How can commercial producers use breeding values without recording full pedigrees? This week, Mark chats with Carel Teseling, Chief Operating Officer at Angus Australia, to find out. 

Carel's career has taken him from South Africa's regional performance recording programs to 14 years of developing genetic tools for Angus Australia, a decade leading Australian Wagyu Association's genetics, and now back to Angus again, giving him unique insight into what actually works for producers across different systems and breeds.

Carel begins by sharing the story behind South Africa's groundbreaking work in livestock genetics during the 1990s, as well as his early days tackling genetic conditions in Angus, and his time at the Australian Wagyu Association.

After 10 years at the Australian Wagyu Association, Carel returned to Angus Australia in 2025 as Chief Operating Officer, where he's overseeing the parallel running of the trans-Tasman (TACE) analysis and Angus's new internal analysis. 

He explains how the internal system has been in development for almost five years, includes new traits like immune competence and body condition, and uses different methodological approaches such as avoiding pre-adjustments on carcass data. 

Angus Australia is letting breeders compare both systems to see how they re-rank animals. Carel explains that while there will be some re-ranking, both point in the same direction and will still guide breeders toward genetic improvement.

Carel and Mark also cover

• Commercial breeding strategies
• The value of female data in maternal breeds
• How to identify and cull poor-performing dams
• Why commercial producers should pay attention to breeding values even without recording full pedigrees.

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