Members of the BREEDPLAN and ABRI Extension Services teams will be heading to Rockhampton in May 2024 to attend Beef Australia. Held every three years, this showcase event attracts over 100,000 people from across Australia and around the world, including beef producers, scientists, and industry service providers. The week-long program includes a trade fair with over 100 exhibitors, educational seminars and symposiums and property tours alongside stud and commercial cattle competitions.

BREEDPLAN will be back at our usual trade stand spot, which you will find at sites E9 & E10 in the Exhibition Hall (previously the Durack Pavilion). Alongside a range of BREEDPLAN resources, members of the ABRI Extension Services and BREEDPLAN teams will be on hand to answer any question you may have. We look forward to catching up with many of you during the week.

Two BREEDPLAN members will be opening their seedstock operations as part of the 2024 Westpac Property Tours Program. These are:

• Victoria and Richard Moffatt, RV Pastoral. On Monday 6 May, Victoria and Richard Moffatt will welcome visitors to their Brahman seedstock business at Muldoon, 81 km west of Rockhampton. The Moffatt’s Brahman herd is performance recorded for all the major BREEDPLAN traits and all animals are also DNA tested. This information is submitted to BREEDPLAN, and the resulting EBVs utilised for animal selection and mating decisions. The Moffat’s will discuss what objective genetic measurements and their use in bull selection can do for the Australian beef industry.
• Paul Harris, Sunland Cattle Co Pty Ltd. On Tuesday 7 May, Paul Harris will welcome visitors to his Wagyu operation at Ten Mile Station, 165 km northwest of Rockhampton. Since an initial purchase of 1,100 Wagyu cattle in 2007, Sunland Cattle Co Pty Ltd have expanded and now run approximately 10,000 fullblood Wagyu across two properties. Paul Harris and manager Jason Kelly will discuss data collection, their use of reproductive technologies (AI, ET and IVF) and their experiences with the Australian Wagyu Association Progeny Test Program.

Members of the ABRI Extension Services team will be attending these two property tours. We look forward to hearing more about how both operations utilise performance recording and the resulting BREEDPLAN information. Property tour tickets can be booked via the Beef Australia website.