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June 2010 -
Programme
for Stockman’s school
With four
international guest speakers and the very best speakers
South Africa has to offer, this year’s programme promises
to be one of the very best ever offered in Southern
Africa.
Only 150
delegates will be accepted and the school is nearly 50%
full, therefore early registration is essential.
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June 2010 -
HerdMASTER Version 4
HerdMASTER Version 4 is a complete overhaul of the
previous versions and is packed with new features for
example:
Visual
Farm (mapping component of the farm).
New graphic designs.
Capability to change existing reports in various ways.
Extension of the “Crush Sider” recorder, and a whole lot
more.
Note,
this version will be made available in August this year.
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June 2010 -
Namibian Brahman to get
Dollar Index
The
Namibian Brahman Society will soon be moving to the Dollar
Index Breed Object System. This means that a $ value will
be given to each animal. The criteria were set up using
the Namibian MEATCO market results. The index will
specifically be a green fed ox support index.
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January 2010 -
HerdMASTER SOS evaluated
The SOS site is
designed for users to access support tip sheets, custom
reports, and updates. (http://saltbush.une.edu.au/SOS2/default.aspx) There is also a built-in
functionality to allow Support Staff to upload files for
users to download, such as a backup file we have fixed or
a new report file we have generated for them. Staff can
also add users’ messages to Users or Trials that only
appear for the specific user you add the message to.
Because many of our users have slow internet connections
and limits of the size of email attachments, we have added
a section where users (who have upload permission) can
upload files to up to 20 MB in size
to our
server. Other functions may be added in the future as
they are required.
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January 2010 -
Breedplan Societies move to EBV Rand Indexes
About BreedObject and the New Simmentaler Rand Index
BreedObject is a tool for formalising breeding objectives
that can help you breed more profitable cattle. It uses
BREEDPLAN EBVs. It helps you target the type of commercial
herd performance you need from animals for a given market
production system, and it helps you identify seedstock
that will be best suited to this. BreedObject Indexes are
expressed in Rand (Namibian $) and are intended for use by
both stud and commercial beef producers.
BreedObject draws together
the BREEDPLAN estimated breeding value (EBV) figures on
bulls into a single EBV, the Index, which describes how
well bulls suit a particular purpose. BreedObject Indexes
should not be confused with the old fashioned growth test
Index that is still used by some breeds in South Africa.
The development of a Selection Index is a proper
statistical method for combining EBVs with economic values
and is based on very good, proven science.
In
'BreedObject on the web
(www.breedobject.com)',
you can can define your production purpose and develop
your own Index.
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March 2009 -
New school for beef production
The Stockman School is a first for South Africa. Leading
national and international speakers discuss the very
latest production techniques, market trends, management
systems and the latest research to produce better and more
efficient cattle. Carefully selected slaughter oxen are
assessed to give a thorough grounding in how to assess
their suitability and potential for markets. These oxen
are slaughtered and the carcasses evaluated. The school
also has a thorough session on breeding and selection of
bulls.
Sessions include:
●
Overview of
the South African Beef Industry
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Assessing fat,
muscling and maturity in “hands-on” sessions
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Producing
efficient weaners
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Meeting market
requirements
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Bull selection
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Financial /
Feed Management
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Focus on
reproduction, practical and veterinary
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March 2009 -
New functionality in the Smallstock version of
HerdMASTER
A lot of work
has gone into the new Smallstock
HerdMASTER upgrade. New
functionality includes:
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Module for
linear traits
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Improved
Dorper 21 Integration
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New reports,
for example dam production extra and new phenotypical
reports
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New reports
for information received from Dorper 21
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March 2009 - 2008
Pick n Pay Landbou Weekblad Seedstock Breeder of the Year
After a number of years of trying, the
new Pick n Pay Landbou Weekblad seedstock breeder of the
year for 2008 is Jan van Zyl.
This herd is as good as it gets for producing cattle under
extensive tough environments. A lot of pressure is put on
the heifers to calve down early and to produce a calf
every year thereafter. This herd of over 1500 cows has a
weaning rate of over 90%. The genetic trends are a
reflection of good selection policies. {Prof Frikkie Neser}
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