Performance testing for the commercial farmer
The general perception within the beef production industry is that it is only stud breeders who can benefit from performance testing. This is simply not true! The commercial farmer can improve his or her own enterprise with regard to herd management and cow fertility, as well as the productivity and profitability of the herd. The National Beef Recording and Improvement Scheme (NBRIS), managed by the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), has all the necessary tools to assist farmers in becoming commercially productive and making the transition from emerging to commercial farmers.
The question has been asked, “When can a farmer be considered a commercial farmer and no longer an emerging farmer?” The answer is, when such a farmer can produce and deliver a product, such as meat, in the form of a weaner calf to a feedlot.
To be profitable, a commercial farmer needs to produce
