Murray Grey Newsbrief

September 2006

Beef Expo 2007

Council confirmed the holding of a National bull Sale at Beef Expo.
Summary of conditions:

a) Sale of rising 2year old bulls only.
b) Sale is for led bulls only.
c) All bulls to be inspected prior to the sale.
d) Bulls subject to the standard health tests.

If you wish to enter a bull in the Sale please confirm your interest with
Lindy Lawrence at PBB. Expressions of interest need to be with Lindy by the 20th of November 2006.

 

Hoof and Hook Competition 2007

The Hoof and Hook competition run by Future Beef at the 2007 Beef Expo will be an exciting opportunity for young people to get involved in the industry.
It is all happening at Arena Manawatu on the weekend of 12th and 13th May 2007, prior to Beef Expo.
Young competitors and their steers will assemble at Arena Manawatu on Saturday 12th May. On Saturday afternoon the steers will be weighed, muscle and fat scanned and tagged with an RFID tag. The live steers will be judged in a show on Sunday 13th May, before being sent to slaughter and where the carcases will be judged on Monday.
The target age for competitors is intermediate and high school students, however we hope to atract people up to 25 years.
Cattle breeders are being encouraged to donate or organise a steer for an interested local high school student to enter in the Hoof and Hook competition.
An agri-sports event on Saturday afternoon will feature competitions, games and challenges with many prizes up for grabs followed by a BBQ for all participants friends and family.
The steers can be purebred or crossbred - they will be all judged together. More information will be supplied on the Future Beef website, including the weight specifications, entry forms etc.

www.futurebeef.co.nz

Performance recording on Breedplan

With the contracts now in place there are no additional charges for those members recording on Breedplan. Previously each recorded dam cost an extra $6.00 which was charged to members directly by ABRI.
Now full members pay $17.50 per dam whether they performance record
on Breedplan or not.

Herd book

The possibility of producing a Herd book by printing the information directly off Internet Solutions has been investigated. This unfortunately shows that to do this would cost $283 just for the paper to print off one run.
Specific software is available to produce a Herd book and the production of a Herd book will again be reviewed in 2008 when Breedplan will change to a windows based operating system.
Members can of course print off any information they want from Internet Solutions at any time.
If you don’t have a computer but would like to access the information contact a friend who does have internet access and can show you the ropes.

Progress magazine

Members can obtain additional copies of Progress at no charge, for promotional purposes. Contact Lindy Lawrence at Performance Beef Breeders if you wish to receive additional copies. A single page promotional pamphlet is also available from PBB for handouts at Shows, Field days etc.

Advertising

The Council has decided not to advertise in Dairy publications this season. This decision was taken following feed back indicating that the majority of bulls were already sold or spoken for.

Dairy Index

The setting up of a Dairy Index for Murray Grey bulls is being considered by the council.
Indexes can be established based on the EBV’s of individual bulls and the commercial use to which they are to be used.
The use of indexes has the advantage of providing a single dollar figure for an individual bull for a particular purpose. A dairy index is being considered first as this is the major market for Murray Grey bulls in New Zealand.
While providing a dollar figure value for customers it also provides a simple tool for breeders wishing to focus on the dairy market.
A trial run with known bulls on agreed standards will be done along with a costing to evaluate the index.