Breeders and scientists to interact at genetics conference

September 07, 2007

The 17th conference of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics (AAABG) will be held at the University of New England from the 23rd to the 26th of September. The conference will bring together scientists from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and a number of other counties. Invited speakers will be coming from as far away as Europe and the United States.

UNE's Professor Julius van der Werf, the President of AAABG, said the conference would be open to all people interested in animal breeding – livestock producers, researchers and others. Professor van der Werf said that one of the goals of AAABG was to combine the ideas of scientists and practical animal breeding applications. "The interaction between livestock producers and scientists at the conference is critical in achieving this goal," he said. "We are very keen to encourage all livestock producers to come to Armidale for the conference. Cattle, sheep and pig breeders will find sessions from both scientists and commercial breeders that will be directly applicable to their enterprises."

The main theme this year is "Genetic Improvement – making it happen". Professor van der Werf said that the conference would focus on actual achievements in genetic improvement that had been made through selection, and the opportunities that were arising through new genetic technologies. "Selective breeding can have an enormous impact on farmers' profits," he said, "with gains accumulating over time. This has been demonstrated by various breeders and livestock producers."

People wishing to attend the AAABG conference later this month should contact Sonja Dominik, AAABG Secretary, on (02) 6776 1376 or visit the conference Web site (http://www.aaabg.org/aaabg17).

Dr David Johnston from the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit (AGBU) at UNE will describe the genetic changes that have occurred in beef breeds in recent years, emphasising the impact of correct sire selection. Dr Daniel Brown from AGBU will present the latest developments in Australian Sheep Breeding Values, which have now the potential to drive substantial genetic improvement in the Australian sheep industry.

Progressive breeders from Victoria and South Australia will explain how they have adopted modern techniques in cattle and sheep breeding to accelerate genetic improvement and to fine tune product quality suited to their markets.

The UK-based scientist Dr Hein van der Steen will discuss the opportunities created by the use of gene markers in animal breeding programs. Dr Curt Van Tassel from the United States Department of Agriculture will update the conference on the development of tools that allow large-scale DNA testing, and Dr Richard Spellman from the Livestock Improvement Company in New Zealand will give an update on how the company uses gene markers in dairy breeding programs. Other invited speakers include scientists from the United States and The Netherlands addressing the issues of fitness and animal welfare in modern breeding programs.

The conference is sponsored by Meat and Livestock Australia, Australian Wool Innovation, the Shorthorn Society, Australian Pork, the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Beef Genetic Technologies, the CRC for Innovative Dairy Products, the Livestock Library, and Qiagen.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at September 7, 2007 03:37 PM