Conference highlights breeding opportunities

GA chief executive officer Anthony Shelly said the conference shared insights into proven approaches and emerging technologies transforming dairy and beef farming.

“From genetic advancement and data-driven decision making, the focus was on delivering real, measurable outcomes for producers and connecting science with farming.”

The conference featured several international speakers alongside farmers.

Keynote speakers included distinguished Professor of Cooperative Extension in Animal Biotechnology & Genomics, University of California Professor Alison Van Eenennaam, on Advances in Gene Editing Techniques for Cattle, PJ Budler from Trans Ova Genetics on the power of the next generation with IVF, Knowby app developer Grant Rogers, DataGene special projects Dr Michelle Axford on understanding calf vitality and Harmony Agriculture CEO Anthony Fellows on marketing premium beef.

Dairy and beef farmers from Western Australia, Victoria and NSW also shared their successes and farming changes.

“We heard about the latest research into breeding healthier, more efficient cattle and practical strategies for improving sustainability and climate resilience,” Anthony said.

“The conference looked at the next frontier in genetic progress, the use of artificial intelligence and other advances that will strengthen Australian agriculture,” he said.

“The key purpose of the event was to provide a platform for ‘what ifs’ and show what tomorrow and beyond might look like,” he said.

“It was also about creating networks and communities with like-minded people and allowed every participant to strengthen the knowledge that they can share with neighbours or colleagues.”

MC for the event, Dairy Australia national animal health and welfare lead Dr Stephanie Bullen, said the presenters were thought provoking and should inspire farmers and industry with some of the options they could implement in their businesses.

“The key takeouts for me were that, whether a producer breeding high value Wagyu cattle, or an ag tech company, keeping the end consumer or end-user needs front of mind is critical to success,” Stephanie said.

“Consistency is also important.

“Farmers have increasing volumes of data, which helps with this consistency, but insights also need to be available at the right time to make timely decisions.”

“We heard a lot about technology solutions, but I really liked when Charlie Perry from Trent Bridge Wagyu highlighted that tech can sometimes be a solution trying to find a problem, when it needs to be the other way around.”

The conference was at GMHBA Stadium.