21 MARCH 2024: Advances in artificial breeding have seen great improvements in the genetic merit of Australia’s national beef and dairy herds. And it’s been a journey for Australian Country Choice too, as we shifted from Herefords and northern Australian breeds into Angus and the highly impressive Wagyu bloodlines.
It’s been a successful transition led by our senior manager southern breeding properties, Ryan Carter and his team … in fact, so successful that ACC was invited to address the industry-leading Genetics Australia conference last week.
Ryan shared the ACC story with 200 delegates attending the inaugural event held in Geelong, Victoria.
The conference was focused on the future of cattle breeding, incorporating cutting-edge technologies and showcasing new industry research and ideas.
ACC, with its proven record of building Wagyu excellence, was a perfect fit.
Ryan’s speech showcased the building blocks vital for the transition, starting with buying fullblood herds from which to multiply the genetic base. The infrastructure and assets needed for a large-scale stud and commercial operation had to be added into the mix, along with data recording/reporting systems to capture whole-of-life analysis. Finally, Ryan explained the vital task of training staff and to develop the culture required for success.
He detailed the five important learning points gained:
- Maintain a very high level of animal welfare and attention to detail across the supply chain.
- Manage nutrition – allowing genetics to be the decider of performance, not environment
- Use the genomic tools we have available to us to help guide our decision-making
- Have robust data management and reporting systems right across the supply chain
- Build a great team culture
“Describing this journey to others makes you realise how far we’ve come and what we’ve achieved in just five years,” he said. “Being invited to address such an important national conference reflects the commitment of ACC and its staff to genetic excellence, and the performance it delivers back.”
For Ryan the Geelong visit had extra significance; he graduated in farm business management from the nearby Marcus Oldham College. No stranger to Cats country is our Ryan!
