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There are amazing dairy genetics all over the world. New Zealand needs more of this genetic diversity to help our herds grow stronger. But not every great overseas sire is a good fit for New Zealand farms.
gNZI® gives us an early clue about how an overseas sire will perform here, long before we have real New Zealand daughters to check. It's how Samen NZ picks the best sires from a huge list of over 50,000, from all around the world.
A sire that does well in another country might not do well here. Samen NZ needed a way to find the best sires for New Zealand, before we even have daughters here to prove it.
Samen NZ built gNZI® to take an overseas sire's genomic breeding values for the traits inside BW and read them in New Zealand terms. That early read narrows 50,000+ genotypes down to the sires most likely to perform on Kiwi farms.
The data system gNZI® runs on is powered by Helical, a company that handles and analyses genomic data for breeders and breed groups around the world.
helicalco.comThe cross-country genomic prediction approach behind gNZI® has been reviewed and published in a scientific journal, not just tested in-house.
Read the studygNZI® is built on the traits New Zealand farmers care about: moderate size, kilograms of milksolids, udders, somatic cell, body condition, fertility and survival.
The traits behind the index , the same ones Kiwi farmers tell us matter in the shed.
Not every high-BW sire carries the traits that suit New Zealand farms. So every sire gNZI® surfaces is then checked by hand against Samen NZ's own selection criteria, criteria built with input from Kiwi farmers.
gNZI® reads 50,000+ overseas genotypes on the New Zealand scale and shortlists the highest-BW candidates.
Each shortlisted sire is assessed by hand against our breeding philosophy and the traits farmers ask for.
Only the sires that clear both steps make the Samen NZ line-up, checked twice before they reach your herd.
Does it work? Yes.
gNZI® predicted how a group of 18 overseas sires would perform here. Four years on, with real New Zealand daughter data in hand, we checked the prediction against the result. It lined up closely, and far more reliably than the old method.
Initial BW is shown as published and after the - 185 shift; the fina bar combines current 2026 BW with the +185 base correction. Group average only.
gNZI® provide an early New Zealand BW prediction before robust local daughter information was available. The later high reliability group BW alighed closely with gNZI® and materially above the initial NZAEL BW.
means absolute error 78 vs 301 BW points
average current BW reliability all 18 bulls exceed 70%
At-selection reliability gNZI® 59% | NZAEL BW 33%
The benefits
Confidence in a shortlist drawn from tens of thousands of global sires.
Every Samen NZ sire is screened to carry breeding worth on the New Zealand scale.
Outcross genetics bring traits into your herd that are hard to find locally.
Earlier, sharper decisions compound into quicker progress across the herd.
Cows suited to a pasture system: efficient, fertile, and built to last.
FAQs
Still got a question about gNZI® or your breeding plan? Your local rep will happily talk it through on farm.
Contact usWhen you are ready, a local Samen NZ rep will come and discuss your dairy operation and assess your herd.
When you are ready, a local Samen NZ rep is ready to come discuss your dairy operation and assess your herd.
