NZAEL new fertility trait update | Ep. 68

DairyNZ’s subsidiary NZAEL (New Zealand Animal Evaluation Limited) has recently made a new fertility trait update – in this episode we’ll discuss what this change will mean and how it will benefit farmers. Our guests are Ee Cheng Ooi from Abacus Bio, vet and geneticist who worked with NZAEL to develop the new fertility estimated breeding value, NZAEL quantitative geneticist, Melissa Stephen, who recently completed her PhD on early-in-life predictors of an animal’s genetic merit for fertility, and Hayden Lawrence, South Taranaki dairy farmer, who shares the impact a more accurate Breeding Value will have on his farm business.

Read more about the latest from NZAEL on our website.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at talkingdairy@dairynz.co.nz

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected

Chapters

• 1:35 Who are NZAEL, how they work for farmers
• 3:45 Importance of fertility
• 4:17 What is a fertility Breeding Value
• 4:44 New Fertility Trait
• 5:54 Changes to Breeding Values and what farmers may see
• 7:25 Importance of data collection for Breeding Values
• 10:06 Future plans to further improve Breeding Values
• 12:19 Melissa Stephen's fertility research
• 14:19 Importance of Breeding Values animal efficiency