Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarship 2017 recipient Branxton's Jessica Pitkin will use the award to investigate sustainable on-farm practices in the poultry industry.
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Jessica who grew-up in Singleton and once bred heritage breed chickens today travels 1400 kms/week in her job as a broiler serviceman for Baidia Poultry advising turkey growers throughout the region.
The Nuffield Scholarships are awarded to leading young primary producers and managers who undertake cutting edge research into agriculture and fisheries across the globe using a $30,000 bursary for a 16-week program of group and individual travel during 2017.
Jessica’s scholarship was supported by the Rural Industries RIRDC/Chicken Meat Research Committee. A Rural Science graduate from the University of New England Jessica wants to investigate what she describes as a ‘whole’ system approach to poultry production.
In particular she wants to see if there is anything available apart from materials already used in Australia that would be suitable for shed bedding. And also how best to use the spent litter in a sustainable and practicable way. “Wood shavings have to be transported over long distances and due to health concerns, re-using litter is becoming less common” she said.
“Its getting harder to obtain hardwood shavings and costs are rising. Straw is more eco-friendly but very difficult to manage in the shed. Rice hulls are also used in chickensheds but turkeys eat them in preference to their feed– so I will visit farms overseas to see what they do in this area.”
Jessica will travel to the USA to visit poultry shed ventilation experts and whole systems farming in action. She will also travel to Europe and China. “A 40 hectare farm in Germany for example to runs pigs and chickens grows all its own grains and pastures to support the entire enterprise – whole systems in action,” she said.