There was a good turn out to Ag Research at Ruakura

Don Wilson introduced  both Ric and Marita Broadhurst our guides, hosts and speakers

 

Ric gave us a tour of the Ruakura Small Animal Colony along with a casual discussion of how and why they use lab animals in research, the controls they operate under, how they create genetically modified animals (and why) and some of the successes they have achieved over the past few years.

 

Marita who works in the sheep milk programme gave a short talk on the current state of sheep dairy in NZ concentrating on the potential advantages this relatively new farming venture has for those who get involved.

 

Our visit to the McKeekan Centre Ag Research Ruakura was very enlightening.  The group was split into two and while half listened to Marita talk about dairy sheep and benefits of sheep milk the other half of the group went to another building where we heard all about the rats and mice.

The building was tightly controlled and we all donned yellow overshoes before checking out these inquisitive little animals. Ric told us that funding for Ag research was winding down.

The ethics committee are very involved in animal welfare. Ric talked about finding ways to prevent disease such as diabetes and obesity. It was interesting to observe the mice that had fluorescent proteins attached to the dna. Their ears, tails and and eyes lit up as we checked out these mice through special glasses.

Biotoxin testing was presently being researched with mice to check possible tolerance levels in humans. Lipids are currently being used to treat drug overdose and this is directly due to testing that was carried out in this facility.

Marita spoke on the sheep milky way and was part of the dairy foods team with over 20years experience,

The industry was established about 5 years ago to boost the dairy industry. Blue River was the first. The main breed of sheep milked are East Freshens and the milk is utilized in the making of cheese and milk powder which both are in high demand and attract premium prices. Sheep milk can have beneficial effects for your digestive systems .

The Sheep are milked in a similar way to cows and produce about a pint per milking, which can be up to twice a day. Landcorp are one of the prime movers.

A very worthwhile visit and our president Robyn Cricket closed the meeting with thanks to our hosts.