There’s a big biotechnology conference going on in Australia this week. I was invited to attend but have to be in Kansas City and then on to Norway. Darn the luck, eh?
But that doesn’t mean I can’t let you know what’s happening down under. Here’s an interesting story.
Victorian scientists are using the latest DNA techniques to fast track the breeding of better, more productive and more profitable dairy cattle. Minister for Innovation, John Brumby announced today Victorian scientists from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) were using the sequencing of the bovine genome, along with genotyping technologies, to find the genes that cause variations in the economic value of cattle.
“Thanks to this research, we can now tell, as soon as a bull calf is born, whether or not it carries the desirable genes to improve profitability,” said Mr Brumby. “Our scientists can cut the breeding in dairy cattle, from four to two years.”
“We anticipate that this research will enable Victorian dairy farmers to double the rate of improvement in the profitability of dairy animals.” The Victorian dairy industry accounts for 13 per cent of world trade in dairy products, with the State’s prime export markets being Asia and Europe.