Page 54 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2019 Edition

values for each trait, it is not surprising that relatively few bulls were graded ‘P’. Meat quality analysis by PhD candidate Natalia Martín
high performers for all traits. Performance of individual bulls has on the first group of heifers indicates that the meat is high quality
been reported back to breeders for traits up to 400 days of age. and tender, with few animals displaying yellow fat or high pH.
The second cohort of calves will reach 600 days of age in Further carcass and meat quality analysis will take place in the
autumn 2019 so analysis of 600 day weight EBVs will occur then. coming months, and in late 2019 for the second cohort.
Carcass performance and meat quality assessment has begun,
with all of the heifers and two out of three groups of steers in the
first cohort processed before Christmas 2018. Despite a wide
weight range (88kg carcass weight in the first group) in animals
going for slaughter, more than 96% of cattle so far have been

Beef + Lamb NZ Genetics

Dairy Beef Progeny Test at

Wairakei Renown: 2018 UPDATE

WORDS REBECCA HICKSON, MASSEY UNIVERSITY PHOTOGRAPHS B+LNZ GENETICS

FOLLOWING THE DEMONSTRATION of the effectiveness of
EBVs for predicting performance in the dairy beef system, the
project at Renown aims to identify outstanding bulls for use
in dairy beef that perform strongly at calving, rearing, finishing
and carcass stages of the supply chain. Just over 800 calves
were tagged and weighed on-farm in spring 2018, and DNA
parentage is currently pending to allow us to determine the
performance of individual sires. Calves are now weaned and
have moved to Pamu’s Orakonui property within the Wairakei
complex for finishing. Calving was successful, with around 1%
of calves assisted at birth.
The second round of mating is complete, with pregnancy
testing to follow in autumn 2019. We look forward to following the
performance of the many promising bulls entered in this test.

PICTURED: Dairy cattle at the Renown Farm, Wairakei.

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