Be afraid
OPINION: Your old mate hears some of the recent uptick in farmer confidence has slipped since the political polls started leading a bit to the left, away from the current coalition of National, Act and NZ First.
Apparently, several of these studs have written to B+L Genetics asking where it got the mandate for using levy resources – and potentially compromising the world leading SIL database owned by stud breeders – to make this move.
Sources tell yours truly that one ag scientist recently mentioned “off record” that while they felt uneasy chasing a non-productive trait, it was the first time in their career that research money was “falling into their laps and laboratories”.
Ironically, B+L Genetics must have gotten wind of the breeders’ annoyance and suddenly and swiftly sent out a survey to sheep farmers asking what they thought about methane trait selection – albeit it a few years too late.
