New GM for gene scheme
2 October 2000
MEDIA RELEASE
Farm
media and daily media farm editors
IMMEDIATE
New GM
for gene scheme
(About 450 words)
Sheep Improvement
Limited (SIL) has found its first full-time general
manager.
Dr George Cruickshank will take up the reins of
the sheep industry’s genetic database this month, in time
for the ram selling season.
SIL board chairman Lochie
MacGillivray says that now SIL is a commercial reality, a
full-time general manager is essential to exploit the
business opportunities.
Cruickshank brings to the job a
sound knowledge of genetics and agriculture. He has an
agriculture degree from the University of Aberdeen in
Scotland, and a PhD in animal science from Lincoln
University.
He has been involved in private research and
consultancy for seven years, recently on contract for SIL in
the field of genetics. Before that he worked for AgResearch
at Ruakura and in Hawkes Bay.
Cruickshank says he’s been
interested in SIL since its inception. His first task, he
says, will be to complete phase two of the project –
communicating with breeder groups to further enhance SIL’s
capabilities.
“The beauty of SIL is that it’s built
around what its users want to get out of it,” he
says.
“The SIL system provides unlimited opportunities.
We’ll be talking with breeders as to how they want to see
SIL develop.”
WoolPro research manager, and former SIL
general manager Ken Geenty will be retained to assist with
the ongoing developmental aspects of the SIL. He was
appointed as general manager on a part-time basis two years
ago, with a mandate to steer the venture through its
research and development phase.
More …
New GM
2
With Phase 1 complete, MacGillivray says the
groundwork has been laid to work through the challenges that
lie ahead.
“Ken has done an excellent job getting the
venture up and running and winning the commitment of flock
recording bureaus. He can take considerable pride in what he
has achieved,” he says.
Winning the commitment of the
Animal Breeding Trust will be the final jewel in SIL’s
crown. SIL has now addressed the bureau’s concerns about
security of data, and hopes to have breeders on board later
this year, MacGillivray says.
Meanwhile WoolPro and Meat
New Zealand, SIL’s shareholders, have pledged support for
its three-year business plan, which spells out the need to
get breeders and farmers using the system. It also outlines
how advances in technology will be captured as they come
on-stream, to make SIL better still.
George Cruickshank
will be based in Napier, where he lives with his wife and
four children.
[ends story]
For more information,
please contact
Lochie MacGillivray, Tel 06 874 6681,
or
George Cruickshank, Tel 06 874 7859.
News
editors:
A JPEG photo of George Cruickshank is available
on request. Email Greer Schick (greer@wham.co.nz) or Trevor
Walton
(trevor@wham.co.nz)
[ends]