Our Team


Andrew Swan

Chief Scientist

Phone: +61 2 6773 3209

Email: aswan@une.edu.au

Andrew Swan is Chief Scientist at the Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit and has been involved in sheep breeding research for more than 30 years. Since joining AGBU in 2006 he has contributed to the development of genetic evaluation services for the Australian sheep industry, delivered to ram

breeders and their clients through Sheep Genetics. This has involved close

collaboration with many researchers, ram breeders, and genetics service

providers over a long period of time, which has given him a detailed

understanding of the issues around practical application of genetic

technologies in the sheep industry.

 

Key outcomes of Andrew’s work with the AGBU team in recent years include:

 

  • Single-step genomic evaluations in the Australian sheep and beef industries.
  • Breeding objectives for meat sheep balancing meat yield and eating quality.
  • Breeding objectives for maternal sheep limiting increases in mature ewe size.
  • Flock Profile genomic benchmarking of commercial Merino flocks.
  • A new evaluation system for reproduction component traits in maternal and Merino sheep.

 

Andrew’s passion is to see genetic gains made by ram breeders translated into improved productivity and sustainability across the sheep industry.