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Producing beef is a tough and demanding business. And, largely because of the high cost of feed, it can also be an expensive one.

But Dr Nicholas Hudson, a postdoctoral research scientist with CSIRO Livestock Industries, has a plan.

“If we could reduce the feed intake of Australian cattle by 10 per cent, without compromising protein conversion, the beef industry would save around $59 million a year,” he said.

“In fact, improving feed efficiency — doing more with less — is the key to making Australian beef more globally competitive.”

Nick is using his award to investigate the molecular processes and genetic controls that may make feed conversion more efficient in beef cattle.

“Within animal cells, microscopic ‘energy factories’ called mitochondria are responsible for converting food into energy,” he said.

“Recent studies of mice have confirmed that reducing mitochondrial numbers increases feed efficiency. This is also likely to be the case in other mammals, such as cows, but we don’t know which molecular ‘buttons’ have to be pressed to control mitochondrial numbers.

“I’m hoping to solve that puzzle.”

Nick’s research may also help with the development of tools to improve the genetic selection of cattle that are more feed efficient, reducing production costs and boosting returns for farmers. There are other benefits, too.

“Livestock with high feed efficiency not only produce less methane emissions, they also reduce the amount of grain diverted from human consumption and biofuel synthesis,” Nick said.

“It’s exciting to be involved in a project that will deliver such wide reaching social, economic and environmental benefits.”