Delve into the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) genetics programme, at the Beef Progeny Test field day at Lochinver Station on 5 March. Gain firsthand insights into industry advancements and innovations driving improved profitability and sustainability and hear from the experts about this seven-year programme.
Farmers will get the chance to hear more about the ground-breaking Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) genetics programme and the across-breed Beef Progeny Test (BPT) at a field day at Lochinver Station near Taupō next week.
The field day on 5 March will provide key insights into the seven-year INZB programme, which aims to improve profitability and enhance sustainability across the beef industry through the development and adoption of improved genetics.
Lochinver Station, is one of New Zealand's largest farms and one of the programme’s two Beef Progeny Test sites, alongside Pāmu’s Kepler farm near Te Anau.
The across-breed Progeny Test, which builds on previous progeny tests, uses Angus, Hereford, and Simmental genetics to identify the performance of agreed-on traits, linking with international beef and dairy beef genetics.
It will provide the ability to demonstrate the differences and similarities between the breeds, along with the benefits of hybrid vigour, and to evaluate good bulls on the same basis.
The event also includes comprehensive updates from B+LNZ Genetics on the programme and insights from the Beef Progeny Test data. There will be a live beef class structural assessment demonstration by accredited Structural Assessment Technician Bill Austin, and the ever-popular session on parasite management led by Ginny Dodunski, the programme manager of the B+LNZ-funded Wormwise project.
Melissa Sowden, Agribusiness Technical Support for Silver Fern Farms, will discuss the importance and value of carcase traits from a processor perspective.
Don't miss this opportunity to witness industry innovation firsthand and stay informed with the latest information and skills. Register here for the INZB Field Day.
About the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) programme
INZB is a seven-year Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures partnership supported by B+LNZ, the Ministry for Primary Industries, and the New Zealand Meat Board. It aims to boost the sector's profits by $460m over the next 25 years. Focused on increasing uptake of the use of high-quality genetics in the beef industry, the four main components of the programme are developing New Zealand-specific breeding indexes, building an across-breed genetic evaluation and data infrastructure, running a Beef Progeny Test and linking in data from commercial herds.
Learn more about the programme by watching this video.