Annual forage crops provide high-quality fodder for livestock during autumn and winter feed-gaps in south-eastern Australia. We investigated potential animal-production benefits of grazing mixed annual forage crops. Average daily gain was lower for female, but not male, lambs grazing brassica only than for those grazing forage mixtures. The low rumen pH when lambs grazed brassica only could have been associated with subacute rumen acidosis. Future studies should assess the effect of forage mix on fibre degradation and growth rates over a longer grazing period.

Canola meal (CM) is a potentially important protein source for poultry. The amino acid profile of CM is reasonably well balanced, but digestibility of amino acids is key to the nutritional value of CM. Amino acid analysis and in vivo digestibility assays are costly and time consuming. The aim of this study was to determine whether the digestible amino acid content of CM could be deduced from its crude protein content, which is routinely determined.

This article belongs to the Collection Sustainable Animal Agriculture for Developing Countries 2023.

Growth and carcass weight of meat goats on tropical pastures is determined by forage, and especially grass, quality. Supplementation of urea or cottonseed meal in Australian farms is common, but Desmanthus, as a shrub tropical legume that is rich in true protein, was also found to greatly increase bodyweight and yield heavier carcasses when fed to Boer goats. More work is required to identify alternate sources of true protein in tropical regions.

Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, agricultural activities were permitted to continue as essential services in Australia. This study showed that most regions in Australia did not experience significant changes in farm-level decisions concerning beef cattle movement and trade during the COVID period. Instead, minor adjustments were made to address the demand changes. The findings show the effectiveness of government policies in response to a disease outbreak like COVID.