BULLETIN ISSUE 21: 2018 22: Spring Summer 2018
A MESSAGE FROM TONY EGAN I was joking with my Uncle the other day about who was better at reading financial accounts. He being the old bull can spot the smallest variance in numbers and then knows the answer. I, being the young bull, suggested that it is better to focus on creating the future than dwelling on the past. This is a debate we have around this time every year, with audited accounts and shareholder meetings taking place to reflect on the season just finished. At the same time, we face the challenge of ramping up production for the new season ahead, establishing our position and stealing the march on our competitors. The old bull seems to be happier than normal this year, as our 25th season was not only a milestone, but it was notable for our performance with more than 50,000 MT of beef and offal products shipped and 221,989 cattle and 111,824 calves processed. In turn, the Greenlea Foundation got a record slice of support for work in
GENE EDITING: IS IT RIGHT FOR NEW ZEALAND?
All living organisms have genetic material that determines their identity and how certain features and traits are expressed. Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is the molecule that contains all this genetic information. While inheritance is an extremely complex process, DNA molecules are actually only composed of four nucleotides and some associated proteins. The four nucleotides are: cytosine (C), adenine (A), guanine (G) and thymine (T). How these nucleotides sequence and pair up determines the genetic makeup of the organism. Genotype is the gene sequence
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the community, the staff got a bonus and shareholders a dividend … surely happy days! But true to form the old bull spotted claims were up a bit, that the dry summer had made it tough on our farmer suppliers, and that certain markets were flat … clearly, more work needed to be done! So as usual, the young bull and his team stopped the boasting and went back to work to prove themselves yet again. In the certain knowledge that none of us is bigger than the game and that young or old we need to play as ‘One Team’ to succeed in a tough industry. Ahead of us we have emerging challenges such as cyber security, plant based protein, healthy rivers, animal welfare, climate change and our new friend M bovis. Behind us we have a tradition of never giving up, so our motivated team of 450 individuals will be relentless when it comes to innovation and uncompromising when it comes to excellence, and just like our predecessors, we will prevail. Not that we would admit it….but we have learnt a thing or two from the old bull, and we still scheme to beat him … eventually!
while phenotype is how the particular sequence is expressed. For example, one individual might have A-T-C-GG-A (genotype) and express blond hair (phenotype) while another might have A-C-T-G-A-A (genotype) and have brown hair (phenotype). This example is hugely oversimplified but provides a starting point for understanding genetics. Continued on page 3...