mean many farmers do not generate a profit. While there is some interest in grazing dairy cows he feels that high input: high output total confinement systems will remain the norm.

Dr Mark Fisher, Scientist, AgResearch, Invermay who received an Animal Science Funds grant to assist with his travel overseas to study agricultural ethics has subsequently also been awarded a prestigious Winston Churchill Fellowship to help fund his study. Mark leaves in May to begin his study. We wish him well.