Herefords Australia is today pleased to announce the appointment of Hamish Chandler to the newly created position of Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) Specialist.
Hamish has an extensive background in livestock genetics, having led Meat and Livestock Australia’s (MLA) livestock genetics program since 2016. This included leadership of the National Livestock Genetics Consortium and oversight of the national genetic evaluations for beef and sheep.
Prior to that role, Hamish held the position of Sheep Genetics Manager and LambPlan Development Officer at MLA and was a BREEDPLAN Technical Officer earlier in his career. Hamish and his family have run ram breeding and commercial cattle operations in the New England region since 1998.
In collaboration with service providers, Hamish will help to accelerate delivery of priority R&D initiatives. Hamish will also facilitate the activities of the Herefords Australia R&D Advisory Group, ensuring the needs of members, clients and customers are considered in R&D policy, program, and initiative design.
The creation of the role of RD&E Specialist follows the completion of the 1st year of the Herefords Australia 5-year Strategic Plan and the Board review of progress to long term goals.
“Good progress has been made in several areas including member services and breed marketing and promotion and the Board is keen to see this continue. However, it’s an ambitious 5-year Plan and we want to accelerate work programs that will see members benefit from their investments in genomics and genetic evaluation. The creation of a dedicated RD&E Specialist will support that aim” said Lisa Sharp, CEO Herefords Australia.
“Hamish has extensive knowledge of BREEDPLAN genetic evaluation having worked as a BREEDPLAN Technical Officer early in his career, responsible for assisting breed society clients with data management, diagnostics and understanding of EBVs and is well placed to help the Hereford breed deliver it’s R&D program.
“Hamish is also well placed to guide our R&D extension activities, given his work on programs like BredWellFedWell and his ability to communicate technical information in an easy-to-understand manner. I very much look forward to welcoming Hamish to the team.” said Lisa.
Hamish Chandler will start in his new role on March 1, 2023, and will be based in Armidale.
About Herefords Australia
Herefords Australia Ltd (HAL) is one of Australia’s largest beef breed organisations with a mission to produce high quality beef for the Australian beef industry from Hereford based cattle.
With a membership of approximately 1500, HAL provides a range of services to seedstock operators and commercial producers across the nation. These services include animal records and registry, DNA testing, BREEDPLAN services and EBVs, and marketing and promotional support. The company also undertakes R&D and extension activities to enhance breed genetic performance.
For more information contact info@herefordsaustralia.com.au or 02) 6772 1399
