IGS visit recap

Early this month we were lucky enough to have International Genetic Solutions (IGSs) director of International business, Luke Bowman, visit from America.

Although it was only a quick visit a huge amount of knowledge was shared, and it was great to put a face to the company. Luke hopes to make NZ a regular stop on his travels.

A huge thank you to Nick, Jim and the rest of the Symes family at Hiwiroa Shorthorns for taking Ella (PBB), Luke and his father Phillip for a tour of their farm and herd.

It was great to give them a taste of how our agriculture sector works and highlight the difference to that in America.  Seeing cows break fed on a hill was a bit of any eye-opener.

The second day of Luke's trip saw a visit to the PBB office for an overview of how PBB works, and facilitation of some great open discussions with various breed societies. Thanks to those who logged on to the discussion sessions. If you were unable to attend but have a question for Luke, please feel free to email these to Ella at ella@pbbnz.com and she will pass them on.

Discussion Forum Key Take Aways:

• IGS are committed to the education of both stud and commercial farmers. Luke is happy to answer anyone’s questions. He will also be helping the registry team with further educational material.
• IGS gene pool is made up of over 23 million animals and over 600 thousand genomic records run in the evaluation every week.
• There is extreme connectivity within the evaluation e.g.  4 bulls have progeny in 17 of the 23 breed societies. Totalling over 18,000 progenies.
• “IGS are in the unending pursuit of the truth and facts”, transparency is key and aims to look after the beef industry at large.
• Three new EBVs in the pipeline

• • Heifer Pregnancy Rate
  • Mature Cow Weight
  • Profitable of Gain (sub-index)