Program Overview and Aim
The Sustainable Precision Feeding in Broiler Chickens in Australia project is a world-first research consortium that is helping to secure the future of Australia’s most popular animal protein.
Funded by AgriFutures Australia and led by University of Queensland’s (UQ) Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, the Program represents a world-first global collaboration of eleven Australian and international universities, the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (QDPI), and nine research organisations and project sponsors.
The Program will investigate how chicken meat producers can use nutrition to optimise gut health, animal welfare, and sustainability. To achieve this outcome six programs have been created to address the priorities of research:
- Designing broiler breeder nutrition profiles to facilitate the development of the progeny
- Re-defining amino acid nutrition principles that minimise dietary protein levels
- Implementing innovative feed formulations that decrease reliance on soybean
- Seeding a healthy chicken microbiota and nourishing it
- Selecting bacterial functional signatures of a healthy gut
- Adapting nutritional principles to improve litter quality and environmental impact
Governance Structure
To ensure effective collaboration and deliver research with real-world impact and strong adoption potential, the Chicken Meat Consortium has established a robust governance framework. This structure oversees all research activities and actively consults and engages with experts from across the broader chicken meat community.
The governance framework includes:
- Research Program Leaders Team
- Steering Committee
- Technical Working Groups
- Communication and Extension Working Group
These groups work closely across programs and disciplines to stay responsive to emerging industry challenges and maximise the adoption and impact of research outcomes.
The Consortium Leadership Team
A/Prof Tim Wester
Program Leader, 3B
Local protein-rich ingredients
Prof Dana Stanley
Program Leader, 4
Precision early gut microbiota
Dr Mark Dunlop
Program Leader, 5
Litter management
Dr Stanley Chen
Consortium Manager
Prof Eugeni Roura
Director, Program Leader, 1
Maternal programming and amino acid precision feeding
Em Prof Mike Gidley
Program Leader, 2
Carbohydrate precision feeding
Prof Sonia Liu
Deputy Director, Program Leader, 3A
Innovative diet formulation
A/Prof Reza Abdollahi
Program Leader, 3B
Local protein-rich ingredients
Prof Ruth Zadoks
Program Leader, 6
Integration program
Ms Felicity McIntosh
Communications & Extension Manager
Partnership and Stakeholders
AgriFutures Chicken Meat Consortium – Nutrition, Gut Health and Environment project (PRO-016111) is a multi-institutional and multi-national collaboration, part of the AgriFutures Chicken Meat Program.
The Consortium team acknowledges funding and support from all stakeholders. It includes AgriFutures Australia with its associated levy payers, The University of Queensland, The University of Sydney, Central Queensland University, Department of Primary Industries Queensland, Massey University, Aviagen, dsm-firmenich, Lucta, Eurolysine (formally Metex Noovistago), Lallemand, Poultry Research Foundation, World Poultry Science Association New Zealand Branch, and another nine international universities.
Student Cohort
Program 1: Maternal programming and Amino acid precision feeding
Bipul Chandra Ray
Nadeera Disanayaka
Sui Ki Chau (David)
Anguara Khatun
Fancisca Diaz-Aviles
Program 2: Carbohydrate precision feeding
Shuyu Yang
Xueping Jing
Program 3: Innovative diet formulations
Milan Kandal
Carria Xie
Shay Sadr
Yutong Fu
Deng Zhan
Damilola Kareem
Obright Hamungalu
Mengzhu Wang (Jojo)
Program 4: Early gut microbiota
Maria Whitton
Fatemeh Sharifi
Program 6: Integration
Mian Shah
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this project being funded?
At AgriFutures Australia, the aim of our Chicken Meat Program is to invest in research, development and extension (RD&E) to increase knowledge and understanding that fosters an innovative, adaptive and valuable chicken meat industry.
The Australian chicken meat industry aims to continuously meet the evolving demands of its strong consumer base and stakeholders. These include high welfare standards, long-term industry sustainability and mitigation of environmental impact. Notably, all of these are impacted by animal nutrition.
Australians currently consume more chicken meat per annum than any other protein source, and the Australian chicken meat industry is a pillar of success in the broader agriculture sector.
The Australian chicken meat industry contributes $7.9 billion to the Australian economy, sustains 58,000 jobs across the country, and is growing consistently at 4% per annum across the past three decades. With a gross value of production of $2.78 billion and an approximate retail value of $6.6 billion, the industry accounts for 0.45% of the Australian GDP.
The AgriFutures Chicken Meat Program focuses on chicken meat production in Australia (from genetic factors through to production and post-farm gate processing) to improve food safety, develop and implement measures to improve industry environmental impact, improve production throughout the supply chain, and strengthen the industry’s ability to meet consumer needs.
Who is involved in the Program?
Funded by AgriFutures Australia and led by Professor Eugeni Roura from University of Queensland’s (UQ) Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, the project represents a world-first global collaboration of eleven Australian and international universities, the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QDAF), and nine research organisations and project sponsors.
This project represents a world-first research program structure – a consortium of Australian and international researchers and partner organisations – with this level of complexity not seen in a chicken meat program of research or by any RDC in Australia before.
How is the research being undertaken?
The project has been structured around five key research programs:
- Maternal programming and amino acid precision feeding
- Carbohydrate precision feeding
- Innovative diet formulations for modern genotype broiler chickens
- Precision early gut microbiota development
- Litter management to support production, welfare and reduce environmental impacts
A sixth stream of work will integrate the nutritional strategies developed in programs 1, 2 and 3 to assess return on investment, facilitate industry adoption and link novel nutritional approaches (from previous programs) with improved broiler gut health and in-shed environment.
I want to learn more about the Program. Who do I contact?
Have a question, idea, or want to collaborate?
Reach out to our team and be part of shaping the future of Australia’s chicken meat industry.
Professor Eugeni Roura
Lead Researcher, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
University of Queensland
Get in touch
Sarika Pandya
Program Manager, Chicken Meat
AgriFutures Australia
Get in touch
