In beef cattle breeding programs, the major benefits of genomic selection is selecting young animals for meat quality without killing the selected candidates. The objectives of the study were to examine the effect of SNP density and to evaluate the effect of using SNPs preselected from imputed whole-genome sequence for genomic prediction. Our results showed that various marker densities yielded a similar prediction accuracy; however, the inclusion of preselected markers in the prediction analysis improved prediction accuracy in beef cattle.

Crossbreeding can accelerate specialisation of sheep production systems towards the production of fine-micron wool and high-quality meat. To test this, we studied the consequences of two levels of crossbreeding Dohne Merino with Corriedale on productive and reproductive traits. Crossbreeding generated positive modifications in wool quality, animal growth, meat production and puberty in comparison with pure Corriedale, accompanied with a decrease in wool production, and minor impacts on prolificacy and lambing percentage, without consequences on meat quality and gastrointestinal nematode resistance.

Beef cows consume 70% of feed required for beef production and 70% of this feed is used just to maintain the breeding female. Measuring feed consumption in grazing beef cows is not accurate or practical. Modelling approaches can be used to identify cows that wean more weight of calf per unit of feed required allowing genetic selection of more efficient cows.

Restricting dry matter intake (DMI) using automated feeders may alter feeding behaviour and impact on short term measurements of methane (CH₄) emissions. Methane emissions measured using portable accumulation chambers (PACs) were affected not only by daily DMI, but also time since last meal.  Controlling time between last meal and CH₄ measurement should be incorporated into experimental designs when investigating CH4 emissions from sheep using PAC or any other short-term measurements.

Water scarcity, often accompanied by limited water intake (WI) in livestock, may result in pre-slaughter stress, affecting meat quality parameters. The effect of water restrictions levels with vitamin C (VC) supplementation was evaluated on the performance and meat quality of goat meat. While bodyweight loss was lessened with VC supplementation and sensory attributes affected, limited WI had no negative effect on most of the meat parameters measured. Supplementation of VC can help reduce bodyweight loss during the period of water scarcity.

Palm kernel cake has the potential to reduce production costs without affecting performance or product quality. In this trial, 12% inclusion of palm kernel cake increased performance without affecting meat quality of goat kids. This knowledge allows us to make decisions on replacement with palm kernel cake when common ingredients are in short supply or at high prices.

Farmers, advisors and researchers need better methods for analysing farm work, to address challenges affecting the social sustainability and profitability of livestock farming. We report results from the first Australian trial of a method developed in France for assessing farm work organisation: The Work Assessment Method. Participating farmers reported that the Work Assessment Method provided insights not available from standard physical and financial analyses and the study provides a foundation for research to further develop the Work Assessment Method for Australian livestock production systems.