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Rebecca Edith Hickson is a New Zealand academic scientist, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in improving the production of beef from cast-off dairy calves.

Academic career

Hickson completed a PhD titled Assistance at parturition of primiparous, two-year-old, Angus heifers and the effect of liveweight gain of heifers in early pregnancy on birth weight of the calf at Massey University in 2009. Her research was supervised by professors Stephen Morris, Paul Kenyon and Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos. Hickson then joined the faculty of Massey University, rising to full professor in 2022. As of 2022 she was the chair of the Massey Animal Ethics Committee. At the time of her promotion to professor, Hickson had published 145 peer-reviewed articles and supervised 32 post-graduate students.

Hickson's research focuses on beef production, and with Professor Steve Morris she leads a long-running research trial to try to find better beef cows by breeding from cast-off dairy calves. The research is funded by Beef + Lamb NZ. The research programme encompasses genetics, breeding for traits such as pelt and meat quality, as well as weight-gain, calving ease and length of gestation, breeding efficiency and longevity. Environmental and animal welfare perspectives are also taken into account, and Hickson has helped developed animal welfare protocols for cows in beef calf–cow systems. The research programme has contributed to the government-owned Pāmū (Landcorp) herd setting a goal of 2030 to rear all its non-replacement calves on its 45 farms.

Selected works

• Hickson RE; Morris ST; Kenyon PR; Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos (1 December 2006). "Dystocia in beef heifers: a review of genetic and nutritional influences". New Zealand Veterinary Journal. 54 (6): 256–264. doi:10.1080/00480169.2006.36708. ISSN 0048-0169. PMID 17151722. Wikidata Q36676081.
• RA Corner-Thomas; PR Kenyon; ST Morris; AL Ridler; RE Hickson; AW Greer; CM Logan; HT Blair (14 August 2015). "Influence of demographic factors on the use of farm management tools by New Zealand farmers". New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. 58 (4): 412–422. doi:10.1080/00288233.2015.1063513. ISSN 0028-8233. Wikidata Q125805810.
• Rhiannon C. Handcock; Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos; Lorna R. McNaughton; Penny J. Back; Grant R. Edwards; Rebecca E. Hickson (23 April 2018). "Live weight and growth of Holstein-Friesian, Jersey and crossbred dairy heifers in New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. 62 (2): 173–183. doi:10.1080/00288233.2018.1465984. ISSN 0028-8233. Wikidata Q125805811.
• Hickson RE; Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos; Dalley DE; Clark DA; Holmes CW (1 June 2006). "Yields and persistency of lactation in Friesian and Jersey cows milked once daily". Journal of Dairy Science. 89 (6): 2017–2024. doi:10.3168/JDS.S0022-0302(06)72269-X. ISSN 0022-0302. PMID 16702265. Wikidata Q83348178.
• Emma Pettigrew; R E Hickson; S T Morris; N Lopez-Villalobos; S J Pain; P R Kenyon; H T Blair (21 March 2019). "The effects of birth rank (single or twin) and dam age on the lifetime productive performance of female dual purpose sheep (Ovis aries) offspring in New Zealand". PLOS One. 14 (3): e0214021. doi:10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0214021. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6428402. PMID 30897175. Wikidata Q64067291.
• R C Handcock; Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos; L R McNaughton; P J Back; G R Edwards; R E Hickson (1 March 2019). "Positive relationships between body weight of dairy heifers and their first-lactation and accumulated three-parity lactation production". Journal of Dairy Science. 102 (5): 4577–4589. doi:10.3168/JDS.2018-15229. ISSN 0022-0302. PMID 30827540. Wikidata Q92082678.
• RA Corner-Thomas; RE Hickson; ST Morris; PJ Back; AL Ridler; KJ Stafford; PR Kenyon (13 February 2015). "Effects of body condition score and nutrition in lactation on twin-bearing ewe and lamb performance to weaning". New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research. 58 (2): 156–169. doi:10.1080/00288233.2014.987401. ISSN 0028-8233. Wikidata Q125805809.

References

1. Hickson, Rebecca Edith (2009). Assistance at parturition of primiparous, two-year-old, Angus heifers and the effect of liveweight gain of heifers in early pregnancy on birth weight of the calf (PhD thesis). Massey Research Online. hdl:10179/3355.
2. Zealand, Massey University, New. "My Doctoral Story - Rebecca Hickson (2009) - Massey University". shado-ns.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 6 May 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ Massey News (25 November 2021). "2021 Professorial promotions announced". Massey News.
4. Group, Rural News. "Seeking the best 'outcast' cows". www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz. Retrieved 6 May 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. "Putting the bull before rewards". www.farmersweekly.co.nz. 13 February 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
6. ^ "Pāmu aims to leave no calf behind". www.farmersweekly.co.nz. 23 November 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
7. ^ "Taste-test new meat product at National Fieldays". www.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
8. Kaurivi, Y. Baby; Hickson, Rebecca; Laven, Richard; Parkinson, Tim; Stafford, Kevin (September 2020). "Developing an Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Cows in Extensive Beef Cow-Calf Systems in New Zealand. Part 2: Categorisation and Scoring of Welfare Assessment Measures". Animals. 10 (9): 1592. doi:10.3390/ani10091592. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 7552219. PMID 32906782.
9. "Tuapaka Hill Country research symposium". www.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 6 May 2024.

External links

• Beef Genetics for the Dairy Industry - Dr Rebecca Hickson, 23 May 2016, via YouTube

• New Zealand academics
• New Zealand women academics
• Academic staff of Massey University
• Massey University alumni