Neogen chosen for Scotland’s beef herd improvement programme

Neogen Europe has been selected by the Scottish Government to perform genomics testing in a bid to improve the country's beef produce.

The initiative is part of the government's Beef Efficiency Scheme, which aims to improve overall herd profitability and make the country's beef herd more sustainable. It is a five-year project and a partnership between the government and Scotland's Rural College (SRUC).

Neogen Europe business development manager Gary Evans said: “The genotyping will be performed using our new GGP-NG 50K chip and the results that we produce will be used by SRUC, which is developing predictions for improved genetic selection in respect of growth rates, feed conversion, maternal behaviour, nutrition practice, and disease resistance for commercial beef farmers.

“We won the contract through a competitive tender issued by Scottish Government, and a part of our success was due to our new European genomics facility in Ayr.”

According to the agreement, Neogen's European GeneSeek laboratory will be responsible for the project's animal genotyping and supply of sampling kits.

Neogen Europe’s laboratory incorporates similar processes, procedures and equipment used at Neogen's flagship GeneSeek laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, US.

Neogen's European GeneSeek laboratory is currently processing samples from cattle, canine and poultry, with more species to follow soon. The laboratory can work with any sample type, including hair, blood, semen, swabs and tissue.