International recognition for Beef CRC Chief Scientist
International recognition for Beef CRC Chief Scientist - Beef CRC - Beef Genetic Technologies
| 23 October 2009 |
 The Beef CRC’s Chief Scientist, Professor Mike Goddard recently received international recognition for his ground-breaking research to deliver genetic improvement in dairy and beef cattle.Professor Goddard, Victoria DPI and a Professorial Fellow at University of Melbourne received an Honorary Doctorate from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Professor Goddard’s research initially focused on developing breeding selection indexes and genetic evaluation methods that have helped enhance the Australia Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) and the beef industry’s BREEDPLAN national genetic evaluation scheme. Since the mid-1990s, Professor Goddard and his colleagues from Victoria DPI and elsewhere have developed a procedure for screening cattle for DNA markers that is then used to predict an animal’s breeding value. This process, known as “genomic selection” has already been successfully implemented by the Australian, New Zealand, US and European dairy industries. It will be implemented in beef cattle and a range of other livestock species over the next few years, as DNA markers associated with a range of production traits are discovered and validated in independent livestock populations. This enables sires to be selected at a young age and will eventually allow female replacements to be evaluated with a similar accuracy to progeny testing, which is a very expensive and difficult process that can take several years to complete. Our very sincere congratulations Mike on such a prestigious and well-deserved award. |
| For further information, contact Alison Betts, Communications Manager, (02) 6773 3795 or 0439 405 077 |
