On behalf of its industry partners, the Board of Directors of Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) is pleased to announce its selection of Dr. Robert Moore, Scientific Manager at Valacta, as the recipient of the Dairy Cattle Improvement Industry Distinction Award for 2018. This award recognizes his many contributions to the Canadian dairy cattle sector throughout his 39-year career.
Robert Moore is a graduate of McGill University and the University of Guelph. He started his career at PATLQ/DHAS with Dr. John Moxley, as well as in the Animal Science Department of McGill University, in 1979. PATLQ (Québec Dairy Herd Analysis Program) became Valacta, the Dairy Production Centre of Expertise, in 2006. Dr. Moore works as the Scientific Manager (R&D) and in this capacity he has greatly contributed to the development of the technical specifications for the national milk recording database, which has close and essential ties to CDN.
Since 1982, Dr. Moore has been fully committed to the advancement of milk recording services, and his contributions to the high quality of data used for national genetic evaluations are remarkable. He has been a member of the Genetic Evaluation Board (GEB) and DairyGen Council of CDN for several years. Dr. Moore’s important contribution to the development of the centralized Canadian DHI database (Vision2000) is little-known and we must acknowledge it today. He has not only played a key and pivotal role in the establishment of the Vision2000 business requirements, but he is also one of the key resource persons contributing to its development and ensuring the smooth data exchange with CDN and industry partners. The quality of data collected by milk recording and supplied to CDN serves as the foundation of the Canadian genetic evaluation system. Dr. Moore’s technical understanding of genetic evaluation methods and models, as well as his knowledge of the operational and transactional nature of milk recording, paired with his practical understanding of what dairy producers record (and why), make him a unique and exceptionally valuable contributor to the genetic improvement of dairy cattle in Canada. In 2001, he received the Valacta John Moxley Award for his exceptional contribution to the development of Vision2000.
“Dr. Moore’s studies and his entire career have been devoted to the dairy cattle improvement industry and for this reason, we think that he fully deserves this recognition”, says Norm McNaughton, Chairman of the CDN Board of Directors.
Canadian Dairy Network (CDN) is the national genetic evaluation centre for dairy cattle and provides services to Canadian dairy producers and member organizations including breed associations, DHI agencies, A.I. organizations and Dairy Farmers of Canada. The award will be presented to Dr. Robert Moore during the 2018 Dairy Cattle Improvement Industry Forum on September 19th at the Château Vaudreuil Hotel & Suites, Vaudreuil, QC, in advance of the 23rd Annual General Meeting of CDN the next day.