In New Zealand, Wharetoa Genetics has long thought it had better ewes and rams that offered higher profits for lamb farmers than competitors. But how could they prove it? They hired a consultant, AbacusBio Ltd, to see if they could find data to back up their claims. The result: Farmers that integrated Wharetoa’s genetic breed into their existing farm could make 35 percent more than before. Some of the increase in revenue comes from being able to kill the lambs up to five weeks earlier allowing farmers to save money on feed they otherwise would have been spending to feed the lambs for those five weeks. The lambs were also larger in weight with no increase in bone weight resulting in higher meat sales for the farmers.
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