The objective of the day was to provide people working in the Irish agri-food industry with an opportunity to understand the basic principles and potential application of genomics within the agri-food sector.

The cost of the technology, the application of genomic testing and what it can deliver to the industry was discussed in detail.

One of the interesting applications was the role of genomic testing in future animal traceability programs and preventing theft..

If a farmer had a hair sample from every animal on his farm, potentially, if and when that animal was recovered it could be traced back to the rightful owner. Unlike Ireland in many countries animals don’t have unique identification but genomics could change this forever.

See next week’s Irish Farmers Journal for a full report from the conference.