Breedleader™: Advanced breeding and genetics short course for beef seedstock producers

Abstract

Descriptions of, and early experiences from a 3-day course for seedstock producers called BreedLeader™ are reported. It is an advanced course on currently available genetic tools and their use in Australian beef breeding programs. The course is the first that takes the seedstock sector beyond awareness of new technologies to the level of assisted adoption such that the participants are given the opportunity to make decisions about improvements to their breeding program before leaving the course. The target audience for the course are key breeders in the seedstock sector who can have a major influence on genetic improvement for the beef industry and who are likely to have an impact on uptake of genetic technologies because they are influencers in the industry.