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		News Release: Armidale becomes focal point for world livestock data Date 28/8/01 No 118/01 The University of New England, Armidale, is set to become the site of the world's leading livestock information centre. The Federal Government's grant of $4.5 million to create the centre based at UNE could attract another $80 million over time from collaborative projects, according to its proposer, Arthur Rickards. Mr Rickards, the Managing Director of the Agricultural Business Research Institute (ABRI) on the UNE campus, said the new "virtual" research centre would play a crucial role in meeting the global demand for livestock products, which is predicted to double in the next 20 years. He said the International Livestock Resources and Information Centre (ILRIC), announced in Canberra last week, would "place an umbrella over its participating organisations in such a way that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts". "A great strength of UNE is in livestock research," Mr Rickards said. "We've got it all, including the CRC for Cattle and Beef Quality." The Beef CRC, the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) and the Sheep Industry CRC, as well as four other organisations affiliated with UNE or ABRI, are the partners in the new venture. Dr Bruce Standen, a UNE graduate and former Managing Director of the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation, will be its Chairman. "A lot of the resources for ILRIC are already in place because this is a virtual facility," Mr Rickards said. "After we buy some very powerful computers to handle the large databases involved, and enhance our software, we'll be able to take on the world.   "ABRI is currently operating in 20 countries, and that will scale up as a result of this project. We're already receiving 350,000 requests for information each month on our website and, with the more diverse databases created by this project, the number is likely to rise to 2 million a month." He referred to a test project in Argentina, in which a syndicate running 5,000 head of cattle records its production data and genetic evaluations with ABRI over the Web. "They then market their cattle effectively using the genetic evaluations developed by AGBU," he said. ILRIC will operate as a high-speed communications centre providing information throughout the world. "There is a need to get research information out quickly to help producers improve productivity," Mr Rickards said. "There's a desperate demand for animal protein in developing countries, but you can't address it by just increasing numbers of livestock." The Vice-Chancellor of UNE, Professor Ingrid Moses, said she was delighted at the success of the proposal, developed by Mr Rickards and UNE's Executive Director (Business and Administration), Graeme Dennehy. "We are grateful for the Commonwealth Government's support of this project," she said. "Its inclusion in the Government's Major National Research Facilities Program will help UNE maintain its position at the forefront of agricultural research and teaching." Media contact: Arthur Rickards, ABRI, Armidale (02) 6773 3555 or Jim Scanlan, Public Relations, UNE, Armidale (02) 6773 3049.

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