Agtrac successfully DNA test 22,000 dairy cattle within 6 weeks
The team at Agtrac led by Jon Porteous were offered the opportunity in 2018 to work together with CRV to develop a fast and efficient solution for the DNA collection and data verification of 100,000 dairy cattle over three years. This was part of a larger road map from CRV to help establish and grow a greater DNA database of dairy cattle customers.
The project was a big undertaking for Agtrac and required many hours to carefully and accurately manage all the different and unique factors of a large-scale nationwide project with farms in Katikati all the way down to Invercargill. A total of 22,000 dairy cows were selected from 54 farms and sampled in the first year. With previous experience in logistical management involving large numbers of livestock, farms, and farmers the project was comfortably completed within two months during the dry period of May to the beginning of July.
Agtrac’s specialised technicians were utilised to go out on farms to verify the farm records against the cows visually and take the DNA sample. Technicians used a customised set of equipment including a Tru-Test XRS2, XR5000, Zebra ZQ520 barcode printer and barcode scanner. The DNA samples were linked back to the cows EID on the DNA sample unit and our records within the XR5000; this was cross-referenced against the EID before sampling another cow.
With 22,000 cattle successfully tested over the first year, Agtrac and CRV have increased the numbers for 2019 to 35,000 samples collected from 142 farms during the same time frame. The following year 2020 will have the final group of farms sampled with numbers to confirmed.
Agtrac have enabled a large volume of DNA Samples to be collected at the highest level of data integrity and quality in a very short time frame.
- Erin O'Connor, Product Development Team Leader.
Agtrac has the experience and technicians to successfully undertake any livestock data capturing, management, and verification project regardless of size.
Since 2018, Agtrac have continued supporting CRV in their DNA sampling of dairy cows with a total of over 75'000 cows in the last 3 years sampled with more to come in 2022.