Welcome to Poultry@Sydney!
This newsletter will highlight the happenings at the Poultry Research Foundation (PRF) within The University of Sydney on a regular basis. We encourage you to share our articles with relevant friends and colleagues who can subscribe here to join the PRF mailing list.
Poultry research at The University of Sydney has a long and distinguished history. The PRF was established in 1958 and has made significant contributions to the advancement and practice of poultry science globally. For instance, the characterisation of the role of biotin in the aetiology of the Fatty Liver and Kidney Syndrome in the late 1960s to early 1970s by Dr Charles Payne; the identification of the low metabolisable energy wheat phenomenon by Dr Anne Rogel during her PhD program in the early 1980s and its subsequent elucidation in the late 1980s to early 1990s (Annison et al.), which contributed significantly to the widespread use of xylanases in the later years. The impact of environmental temperature on amino acid requirements of broilers as well as the importance of dietary electrolyte balance gained world-wise acceptance thanks to the research led by Dr Derrick Balnave between the 1980-1990s. During this period, our flagship conference, the Australian Poultry Science Symposium (APSS) was launched. Indeed the PRF’s annual symposium has become a must-attend conference for poultry scientists and industry practitioners from all across the globe and its reputation significantly enhanced by Dr Peter Groves and the dedicated APSS devotees, Jo-Ann Geist and Benjamin Geist over the past twenty years. More will be written about APSS in future issues of Poultry@Sydney.