Senior CAFRE beef and sheep adviser John Moore is to take on the role of chief executive of Sustainable Ruminant Genetics (SRG), the company set up in NI to drive forward genetic improvement in cattle and sheep.

Launched earlier this year, SRG will initially concentrate on dairy and beef. It is an industry-led partnership between the Ulster Farmers’ Union, the Livestock and Meat Commission, the Dairy Council for NI and the NI Meat Exporters’ Association, working alongside DAERA.

A well-known Simmental breeder in Co Tyrone, John Moore, also has a family background in dairy. Welcoming his appointment, SRG chair Victor Chestnutt said Moore was ideally placed to develop and shape the new entity. However, he urged farmers to be patient, pointing out that SRG is still very much in the development, rather than implementation phase.

“We know there are big gains to be had from genetic improvement. We can improve efficiency and help drive down carbon emissions. But at this stage we are keen to consult with pedigree societies, farmer groups, etc, to get their ideas on how we take this forward,” Chestnutt told the Irish Farmers Journal. One proposal is that DAERA will pay for the first year of DNA testing of cattle, but after that, the cost will fall on industry.

“We are in the early stages of this. We need to work out what the benefits might be,” said Chestnutt.

SRG will also soon be tendering for a service provider to build a genetics database.

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