Dairy Improvement Programme - Genomics

Tender description

AHDB is a statutory levy board, funded by farmers, growers and others in the supply chain to help the industry succeed in a rapidly changing world. Purpose: To collect samples, genotype and provide farmer with genomic evaluation results and a farmer-friendly written interpretation for a population of female youngstock (from the Holstein, Ayrshire, Friesian, Guernsey and Jersey breeds) within the Welsh dairy herd. The population for genotyping will be identified through the HerdAdvance project ‘HerdAdvance’, delivered by AHDB, was launched on 30 October 2018 and focuses on herd health management and disease control, and aims to help Welsh dairy farmers lift herd profitability and performance. Amongst the objectives of the project is to see a more targeted approach to genetic improvement in Welsh Dairy herds. In order to do so, a selection of farms that have been undertaking individual milk recording for at least 12 months will be given the opportunity to take part in a genomic improvement plan. Participating farms (Wales only) will be offered genomic tests on their female young stock. Genomic evaluations for production, conformation and health traits have been available in the UK since 2012 through AHDB Dairy’s evaluation services and make a significant contribution to genetic gain. We are seeking proposals for a unit cost for genotyping 16,000 female youngstock within Wales, which includes sample collection, testing, submission of genotypes, along with cross reference and pedigree-FMT200 files, to EGENES-SRUC (AHDB’s subcontractor) for evaluation and providing farmers with the results in a suitable format. The on-farm service will need to have been completed by 31 March 2023 and all invoices and claims would need to be received by 30 June 2023. HerdAdvance is made possible through the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union.