In just five years Australian Country Choice has grown its Wagyu herd to 3000 head. In this time they’ve used more than 8000 embryos and artificially inseminated more than 15,000 head to build the next phase of the company’s vertically integrated business model.
ACC Breeding Manager Ryan Carter will share the success story at GA | 2024 Today, Tomorrow and Beyond in Geelong next week.
Mr Carter told APlus News the company had upskilled its own people to complete this mammoth task.
“One thing we were really proud of is that we upskilled our own people, we all learnt together. It was really rewarding to bring people through that experience,” he said.
He said that included leadership, cattle, breeding and data analysis staff.
This occurred through in-house learning and mentorship, with experienced staff being able to train younger staff.
ACC started with a cross-bred wagyu herd purchased from the Riverina, before buying two full-blood wagyu herds with elite genetics, which were utilised as donors to grow the herd through IVF.
The staff have managed 1000 to 1100 pregnancies each year.
Mr Carter said while growing at such scale so quickly, they had been careful not to sacrifice quality.
He will talk more about that at GA | 2024 Today, Tomorrow and Beyond on Tuesday, March 19.
The Conference will host a diverse audience of local and international speakers, farmers, and industry delegates from the dairy and beef sectors.
The central theme of the conference revolves around the future of cattle breeding, incorporating cutting-edge technologies, and showcasing new industry research and ideas.
The overarching objective is to inspire the next generation to leverage genetics in advancing top-tier dairy and beef operations while simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of these industries.
Some highlights of the two-day program include:
Managing Director of Macka’s Black Angus Robert Mackenzie will present on how to set new heights through the adoption of best practices and sustainable farming techniques;
How IVF can be integrated into herd management by NAB Agribusiness Executive Josie Zilm;
Researchers presenting on “breeding for sustainability and resilience”; and,
The fundamentals of semen donors and sexed semen to maximise joining outcomes.
AuctionsPlus is the media partner for GA | 2024 Today, Tomorrow and Beyond.