Animal & Veterinary Sciences

Michael’s interests lie in the pasture - animal interface. Completed projects include:

• Genetic and nutritional factors affecting staple strength in Merinos,
• Pasture intake of grazing weanling horses,
• Development of an in-vitro technique for measuring horse feed digestibility,
• Participatory action research in the NSW dairy industry to improve grazing management to maximise pasture utilization,
• Evaluation of delactose whey as an energy supplement for beef cattle
• Monitoring the spatial and temporal grazing patterns of dairy cows using n-alkanes and an active-transponder system.

Currently Michael is involved in a Future Farm Industries CRC project which  is developing grazing systems based on perennials to maximise profit and reduce recharge in the high-rainfall zone of hydrologically-responsive catchments in southern Australia.

Michael presents the subject Animal Nutrition in Year 2 and teaches into Ruminant Production , Animal Nutrition 2 and Animal Products Technology.

 

top of page ^

Research Interests

Climate change threatens the economic sustainability of farming systems in southern Australia, given predictions are that this area will face increased uncertainty in climate.  Similarly, while annual plant-based farming systems currently in use (eg cropping, annual pastures) have been profitable in the past, their lack of ability to respond to out-of-season rainfall limits the productivity and profitability of these systems, and can lead to increased environmental problems such as salinity (as these systems ‘leak’ more water) and wind/water erosion (due to reduced groundcover over summer).  New systems, based on perennial pastures which can respond more to unpredictable rainfall patterns are needed to address these crises.  In order to profitably use these new farm systems, livestock will be critical.  My current research interests surround the management of grazing systems to achieve increased profit AND improved environmental outcomes.

EverGraze

Our ‘EverGraze’ project team based at CSU consists of 5 academic staff, 2 technical officers, a postdoctoral fellow and 2 PhD students.  EverGraze is a national project funded by the Future Farm Industries CRC, Meat and Livestock Australia, and Australian Wool Innovation (see also www.evergraze.com.au ) , and at CSU we manage 3 large research sites near Wagga.  These sites are investigating how changes in lambing date and sire can impact on the productivity and profit from sheep systems grazing improved perennial pastures, what mix of perennials in the farm system leads to increased profits and reduced risk in the face of climate change, and how we can use perennial plants to achieve dual outcomes (eg lucerne to reduce salinity and increase ewe ovulation rates, acacia shrubs to reduce salinity and improve lamb survival).  While much of the work we conduct is field-based, we  utilise the latest technology to monitor performance (eg time-domain reflectometry for water balance studies, GPS collars and proximity loggers to monitor lamb and ewe behaviour at lambing, trans-rectal ultrasonography for ovulation work).  Futhermore, the questions raised in the fieldwork provide excellent opportunities for lab/animal house based work as part of honours/PhD programs.

Potential project areas for Honours and/or PhD students include:

• Consequences of rapid changes in pasture feed source (eg lucerne-phalaris) on rumen function and animal health/production;
• Mechanisms involved in the observed increases in ovulation rate in ewes offered green feed over summer;
• Development and use of whole farm simulation models to cope with a variable climate in order to test the profitability of various farm systems;
• Shelter for newborn lambs – what are the most effective and economic options;
• Managing the fertility of ewes during drought  lotting – do we need to do more than simply meet their energy and protein requirements?

 

top of page ^

PhD Students

• Maggie Raeside (based in Hamilton, Vic) – ecology of tall fescue under grazing
• John Broster – Shelter to improve lamb survival
• Catherine Gulliver – the role of summer-active perennials to increase ewe ovulation rates

Past Students

• Gordon Refshauge (Hons 1999, markers for clean fleece weight) – now PhD student at University of Sydney.
• Matthew Lieschke (Hons 2006, increasing ovulation rate in ewes) – now working with Hassals and Associates in Sydney in consulting.
• Andrew Lieschke (Hons 2006, alkanes to estimate intake of canola and chicory) – now working with DAFF in Canberra in policy development.

 

top of page ^

Recent Papers

• Robertson, S.M, Friend, M.A. and King, B.J. (2008). Mild congenital goitre increases lamb mortality in southern NSW. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture (In Press).
• Freire, R, Clegg, HA, Buckley, P, Friend, MA, McGreevy, PD. (2008). The behavioural and physiological effects of virginiamycin in the diets of stereotypic horses. The Veterinary Record (In Press)
• Swain, D.L., Friend, M.A., Mayes, R.W., Wilson, L.A. and Hutchings, M.R. (2008). Combining an active transponder system with sprayed n-alkanes to quantify investigative and ingestive grazing behaviour of dairy cattle in pastures treated with slurry. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 109, 211-222.
• Clegg, H.A., Buckley, P., Friend, M.A. and McGreevy, P.D. (2008). The ethological and physiological characteristics of cribbing and weaving horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 109, 68-76.
• Friend, M.A., Robertson, S.R., Masters, D. and Avery, A. (2007). EverGraze- A project to achieve profit and environmental outcomes in the Australian grazing industries. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences. 16 (Supp. 2). 70-75.
• Masters, D, Edwards, N, Sillence, M, Avery, A, Revell, D, Friend, M, Sanford, P, Saul, G, Beverly, C and Young, J (2006). The role of livestock in the management of dryland salinity. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46, 733-741.
• Friend, M.A. and Robards, G.E. (2006). Wool production and quality of three strains of Merino in a semi-arid environment run under different grazing strategies. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46, 37-44.
• Friend, M.A. and Robards, G.E. (2005). Fibre diameter and staple strength of sheep selected for divergent clean fleece weight when subjected to a change in intake level, or intake level and diet type. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research. 196, 195-201.
• Friend, M.A., Kaiser, A.G., Piltz, J.W., Sillence, M.N. and Jolliffe, S.K. (2004). Use of delactose whey permeate as a supplement for cattle on a cereal straw based diet. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture. 44, 833-840.
• Friend, M.A. and Robards, G.E. (2003). The effect of ration sequence on the staple strength of genetically high and low wool producing Merino wethers. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research. 54(9): 923-932.

 

top of page ^