NI Bovine Genetics Project a move 'in the right direction' - breeding expert
Northern Ireland’s new Bovine Genetics Project (BGP) will help "target genetic improvements" for individual farms, according to Ai Services’ chief executive officer, Larry Burke.
Commenting on the launch of the BGP, Burke said: “A centralised and integrated database is an absolute necessity for the future viability of modern livestock farming and the livestock industry in general.
“Data is the vital ingredient in genetic improvement and the creation of a genomic database is an important and welcome move in the right direction.
“Genetics has a crucial role to play in meeting the challenges facing all farms in Northern Ireland.
"We are constantly driving for more cost-effective production systems, seeking to lower environmental emissions, and aiming to increase the resilience of our livestock and farm businesses to threats such as disease and commodity price fluctuations.
“Initiatives such as the BGP can fast-track this by bringing together accurate and reliable farm data with genomic evaluations to help us target genetic gain to individual farm requirements.”
Burke highlighted that, after having observed a similar initiative being rolled out in the Republic of Ireland, "I have learned that the future success of this programme will be directly linked to the efficacy of the education programme that runs in advance of its launch".
“The data produced by the project is an incredibly powerful tool available to farmers, but it must be used effectively to gain maximum return to each business.
“While I wholeheartedly welcome and embrace the initiative, I believe it also presents a unique opportunity to create tailored indices that reflect the specific needs of both Northern Ireland farmers and dairy and beef processors.
“Livestock farming in Northern Ireland is a pasture-based production system that relies heavily on export and processing into value-added products to reach the consumer," he said.
The roll-out of the BGP initiative will see the development of a comprehensive data base relating to the genetic makeup of dairy and beef cattle in Northern Ireland.
According to the Ai Services/Eurogene representative, where dairy farms are concerned, greater weighting should be placed on areas such as: milk solids, longevity and TB resistance.
He said: “This may be in the form of a PLI+ index retaining the familiarity and benefits of PLI with the additional requirements to meet NI-specific needs.
"For beef, greater focus should be on producing high value beef cuts with a low carbon footprint that command a premium price.
“If progress can be made, we are looking at considerable acceleration of genetic gain in Northern Ireland’s dairy and beef herds, with accompanying increases in the profitability of farm businesses.”
