New research on bloat in southern beef systems

Charles Sturt University researchers are calling on southern Australian beef producers to complete a short online survey as part of research examining the impact of bloat on the industry.

The research through the Fred Morley Centre, and involving scientists from the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, is investigating the prevalence of bloat, the common features across production systems and if prevention strategies are sufficient.

Charles Sturt Professor Bruce Allworth said the research is in response to industry calls for more knowledge about the condition.

“We’ve had a lot of enquiry about bloat from beef producers in the last two or three years, and feedback from producers indicates they have been losing cattle despite using preventive measures,” Professor Allworth said.

“We need to know the extent of the losses, and see if we can identify any specific risk factors.

“We are also hoping to follow up with more intense monitoring in a number of herds this coming year.”

The survey is anonymous and will take 10 to 15 minutes to complete online here.

Producers and managers of beef production enterprises are invited to take part in the survey and no prior knowledge of bloat is required to take part.