A sheep breeders forum is set to become an annual event following the success of the inaugural gathering in Dunedin.
About 100 people attended the two-day forum, hosted by Beef and Lamb New Zealand Genetics (BLG), with the aim being to engage and involve breeders with the BLG programme.
It was an opportunity for breeders, who were ''integral'' in the advancement of genetics in New Zealand, to talk directly to BLG about where they saw the organisation heading and help guide the future direction of the new entity, general manager Graham Alder said.
The vision was to facilitate profitable genetic gain for the sheep and beef industry which was underpinned by three main objectives; developing better breeding objectives, developing more accurate genetic evaluations, and matching genetics to end-user needs.
In terms of sheep, BLG had some ''bold goals'' for revision and upgrading of the current SIL system to better deliver what breeders needed for their breeding programmes and clients.
It wanted to develop new enhancements that reflected traits important to profit including ewe longevity and maternal body condition to get a greater focus on robust ewes.
For terminal sire objectives, BLG wanted a fairly major review of carcass merit considerations.
It also realised the ''huge potential'' that DNA offered and wanted to promote the use of parentage testing to improve pedigree accuracy, and genomic selection which would increase the potential rate of genetic gain, Mr Alder said.
''Essentially, BLG will work with sheep breeders to ensure that commercial farmers have the right genetics for the future and that these are easy for them to select,'' he said.
Those attending the forum also had an opportunity to visit AgResearch Invermay, which included a tour of the research farm.
