The A$90m Innovative Dairy Products (IDP) centre is due to begin research into cow clones and new dairy products, with the aim of making Australia a world leader in biotechnology.
John Watson, chairman of the dairy industry’s Co-operative Research Centre (CRC), revealed that IDP will augment the projects currently underway. Among these is the DNA testing to increase the milk capacity and quality of genetically cloned cows. The CRC added A$17m of government grants to the project last week.
The centre has received a further A$70m from seven core member groups; Probio, Monash University, Bonlac, Genetics Australia, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, CSIRO and the Dairy Research and Development.
Watson said: “Whether it be developing cows which produce more nutritious milk or new ingredients for the food industry, biotechnology offers enormous potential for dairy farmers, companies and consumers.”
