Christian Duff & Catriona Millen Visit New Zealand Clients

ABRI Chief Operations Officer, Christian Duff, and Extension & Engagement Team Leader, Catriona Millen, have recently returned from a trip to New Zealand. Their first stop was Christchurch, where they had constructive discussions over several days with representatives from Performance Beef Breeders New Zealand (PBBNZ) and seven ABRI clients – the New Zealand Angus Association, the New Zealand Hereford Association, the New Zealand Murray Grey Beef Cattle Society, the New Zealand Red Devon Cattle Breeders Association, the New Zealand Shorthorn Association, Charolais Breeders New Zealand and South Devon Cattle Society of New Zealand.

While in Christchurch, Christian and Catriona also attended the Beef & Lamb New Zealand Beef Breeder Forum. This event provided an opportunity to hear about the latest research and developments in New Zealand beef. At this event, Beef & Lamb New Zealand also launched their new online platform, nProve, which is designed to assist commercial beef producers source the most suitable genetics for their herd. ABRI are pleased to have worked with Beef & Lamb New Zealand to provide data extracts of pedigree and BREEDPLAN information for this platform.

Quiz winners at the Beef & Lamb New Zealand Beef Breeder Forum dinner.

Catriona then headed north to Hamilton, where she joined Charolais Breeders New Zealand for their 2025 herd tour. Over three days, the group visited four Charolais herds located in the King Country region between Hamilton and New Plymouth. This was a fantastic opportunity to meet with New Zealand Charolais breeders, discuss the BREEDPLAN genetic evaluation, and learn more about the New Zealand production system (including beef on dairy).