Recent Publications, Reports and Seminars by Professor R A Leng

2008 - The Australian Government Greenhouse Gas Office commissioned Professor Leng to review the potential to use nitrates in ruminant feeds to limit enteric methane production.  A report was submitted to the Governments now Department of Climate Change in October 2008.  This report and the associated Powerpoint presentation are listed below.

Report.pdf
Nitrate PP Dec 2008.ppt (600K) - requires MS Powerpoint

Endophyte ill thrift is a little known problem in cattle, sheep, goats and alpaca production. Ron came across the problem soon after retirement from the University and is in the process of writing a text book on ill thrift of ruminants at pasture. The paper was presented at a meeting organized by the Meat and Livestock Association in Melbourne 2005.

Leng, R.A., 2005. Production Research Priorities- Endophyte Ill thrift. In Perennial Ryegrass Toxicosis in Australia. K.F.M. Reed, S.W. Page and I.J. Lean) MEAT AND LIVESTOCK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, North Sydney, Australia, 2005 [in press]. pp200

Production Reasearch Priorities.pdf (240k)
Research Priorities Endophytes.ppt (460k) - requires MS Powerpoint

As a foundation member of the University of Tropical Agriculture Foundation [www.utafoundation.org ] Ron has been associated with the online journal Livestock Research for Rural Development and assists the President Professor T R Preston in setting editorial policy. This paper sets out editorial policy to not accept papers dealing with industrialized animal production on the basis that future fossil fuel supply and costs suggest such systems are inappropriate for development

Preston T R and Leng R A 2004 Global decline in natural resources: implications for the scope and content of papers for publication in LRRD Livestock Research for Rural Development (16) 10

Oil Decline.pdf (940k)

For some 20 years Ron has foreseen the time when world energy resources would be unable to supply world demand. This point of view was published by the Journal “Outlook on Agriculture” in 1994 [Volume 23 No.2] in which Ron’s article “Look at it this way” was the lead paper. Since then he has continued to develop these themes and has presented seminars through out the country with the most recent presentation listed below.

Leng R A [2005] Implications of the decline in world oil reserves for future world livestock production. In Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition in Australia Volume 15 (2005) pp 95-105, Editors P B Cronje and N Richards. Printed by University of New England Armidale NSW 2351 Australia.

Leng R A [2004]Requirements for protein meals for ruminant meat production in developing countries In Protein sources for the Animal Feed Industry. FAO Animal Production and Health Proceedings Rome.

11Leng.pdf (160k)
Armidale Talk.ppt (2.5MB) - requires MS Powerpoint
Thi resources paper.pdf (390k)

In 1991 during an assignment in Bangladesh, Ron came across the work of PRISM an NGO that was developing duckweed aquaculture. The ability of aquatic plants to regenerate potable water from sewage and to provide a potential feed for livestock was seen to have enormous potential. Research in the University of Tropical Agriculture, Vietnam developed and Ron was asked to write a book on the potential of Duckweed as a feed for livestock [Duckweed FAO, Rome]. When the largest lake in South America [Lake Maracaibo] suddenly experienced a duckweed bloom that eventually covered 15-20% of the lake’s surface, Ron was one of the scientists called in to attempt to understand the reasons. The report co authored with other members of the University of Tropical Agriculture was subsequently presented to the government of Venezuela.

R A Leng, T R Preston and Lylian Rodríguez The duckweed invasion of Lake Maracaibo: An evaluation of the causes and proposals for future action. Report to The Government of Venezuela 2004

Reporteng072204.pdf (2.0MB)

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Last modified: 10/10/05