Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, NARO

Division of Meat Animal and Poultry Research

In the Division of Meat Animal and Poultry Research, we are studying the establishment of new breeding strategies, the advancement of nutritional management, and the development of livestock product evaluation technologies for beef cattle, pigs, and poultry.
In recent years, Japanese consumers' preferences for meat products have become much diversified. In addition, meat producers are seeking opportunities to offer products that meet market requirements, not only in Japan but also in overseas sales channels. On the other hand, there are long-standing concerns regarding livestock production, such as the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production and the spread of infectious diseases.
Therefore, we aim to create the advanced technologies demanded by the livestock industry as follows:
1) development of new technology enabling production of favorable and qualitative meat products by integrating broad range scientific approaches including sensory tests, consumers' preference analysis as well as chemical analysis to produce meat products matching the needs of the consumers,
2) bringing out genetic potential of livestock to produce breeding stocks of the producers' expectations which leads to the products of the consumers' demands by the cutting-edge breeding and nutritional control schemes integrated with novel evaluation strategies,
3) building up a feeding management technology to reduce N2O emissions derived from swine and poultry excrement by 5% from current level within next 5 years,
4) contributing to the sustainable production system of indigenous Japanese chickens by creating the state-of-the-art technology for the efficient preservation and use of primordial germ cells of the precious chicken genetic resources.

Manager

ISHII Kazuo

Research Group

Centers・Institutes