AHDB Dairy Improvement Programme - Genomics

AHDB is a statutory levy board, funded by farmers, growers and others in the supply chain to help the industry succeed in a rapidly changing world.

Purpose of this opportunity: To collect samples, genotype and provide farmer with genomic evaluation results and a farmer-friendly written interpretation for a population of female youngstock (from the Holstein, Ayrshire, Friesian, Guernsey and Jersey breeds) within the Welsh dairy herd. The population for genotyping will be identified through the HerdAdvance project

'HerdAdvance', delivered by AHDB, was launched on 30 October 2018 and focuses on herd health management and disease control, and aims to help Welsh dairy farmers lift herd profitability and performance. Amongst the objectives of the project is to see a more targeted approach to genetic improvement in Welsh Dairy herds. In order to do so, a selection of farms that have been undertaking individual milk recording for at least 12 months will be given the opportunity to take part in a genomic improvement plan. Participating farms (Wales only) will be offered genomic tests on their female young stock.

Genomic evaluations for production, conformation and health traits have been available in the UK since 2012 through AHDB Dairy's evaluation services and make a significant contribution to genetic gain.

We are seeking proposals for a unit cost for genotyping 16,000 female youngstock within Wales, which includes sample collection, testing, submission of genotypes, along with cross reference and pedigree-FMT200 files, to EGENES-SRUC (AHDB's subcontractor) for evaluation and providing farmers with the results in a suitable format. The on-farm service will need to have been completed by 31 March 2023 and all invoices and claims would need to be received by 30 June 2023.

HerdAdvance is made possible through the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Union.

Additional information:

Suppliers Instructions How to Express Interest in this Tender and respond to the opportunity:

1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) - Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://defra.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register - Accept the terms and conditions and click 'continue' - Enter your correct business and user details - Note the username you chose and click 'Save' when complete - You will shortly receive an email with your unique password (please keep this secure)
2. Express an Interest in the tender - Login to the portal with the username/password - Click the ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) - Click on the relevant ITT to access the content. - Click the 'Express Interest' button at the top of the page. - This will move the ITT into your 'My ITTs' page. (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) -You can now access any attachments by clicking 'Buyer Attachments' in the 'ITT Details' box
3. Responding to the tender - Click 'My Response' under 'ITT Details', you can choose to 'Create Response' or to 'Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) - You can now use the 'Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification - Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the ITT - There may be a mixture of online and offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available) You must then submit your reply using the 'Submit Response' button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help.