NEOGEN drives genomics at Down Under's biggest beef expo

When the Australian beef industry holds an expo, it doesn’t hold back, with US global genomics company, NEOGEN, in the thick of the action.

3 Min Read
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It may not be quite as big as Texas, but when the Australian beef industry holds an expo, it doesn't hold back, and US global genomics company, NEOGEN, has been in the thick of the action.

The city of Rockhampton, located on the Tropic of Capricorn on the east coast of the State of Queensland, is normally home to a population of about 100,000 people. But once every three years the city - also known as Down Under's `Beef Capital' - is transformed with more than 115,000 walking through the gates of the Beef Australia expo.

Beef Australia is the industry's national exposition and the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, with cattle competitions attracting close to 3000 head from 31 different breeds in events assessing carcass quality, suitability to commercial markets, and genetic merit.

At Beef Australia 2021 the production focus of the show ring was linked with innovation and technology through a massive trade fair where cattle producers, farm advisers, agtech companies, industry leaders and government agencies came to learn and connect.

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NEOGEN Australasia Senior Regional Director Bobby Creasman said the event was like no other in the beef world, with the Australian industry's appetite for knowledge and innovation (not to mention beef and beer) second to none.

"As much as the Australian beef industry has many similarities to the United States, it is also unique with the tough environments of the Outback and the large-scale grazing operations really challenging beef producers to stay at the cutting edge of technology in order to remain productive and profitable," Mr. Creasman said.

"NEOGEN has been at the forefront of driving adoption of genomic technologies in Australia, with customised DNA products linked to the extensive seedstock herd records of the major breeds, as well introducing new within herd ranking tools like Igenity, again customised for the Australian industry."

NEOGEN is Australia's largest and leading livestock genomics laboratory, with long-term connections to Australia's leading genomics researchers with its sample processing laboratory located on the campus of The University of Queensland.

"The secret to our success in Australia has been living and working in the communities that rely on the livestock industry," Mr. Creasman said. "Our sales teams live in rural communities all over Australia, and our main lab is located in Gatton, a small town about one hour away from the State capital of Brisbane."

"It's because of our dedicated staff and their connection to the industry that NEOGEN has become Australia's trusted provider of DNA testing - we understand the challenges the cattle industry is facing and we're committed to delivering customized products that are reliable and affordable."

Mr. Creasman said the Australian cattle industry also had a much greater awareness of the end consumer as 70% of production was destined for export markets.

"This focus on the end user really shapes the way cattle breeders think about genetic selection, and it's a big reason why DNA testing is viewed as a critical tool for rapidly improving genetics in a herd and responding to the price signals from meat buyers."

To learn more about the solutions NEOGEN offers the beef industry, visit NEOGEN.com.

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