AS part of our ongoing development designed to better service readers, advertisers and other stakeholders, Beef Central website today launches a new genetics and seedstock industry-focussed news and information section.

‘Genetics Central’ will offer a number of unique features that will make it a highly attractive to both readers and advertisers, reaching a highly-targeted, well-informed beef industry audience.

The dedicated subject pages will carry a wide spectrum of content related to the primary task of breeding and sourcing replacement stud and herd bulls, and related information of value to the broader seedstock and commercial beef industries.

This will include topics like genetics and genomics-related R&D, advances in Breedplan and other performance recording and selection tools, use of DNA-based selection tools, through to ‘how-to’ type topics on maximising AI program performance, preg testing and related topics.  Content will be primarily directed at commercial cattle producer readers, rather than at seedstock producers themselves.

A dedicated weekly email news alert will be sent to Beef Central’s large national subscriber database each Tuesday evening, with latest genetics and breed-related news, and sales results from the previous week.

The new platform will carry:

• A weekly review covering topical issues relating to bull sales as they occur, including commentary on market trends in areas like yearling bulls or buyer preference for polls; seasonal impacts on sale performance; and buyer trends. These weekly reports may carry references to key indicator bull & female sale results as they occur, but are not designed to simply present individual stud stock sales reports as they have traditionally been published. Instead the weekly columns will aim to capture the ‘essence’ of what’s happening in the bull market across Australia at the time, and why.
• Comprehensive, tabulated summaries of upcoming bull sales, and recently-completed sales. These will provide handy information resources for readers, being fully-searchable by breed, geographic location, time period and/or stud prefix. Both tables will begin to appear on the Genetics Central page from next week.

Providing content for Genetics Central will be widely respected livestock reporter and analyst, Geoff Phillips, arguably Australia’s best-known stud stock writer. Geoff has spent more than 45 years covering the stud stock industry across Australia. He started in Victoria with the now defunct Pastoral Review, before moving to Stock & Land in 1973. In recent years he has provided expert communications support for Angus Australia and the Australian Wagyu Association, and is widely respected across the entire stud stock industry.

Spring/Autumn timing

Because of the seasonality of the spring/autumn bull selling periods in Australia, Genetics Central will be published over two distinct time-frames each year – the spring selling cycle starting from now to the end of October, and again from the end of January through to April to cover the Autumn sales period.

Opportunity for advertisers

The new Genetics Central platform will also offer exciting cost-effective national advertising options for both large and smaller stud breeders, in a highly-targeted format which will attract strong reader interest.

Stud and herd bull breeders wanting details about advertising their upcoming spring sales on the new Genetics Central pages can contact business development manager Rod Hibberd on 0437 870 127 or email rod@beefcentral.com