2 minute read
Discover genetics fit for your purpose
Finding the right sheep genetics for your farming operation is about to get a lot easier. A new tool from Farmlands partner, Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Genetics has been released to replace FlockFinder and RamFinder.
Called “nProve”, the improved genetic technology was rolled out to sheep farmers at the beginning of September. nProve is based on new software and technology that provides greater transparency. This makes it easier for farmers to identify breeders producing rams that best fit their own set of circumstances. Over recent seasons, farmers have had access to New Zealand Terminal Worth (NZTW) and New Zealand Maternal Worth (NZMW) indexes – a single figure indicating the genetic worth of one ram, versus another. With nProve, commercial farmers can now customise what they are looking for in their ram team, using simple slider scales to indicate the specific traits important for their operation. The result is a list of breeders who have rams that best fit the purpose defined by the commercial farmer. B+LNZ Genetics’ Sheep Genetics Operations Specialist Sarah Powdrell says the tool’s tag line says it all: “discover genetics fit for your purpose.” “One of our core strategies is to develop tools that will make adoption of genetic information as easy as possible. With nProve, farmers are able to quickly identify ram-breeding flocks at the top of their own customised scale.” The tool has been developed in partnership with the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP). In addition to seeking input from commercial farmers, B+LNZ Genetics also worked closely with its community of SIL sheep breeders and bureaux, particularly in the final testing phase to fine tune the tool prior to its release. “There has been a lot of ground covered since the first preview of nProve was shared with breeders – we’ve rolled out four packages of updates to the tool in response
to feedback. The discussion and ideas submitted from our breeder community throughout this process has been invaluable,” B+LNZ Genetics IT Programme Manager David Campbell says. Farmlands and B+LNZ solidified their partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in July 2020. Farmlands’ Director of External Relations, Mark McHardy is impressed by the new software. “This new genetic technology is an excellent example of the opportunties shareholders will now have access to. Farmlands see supporting exciting initiatives like nProve as integral to the success of the partnership,” Mark says.
