Genomics in action

Join us for this webinar to understand more about the use of genomic testing of maiden heifers.  Learn about the commercial use and application of genomic testing on farm.

Based at Hillhead Farm in Lanarkshire, strategic dairy farmer William Baillie will share his experience of genomic testing of heifers pre-breeding and the impact it has had on future breeding decisions. He’ll give you an update of what has been happening at Hillhead and an overview of the breeding policies and decisions for his herd.

You’ll also hear from Marco Winters AHDB Head of Animal Genetics about the role of genomics and he’ll discuss Hillhead’s herd genetic report and the key areas to focus on.

David Guthrie, Genetic Services Manager breeding advisor for Genus ABS, who works alongside William, will take you through how the results are utilised in GMS Genus’ mating program and compare the sire selections before and after including genomic test results.

In the meeting you’ll learn about the:

• Breeding policy at Hillhead Farm
• Practicalities of genomic testing- cost, results, benefits
• Bull selection and matching for herd results
• Herd genetic reports and how to use the information

We want to make the session as interactive as possible, so we invite you to register now to share your experiences and ask questions throughout.

If you're interested in finding out more about the role of genomic testing of heifers and the impact it can have on future breeding policies, then this webinar's for you.

For more information regarding the event please call Doreen Anderson on 07901 116454 or email doreen.anderson@ahdb.org.uk

About Hillhead Farm

William Ballie bought Hillhead of Covington in 1996 which consists of 195 hectares of grassland and arable cropping. Since then, William has grown the milking herd from 50 to 310 pedigree Holsteins with a top 15% genetic ranking. 

Housed all year round, the herd is milked three times a day and is fed a diet of mainly grass silage, whole crop and draff.

Benchmarking has played an important part in the business for over five years by enabling William to set key performance targets and measure progress towards being among the best-performing herds.

William’s ultimate aim is to improve business performance, initially by focusing on nutrition and genetics.

Learn more about Hillhead of Covington

About Strategic Dairy Farms

Strategic dairy farms aim to help farmers learn from each other through regular on-farm meetings where we will share key performance data and showcase what the best farmers are doing.

They form part of the Optimal Dairy Systems programme which aims to help dairy farmers reduce costs and increase efficiency by focusing on either a tight block or all-year-round calving system.

The growing network of strategic dairy farms have calculated KPIs for their enterprises which are shared at meetings and published online. These are physical and financial performance measures that are critical to success. Farmers can benchmark their businesses against these KPIs to help identify areas for improvement.

Learn more about our strategic dairy farms