Genetics landscape is evolving
New Zealand's genetics landscape will continue to evolve, says outgoing New Zealand Animal Evaluation Ltd (NZAEL) chair Mark Townshend.
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.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford is claiming “some real success” on the 12 policy priorities it placed before the Coalition Government.
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.