It's all hanging out at the Fieldays, and that's no bull

Crowds throng Mystery Creek for the Fieldays

The business of breeding is the premier feature at the four-day Fieldays starting on Wednesday.

"Live sex shows" involving bull semen collection are intended by organisers to showcase New Zealand as a world leader in breeding innovations.

Themes will include managing breeding programmes, research and development, breeding for specific outcomes, breeding for sustainability, and maximising productivity through breeding.

Hamilton genetics company Ambreed will demonstrate a new bull semen collection method with several "shows" each day at the Mystery Creek venue near Hamilton.

The technique is described as a more natural and safe way of collecting semen.

AgResearch and Agricom will launch a new ryegrass endophyte strain, AR37.

In the 1980s scientists discovered that endophytes - a type of fungus - in grass were implicated in "ryegrass staggers".

Afflicted animals suffered from head wobbles, stiff legs and what appeared to be seizures.

But endophytes also provided grass with resistance to insect attacks.

Scientists eventually isolated an endophyte called AR1, which provided insect resistance but stopped the staggers.

AR37 builds on this by protecting against aphids and the porina caterpillar.

The Fieldays will include a major "traceability showcase".

This will demonstrate the potential of traceability technology to comply with future "paddock to plate" individual animal identification requirements.