Beef genetics programme Informing New Zealand Beef is seeking bulls for the next mating season on Pamu’s Kepler farm near Te Anau and Lochinver Station near Taupo.
Beef + Lamb genetics specialist and programme science lead Jason Archer said the programme aimed to boost the sector’s profits by $460 million over the next 25 years and focused on increasing the uptake of the use of genetics in the beef industry.
The four main components were building a genetic evaluation and data infrastructure, progeny test herds, developing breeding objectives and indexes and developing new data sources.
A "beef progeny test" allowed breeds to be compared as well as bulls, Dr Archer said.
"It means Beef + Lamb can evaluate good bulls on the same level playing field while demonstrating the differences and similarities between the breeds as well as the benefits of hybrid vigour.
"The test is playing a critical role in creating a stronger future for New Zealand’s beef farmers and the industry."
Breeders of bulls selected for use in the test would be provided with detailed information about the performance of their bull’s progeny, including processing data in the case of steers.
The test built on data gathered from a previous test, mating carried out between 2014 and 2020 on several large-scale commercial cattle operations throughout the country, Dr Archer said.
