ABP Food Group (ABP), one of the largest beef processors in Europe and Genus, a leading global animal genetics company, have announced a strategic partnership.
The multi-year agreement, which aims to develop more sustainable and higher quality beef, will leverage Genus’s genomics technology platform with ABP’s extensive UK beef production and traceability model.
Under the agreement, ABP and Genus will collaborate to improve beef genetics at the primary producer level. According to ABP, it will provide a rich source of supply chain data which will enable Genus to develop a proprietary custom index for beef bulls specifically for ABP, which will deliver superior genetics into the ABP supply chain. This, it says, will create a more sustainable beef supply chain generating value through improved feed to weight gain efficiencies, carcass values and better quality product for the consumer. It goes on to say that participating farmers using Genus’s beef genetics will benefit from ABP’s extensive expertise in calf procurement and calf rearing, while Genus will receive a royalty from ABP for the genetic value delivered.
Genus is expected to start providing superior beef genetics to ABP suppliers in the second half of 2014.
Commenting on the agreement, Paul Finnerty, CEO of ABP Food Group, said: “This is an important development for our business and we are delighted to be working with Genus, a global leader in the field of animal genetics. Major strides in genetic improvement have been made in pork, poultry and dairy in recent decades, but beef has lagged behind. Now is the time for this to change. Collaborating with Genus we see the potential for producing even better quality beef from a more sustainable and efficient supply chain, thereby underpinning the competiveness of our business.”