Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched a tool that lets commercial sheep and beef farmers benchmark their flock’s genetics for the first time, says Dr Jason Archer, Head of Genetics at Beef + Lamb New Zealand.

The tool, called nProve Tracker, works by asking farmers which rams they have been using and how. Archer says it then generates a genetic prediction at the flock level.

“When someone comes to one of the ram breeders here and wants to buy a ram, the conversation can be much more informed; ‘Here’s where I am for reproduction. Here’s where I am for growth. What do I need at the moment?”

The longer-term ambition, he says, is for flock genetic values to be reflected in the capital value of animals when they are sold, in the same way breeding worth figures underpin dairy herd transactions. The tool is currently voluntary and unverified, with genomic sampling of a subset of animals a possible future step to confirm sire profiles.

Archer says five traits sit at the centre of the genetics work Beef + Lamb is doing: facial eczema, internal parasites, meat quality, feed efficiency, and methane. He says these were chosen because they are hard to measure and costly to improve through traditional means.

“Growth, easy to measure, but still just as important.

“It’s just we’ve got a better handle on it.”

Balancing multiple traits is something every ram breeder is constantly doing, he says, and measuring them is the key to finding animals that excel across more than one.

“As long as you’re measuring two things that might need balancing, you can find animals that break whatever association there is.

“You can find the animals that do both, as long as you measure.”

Genomics is the opportunity the industry needs to accelerate, Archer says, particularly for traits that affect market access and consumer acceptance.

“We need to do that, but we need to do it as an industry in a more designed and planned way than what we’re doing at the moment.”

The government is co-funding some of the investments Beef + Lamb wants to make, he says, which he says is important given the export revenue the sector generates.

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