Presenter
DR Michael Evans
Self-Employed Animal Nutrition Consultant and Manufacturer of Organic Supplements and Speciality Feeds for the Livestock and Aquaculture Industries.
Michael is a practicing animal nutritionist covering all species but with particular expertise in monogastric and ruminant livestock and aquaculture species. He completed a Bachelor of Applied Science degree with honours in Poultry Technology at the Queensland Agricultural College, Gatton, Queensland (now known as the University of Queensland - Gatton campus) in 1972. He started work with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries in Pig and Poultry extension where he developed a love of poultry nutrition and developed the first public digital computer based least cost formulation service to be offered to the Pig, Poultry and Livestock Industries. In addition, when with the Department, he published a monograph that included the first set of raw material composition tables for use in pig and poultry feed formulation within Queensland and Australia. Although, now somewhat dated, the composition tables and information in the monograph are still in use in these industries today. During this time, in 1979-80, Michael completed a Master of Science degree in Animal Production at the University of Reading, UK under Professor Trevor Morris.
In 1985 he left the Queensland DPI for a position in the New Zealand Stockfeed Industry and was appointed as a nutritionist with NRM Feeds based in Auckland, New Zealand. In his role as a Nutritionist with NRM he became involved in aquaculture, developing a range of aquaculture feeds for salmon, trout and freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium spp) for the New Zealand Aquaculture Industries and feeds for shrimp in New Caledonia. He left NRM in 1988 to do a Ph.D. in Poultry Nutrition at the University of New England, Armidale, NSW under Professor David Farrell. During his time at UNE he set up his own animal nutrition consultancy business and became the Australian/New Zealand agent for Format International,
Michael has completed numerous local and international consultancy projects, including a University teaching project in Java Indonesia for the International Development Program (IDP), a joint venture stockfeed and broiler breeder project in Myanmar (Burma) for 7 months for Japfa Comfeed Indonesia, and has acted as an animal nutrition consultant to numerous stockfeed mills, pig, poultry, feedlot, dairy, pastoral and aquaculture operations (including organic operations) in Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Tahiti and India. His special areas of interest include strategic planning, resource allocation and parametric evaluation of raw materials in Feed Formulation and Animal Nutrition Modelling in order to improve the productivity and profitability of commercial feed milling and livestock operations. He also has a major interest in organic livestock production.
In 2004 he set up a facility to manufacture supplements for the organic livestock industries and has recently developed an organic feed for Silver Perch. He is currently a member of the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) Organic Standards Committee and the monogastric sub-committee. He recently became a member of AAQ and a sponsor to the AAQ.
Balancing Diets
Role of Feed Additives.
Feeding Strategies.
On-Farm Feed Production.