Improving beef industry genetics

March 24, 2023

Angus bull breeders, including two Otago studs, have collaborated to design a platform to breed better beef by focusing on efficiency.

Fossil Creek Angus partner and project spokesman Neil Sanderson, of Oamaru, said his stud was one of six Angus breeders in New Zealand to have invested in the new E-Star platform.

The other studs are Earnscleugh Angus, in Central Otago, Martin Farming, in Nelson, Leefield Station, in Marlborough, Sudeley Angus, in Banks Peninsula, and Hallmark Angus, on the East Coast.

The group had worked with Dunedin agri-technology business AbacusBio to use existing trait data to create four selection indexes, expressed in a five-star rating system, to evaluate efficiency, both financial and environmental.

“This new platform is set to change the pace and focus of beef industry genetics.”