DairyBio is the dairy industry’s leading bioscience research program and is a joint venture between Dairy Australia, Agriculture Victoria and the Gardiner Foundation. DairyBio is a five-year investment in dairy bioscience (July 2016 to June 2021).

The DairyBio Animal Program is targeting an additional value of $350 per cow per year in Australian dairy herds through genetic improvement, lower costs by enabling selection for health traits and developing improved breeding management tools. Genetic improvement for traits associated with cow health, fertility, efficiency and longevity will lead to greater farm income and improved sustainability and animal welfare, all are vital for a vibrant future of the dairy industry.

The DairyBio forage program projects are designed to breed plants with higher yield, higher energy and higher persistence for future commercial release and are aiming to have cultivars available in 2030 that will improve pasture productivity by up to $800 per hectare per year. The DairyBio Forage program focuses on three key areas of pasture performance – yield, persistence and quality. Yield increases of up to 40 per cent are possible with new hybrid breeding methods and the development of genomic selection tools for pasture. Quality of pastures will increase through new breeding technologies that reduce the indigestible part of ryegrass and improve environmental impacts. Persistence will increase through endophytes (fungi) with novel properties and through breeding for drought tolerance.

For more detailed information view:

2021 DairyBio Achievements Report

2019-20 DairyBio and DairyFeedbase Annual Report

2018-19 DairyBio and Dairyfeedbase Annual Report

 

2017-18 DairyBio Annual Report

DairyBio projects have built on the work of Dairy Futures CRC. For more information on Dairy Futures CRC, which operated from 2010 to 2016, please follow the link to their website: www.dairyfuturescrc.com.au

 

 

 

 

 

Our Management

The joint venture partners appoint the Co-Directors of DairyBio and they are responsible for management. Our co-Directors are Agriculture Victoria’s Professor Ben Cocks and Dairy Australia’s Kevin Argyle.

 

Our Leaders

DairyBio Animal Program

Professor Jennie Pryce DairyBio Animal Program Leader	Dr Hans Daetwyler Project Leader
DairyBio Forage Program
Dr Noel Cogan DairyBio Forage Program Leader	Dr Kathryn Guthridge Project Leader

Dr Matt Hayden Project Leader

Dr Tim Sawbridge Project Leader

Dr Pieter Badenhorst Project Leader

Joint Venture Partners

Agriculture Victoria is part of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR). The purpose of DJPR is to ensure Victoria’s strong economic performance by growing industries and regions. Agriculture research and innovation is delivered via an “innovation ecosystem” that converges government, industry/agribusiness and academia/knowledge centres with a clear focus on science and technology for productivity and biosecurity outcomes.

Dairy Australia is the national services body for dairy farmers and the industry. Its role is to help farmers adapt to a changing operating environment, and achieve a profitable, sustainable dairy industry. Dairy Australia acts as the ‘investment arm’ of the industry, investing in projects that can’t be done efficiently by individual farmers or companies.

The Gardiner Dairy Foundation purpose is to maximise benefits to the Victorian dairy industry and dairy communities. It’s mission is to work cooperatively with industry organisations and stakeholders to improve the Victorian dairy industry and to help foster innovation, enhance capability and act as a catalyst for change.

 

 

Project Partners

Project partners are critically important to DairyBio. Each partner brings additional resources and expertise to the project and allows project teams to work with the latest pasture and cattle genetics.

One of the inherent strengths of investment in dairy bioscience is that farmers can adopt new innovations by continuing their routine purchasing of pasture seed to renovate their land and cattle semen to impregnate cows. Project partners have important roles in the market to provide pasture varieties and to evaluate the merit of cattle.