Genomic game changer for Camperdown farmer

May 2, 2022

GENOMIC testing has revolutionised Chris Place’s dairy herd – and likely made it much more valuable.

Chris farms with his brother Peter and they’re part of a family dairying dynasty with six brothers on different farms in the Camperdown region.

Their objective is to have the best possible herd, with trouble-free high-production, longevity and self-replacement and genomic testing and using sexed semen has done the trick.

They have almost doubled their number of heifers born each year and halved their empty rate. Their herd ranking has gone from about 150 to the top 40, complete with a heifer in the national top 10, and they have a new income stream through beef sales.

The whole herd is now registered with Holstein Australia.

Chris was inspired to expand the use of genomic testing after participating in the Ginfo project and from discussions with his consultants at Genetics Australia and DataGene.

Ginfo is a large-scale genotyping project to provide genetic and performance information to increase the reliability of Australian Breeding Values (ABVs) and indices. It is a collaboration of DataGene, Dairy Australia, Holstein Australia, Jersey Australia and the Victorian government.

Like the Our Farm, Our Plan process used by Dairy Australia to help farmers identify long-term goals, improve business performance and manage volatility, Chris took it upon himself to do some forward thinking.

He now knows much more about his herd and is sure it’s better than ever, and he has the facts to back that claim.

Chris and Peter had some cows registered about 25 years ago and had used some sexed semen, but that has ramped up as they continue to develop the genetic merit of the herd.

Their meticulous record keeping helped when it came to using the new technology.

“Because we had very accurate records going back more than 50 years, they could take my DNA data and see how it correlates to my herd recording data and use the Ginfo data to see the different markers such as milk production and mastitis resistance,” he said.

They have been using sexed semen on maiden heifers for about seven years, concentrating on growing young stock well to maximise mating results, as well as ramping up use within the herd, and it has been a game changer. The valuable data from the genomic testing is used in selecting cows to breed from.

After joining maiden heifers to sexed semen, they have gone from getting 70-80 heifers a year to 140-150.

The figures support Chris’s theory.

“We were ranked about 150 in the top herds; suddenly we’ve jumped up to the top 40,” he said. “We’ve never been that high before and we also have one of our heifers in the top 10 of female Holsteins in the country.

“That’s all come from the genomic testing.”

Genetics Australia is investigating the potential of breeding from one of Chris’s heifers.

Genetics Australia focuses on a World Class future at AGM

Genetics Australia focuses on a World Class future at AGM Bacchus Marsh, Monday November 23rd 2015: Genetics Australia [GAC] today announced a group Net Profit after tax of $19,663 for the year ending 30th June 2015. The balance sheet remains strong with a working capital of $1.9m, and a total net assets position of $10.4m, […]

HerdInsights Monitoring from Alanya Animal Health

Genetics Australia Co-Operative Ltd. and the Irish company Alanya Animal Health Monitoring are pleased to announce that Genetics Australia will be the exclusive distributor for HerdInsights in Australia. HerdInsights provides real-time, cloud based health and heat monitoring for dairy cows which improves the efficiency of farm breeding programs and reduces health care costs through early […]

WRANGLER genes, a great fit for Australian farmers

The 2016 April ABV release was not only a great result for Genetics Australia but an even better result for Australian farmers, says Genetics Australia General Manager Anthony Shelly. In what could be an ABV first, full brothers WRANGLER and GEEMCEE hold the top two positions on the Balanced Performance Index [BPI] while a third […]

Jetstream Genetics deliver a powerful lineup

SUPERHERO (Supershot x Numero Uno): SUPERHERO is the No. 1 GTPI & GLPI sire available with conventional semen and no bull contract restrictions. He is at +2748 GTPI and +3368 GLPI and +2.24 PTAT. SUPERHERO is also chart-topping the German list with gRZG +159. His dam is an impressive young cow, recently scored VG85 VGMS […]

Genetics Australia Board announces additional $500,000 of Shareholder Rebates.

The Genetics Australia Board of Directors met today to discuss how the Co-operative can help Australia”s dairy farmers through the current challenging time in the industry. ‘With 6 of the 7 Board members being dairy farmers, we know first-hand what our members and fellow farmers are currently going through’, said Genetics Australia”s Chairman Trevor Henry. […]

Gold, Silver and Bronze in the August ABV release

Filling the top three BPI places on the Holstein Proven podium are GEEMCEE, his full brother WRANGLER and the health traits specialist GOLDCREST. GEEMCEE consolidated his claim as the number one Holstein sire in the breed with an impressive 40-point lift in his BPI rating placing him 30 points ahead of his nearest genetic rival. […]

New Director for Genetics Australia

Media Release New Director for Genetics Australia Bacchus Marsh, Monday November 21st 2016: Genetics Australia recently held elections for two vacant Board positions. Long serving Director and former Chairman, Ross Gordon of Cohuna did not seek re-election to the Board and Tony Doyle of Wallacedale had completed his first term as a director and did […]

Tribute to DELSANTO

Bacchus Marsh, Thursday 24th 2016: Australian Holstein legend DELSANTO passed away yesterday aged 12 years. DELSANTO was one of the oldest bulls in active service at Genetics Australia. It appears that he died of heart failure. DELSANTO was one of a number of INFORMER sons at Genetics Australia and was renowned for siring cows with […]

Reliability is King At Genetics Australia

Genomic technology is becoming more and more reliable following each ABV release and has made significant increases in reliability as the technology has evolved during the past five years. Today the most reliable bull”s available are those that combine genomic data with actual Australian daughter performance. The 2017 April ABV just released has highlighted several […]

Significant Progress Achieved by Genetics Australia’s Aussie Red Program

The April 2017 Australian proof release includes some excellent results from Genetics Australia”s Aussie Red program, that will help red breeders and cross breeders worldwide to improve their profits. There are three obvious highlights to report:- Six new sires have graduated to Genetics Australia”s elite proven team. The proofs of four of the top bulls […]