Tuesday, 21 April 2015 10:16

On-line bull team builder

Written by 
Pierre Bull Pierre Bull

Go online to see the impact of genetic improvement on farm profit and team averages, says NZ Animal Evaluation Ltd (NZAEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DairyNZ.

This is made possible through a new online bull team builder. Instead of flicking through catalogues to compare bulls; farmers will have all the information now available in one place, says NZAEL manager Dr Jeremy Bryant.

“They will be able to visit the DairyNZ website and select bulls which meet their specific needs without compromising Breeding Worth (BW). Preferred traits might include enhanced BW, productivity, fertility, long-life, calving ease, conformation or temperament,” he says.

Once the most suitable sires have been chosen, farmers will be able to benchmark their teams against the Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) average, to see how their bull team stacks up across a range of traits.

Hauraki Plains farmers Heather and Stewart Fowlie have tested the team builder and appreciate its user-friendliness.

“I really love the programme. It enables me to move bulls in and out easily and see the effect of my decisions on team average breeding values and BW. If I want to strengthen udder traits in the herd, and also want to select say three bulls from the top five indexed bulls, it certainly is a quick way of choosing those traits without compromising overall team BW. It’s very easy to navigate and I think we will use it a lot,” says Heather.

Bryant says the team builder was developed to give farmers power at their fingertips.

www.dairynz.co.nz/bullteam

More like this

Genetics landscape is evolving

New Zealand's genetics landscape will continue to evolve, says outgoing New Zealand Animal Evaluation Ltd (NZAEL) chair Mark Townshend.

Plan based on farmer needs

OPINION: Kiwi dairy farmers continuously strive to be world-leaders in pasture-based production, emissions efficiency and animal care. Our sector's success in global trade relies on these factors.

Featured

Horticulture exports hit $8.4B, surge toward $10B by 2029

A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.

National

Machinery & Products

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

110,000 visitors!

OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.

Sticky situation

OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter