Friday, 02 June 2017 11:55

Farmer advisory panel for animal evaluation

Written by 
Jeremy Bryant. Jeremy Bryant.

New Zealand Animal Evaluation (NZAEL), a subsidiary of DairyNZ, has set up farmer advisory panel to provide practical, farmer-based feedback on animal evaluation R&D and communication.

NZAEL manager Jeremy Bryant says it is important for farmers to be involved in genetic evaluation development.

“The perspective and experience of farmers is invaluable in enhancing the animal evaluation system.”

The panel will be a forum for discussion between farmers, researchers and the NZAEL team, and to assist NZAEL in identifying practical issues.

The panel’s six farmers have businesses that represent a range of NZ farming systems. They are advocates of genetic improvement, and will meet five times a year to give practical views on R&D proposed or underway by NZAEL and DairyNZ researchers.

It is now giving feedback on two R&D areas: first, a project to reduce the ‘reproof bias’ in AE enrolled sires; second, a mid-term review of the economic models used to generate breeding worth. The review will begin this spring and the panel and other stakeholders will comment.

More like this

Come and chat to the DairyNZ team

DairyNZ's team is looking forward to catching up with Southland and Otago dairy farmers at the Southern Field Days in Waimumu near Gore next month.

Featured

Nedap launches standalone operation in New Zealand

With collars on more than seven million cows worldwide, Nedap says its standalone launch into New Zealand represents world-leading, reliable and proven smart technology solutions for dairy farmers.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

No show

OPINION: There will be no cows at Europe's largest agricultural show in Paris this year for the first time ever…

More cows, less barley

OPINION: Canterbury grows most of the country's wheat, barley and oat crops. But persistently low wheat prices, coupled with a…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter