Mr. Sean Coughlan:

May I respond to that? The Senator raises a criticism we get constantly, and it is a frustration among pedigree breeders that farmers come into their yards or are at sales or whatever and all people are looking at is the stars, the stars, the stars. I have consistently said, right since we were getting beaten up on this process back in 2015 and SCEP, that the indexes are a tool. The amount of communication and noise that is out there at the moment in this regard is clearly such that people see a value in them. When somebody goes to buy a bull, their eyes are a tool and the indexes are a tool. The reality is that you can see some of the traits of an animal by looking at the animal. You have a decent chance of seeing the conformation. By looking at a bull, you have no idea what the age of first calving of his daughters will be. You have no idea what the calving interval of that bull will be. You really do not know from looking at that Angus bull how the daughter's milk will be. You therefore absolutely have to use both. I advocate using both and would never advocate disregarding one because if an animal is not functional, it is not worth having.