Around 150 breeders and industry representatives gathered in Christchurch in March for the Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Beef Breeders Forum, where one of the highlights was the launch of nProve Beef— an online tool developed to make it easier for commercial beef breeders to make informed genetic decisions.
Central to the tool are three new beef selection indexes – NZ$Maternal, NZ$Terminal and NZ$BeefxDairy – developed by B+LNZ and global experts AbacusBio.
At the forum, B+LNZ’s Head of Genetics, Jason Archer, outlined the drivers behind the development of the New Zealand-designed indexes.
He noted that bull buying can often be too complex, with up to 58 pieces of information for each bull presented to farmers, who typically make these decisions once a year.
“These indexes are designed to simplify what can be an overwhelming amount of genetic information, giving farmers a clearer understanding of which bulls best suit their needs. It means they don’t need to know the exact numbers, or EBVs – instead, they can use sliders to select, for example, the top 20% of animals for a particular trait.”
While the NZ indexes offer a single number to guide selection, bull buyers still need to know the traits behind each one. This is why nProve Beef also includes sub-indexes, or trait groupings, such as calving ease, maternal cow traits, finishing and carcase attributes, to help users better assess each bull’s strengths.
For stud breeders, nProve Beef offers a new level of visibility and connection to their clients. Although designed primarily for commercial farmers, the tool allows breeders to demonstrate how their genetics align with market needs. The platform is also mobile-friendly, so breeders and consultants can be looking at a number of bulls with a client and use nProve Beef to help identify the bulls in real time, that meet their criteria.
Importantly, Angus NZ was one of the first breed societies – alongside NZ Herefords, Simmental NZ and the NZ Beef Shorthorn Association – to support and help shape the development of nProve Beef, ensuring sure it was both practical and relevant.
This kind of industry collaboration has been a cornerstone of the B+LNZ’s Informing NZ Beef (INZB) programme. With genetic gain in New Zealand’s beef industry tracking at just 0.5% per year, compared to 1.8% in dairy and 2.8% in sheep, collective efforts and tools like nProve Beef are important to help drive genetic improvement and ensure New Zealand’s beef industry is well placed to capture future opportunities.
As the bull-selling season gets underway, nProve Beef is now live and ready to use. The tool is available at nprove.nz