Herd ’25
Held every two years at Bendigo, Victoria, the Herd conference has a reputation for addressing exciting topics through speakers who are leaders in their field, including scientists, farmers and service providers.
Live Recordings 2025
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Official Welcome
Session 1 | Michael Williams | Fat Farmers & Jacqui Suares OAM Strategies for achieving goals and nurturing a happier, healthier you
Join Michael and Jacqui as they guide us on a journey to cultivate determination and resilience. Discover how physical activity, connection and a proactive mindset can empower you to achieve your goals and transform into a happier, healthier you.
Session 2 | Assistant Prof Randie Culbertson | Iowa State University Beef on dairy – has the future arrived in the US beef on dairy market?
In the United States, beef from dairy herds accounts for 16 to 20 percent of the beef supply. In recent years, the genetic makeup of this supply has transitioned from straight dairy-bred cattle to beef on dairy crosses. The performance of these crosses is highly variable, leading to challenges for feedlots and packers and opportunities for genetics. Randie will share with us insights on how the U.S. beef industry is handling this rapidly developing topic.
Session 3 | Prof Ian Lean | Scibus You don’t eat the coat! How does beef from dairy stack up?
Meat and Livestock Australia commissioned the largest ever study to evaluate the eating quality of dairy cattle. Over 1,100 calves including Holstein, Jersey, Holstein x Jersey were directly compared with the performance of beef cattle grown under similar conditions in a study conducted by Charles Sturt University, Scibus and Polkinghorne’s in NSW and Victoria. The results of the study provide some solutions for one of the more difficult issues for the dairy industry and provide for greenhouse gas efficient beef production.
Session 4 | Prof Jennie Pryce | Agriculture Victoria (DairyBio) What does the future hold for DairyBio?
World-renown Agriculture Victoria geneticist Jennie Pryce will facilitate a session with DairyBio Research Leader Ruidong Xiang to explore how the latest genomics technologies are being used by DairyBio.
Senior Researchers Amanda Chamberlain and Iona MacLeod will highlight the latest exciting applications in the pipeline and the opportunities for the herd improvement industry.
Panel:
• Dr Ruidong Xiang, Agriculture Victoria
• Dr Amanda Chamberlain, Agriculture Victoria
• Dr Iona MacLeod, Agriculture Victoria (DairyBio)
An introduction by Daniel Abernethy from Zoetis followed by a lunch
Session 6 | Jim Bruce | DataGene & Viking Genetics NHIA Annual Semen Market Survey – semen trends review for Australian cattle breeding with key industry insights
The NHIA Annual Semen Market Survey provides critical insights into trends in Australian cattle breeding.
By capturing data on dairy and beef semen sales from Australia’s leading genetics companies – including sexed, conventional, genomic, and daughter-proven semen – it provides the industry with a comprehensive overview of breeding practices, market demands, emerging trends, and export data, assisting strategic decisions for future planning.
Panel:
• Bruce Ronalds, ABS
• Darren Fletcher, Total Livestock Genetics
• Glen Barrett, Jersey Australia
Session 5 | Dr Jeff Bewley | Holstein USA From innovation to implementation – making farm technology work
This talk explores practical strategies for the successful adoption of advanced technologies on farms, emphasizing how to integrate tools for enhanced productivity, animal health, and operational efficiency.
He shares insights on overcoming common challenges and optimizing technology use for sustainable, data-driven decision-making in modern dairy farming. Insights are based on 20 years of working with over 50 different dairy technologies.
Session 7 | Dr Thuy Nguyen | DataGene Hot but cool - research for a future-proofed dairy industry
Beating the heat, reducing climate impact while enhancing profitability are key challenges for the dairy industry. Join this group of emerging scientists as they explore cutting-edge research in genomics and automatic phenotyping, offering innovative solutions to drive adaptability, resilience and profitability in dairy farming.
Panel:
• Laura Jensen, Agriculture Victoria, PhD student
• Fazel Almasi, Agriculture Victoria
• Ee Cheng Ooi, Abacusbio
Session 8 | Scott McDonald | Agriculture Victoria Herd improvement in zero grazing systems
The Australian dairy industry is seeing more herds transition to contained housing with zero grazing to address challenges including climate adaptation, water availability, workforce efficiencies, environmental management and enhanced animal production and health. In addition to critical infrastructure considerations, herd considerations and monitoring outcomes is fundamental to ensuring their success.
Session 9 | Dr Matt Shaffer & Tim Jelbart | DataGene & Dairyfarmer The NBO review – what have we learned and what does the future look like?
The National Breeding Objective review allows the industry to breed the cows needed in 10 years’ time.
Matt and Tim will share the proposed changes to the indices and outline the review findings.The 5-yearly review consists of surveys, scientific studies and extensive stakeholder engagement and melds science and farmer preferences with economic reality to shape our future herds.
Session 10 | Jo Bills | Ever Ag Insights Milk pricing – current and future drivers
In this session, leading ag market analyst Jo Bills will look into her crystal ball for the future of milk pricing.
As part of DataGene’s National Breeding Objective review, a 5-year historical analysis and 10-year forecast of milk price relative to feed cost was undertaken. The project also examined market and payment structures for protein and fat both nationally and regionally, and how they may change over the next decade.
Session 11 | Michelle Axford | DataGene Genomic selection for healthy calves
Through her PhD project, Michelle worked with 50 farmers to collect enough information from 20,000 calves to see if genomic breeding values can help farmers to breed for healthier calves. Find out what worked – and what didn’t.
Welcome to Day 2
Conference Master of Ceremonies Ee Cheng Ooi will oversee the morning recovery plans following the celebratory Herd’25 dinner and introduce Day 2.
Session 1 | Todd Janzen | Janzen Schroeder Ag Law Understanding the legal issues with collection of ag data – A US perspective
Agricultural data collection on the farm has gone from a novelty to a mainstream practice. The law is often slow to catch up with technology. This session will explore the laws surrounding data collection in the United States, how the US ag industry has addressed farmer concerns, and what issues lie ahead.
Session 2 | Erika Oakes | DataGene DataConnect and how to make data available
Single-entry, multi-use data: a mantra since the first Herd’09. Are we making progress and what does it mean for farmers and industry?
Session 3 | Dr Stephanie Bullen | Dairy Australia Supporting industry’s sustainability credentials
Consumers, customers, the community and investors are looking more closely at food production now than ever before. High quality, safe products are no longer enough. The whole of the supply chain is feeling this pressure and industry data is needed to support our animal care and environmental credentials.
Panel:
• Scott McDonald – Agriculture Victoria
• Andy Hancock – Dairy Australia
• Jack Holden – Ridge Road Advisory
Session 4 | Adam Sawell | Caisley Ear Tags Streamline Identification
Adam Sawell from Holstein Australia presents its recently released Caisley Ear Tag that also takes tissue sample for Genomic testing.
Session 5 | Paul Kenny | Paul Kenny Cattle Breeding Services PL Sperm as an individual
A bull ejaculates 4 to 6 billion sperm, and only one gets to fertilize the egg. Paul will entertain us along the sperm’s journey from bull to fertilised egg with the sperm zipping through the cow’s reproductive tract at speeds up to 50km/h.
Session 6 | Dr Christy Vander Jagt & Dr Michael Aldridge | Agriculture Victoria & AGBU/UNE Breeding for better burps: measuring methane in Aussie beef and dairy
Breeding low-methane cattle offers a lasting, cost-effective solution to reducing methane emissions. Join Michael and Christy as they share the latest global strategies and progress in developing methane breeding values for Australia’s beef and dairy industries.
Session 7 | Sara Merckel | NHIA Training and industry excellence
NHIA elevates the herd improvement industry through specialised, industry-focused upskilling that enhances professionalism and strengthens standards. Committed to ongoing development, NHIA fosters leadership and consistency in essential skills that drive industry success.
Session 8 | Penny Welch | Genetics Australia Career-driving insights from NHIA young achievers
NHIA Young Achiever award winners share what drives their future-focused careers and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Discover their top advice for young professionals stepping into the industry and gain valuable insights for seasoned experts on how to connect with and support the next generation. Get ready for a lively, interactive discussion that bridges experience and ambition, fueling a future-ready workforce.
Panel:
• Dylan Jewell – National Herd Development
• Victoria Alexander – NuGenes
Session 9 | James Buzzard, Microsoft ANZ The latest about AI in Agriculture
2025 Sponsors
