Genetics, biosecurity, and the cutest sheep in the world with Dr Belinda Cardinal, Caprotek

Managing the genetic quality of a herd can be a wicked challenge for farmers, especially in Australia. We’re a country with a small number of animals relative to the rest of the world, and formidable, complex biosecurity protocols.

Fortunately, Dr Belinda Cardinal, Founder of breeding and genetics company Caprotek and career dairy goat farmer, enjoys spending time on wickedly difficult problems. After years spent strengthening the genetic diversity of her herd of dairy goats, Belinda attracted all kinds of coverage after importing the genetic material to breed the nation’s first Valais Blacknose Sheep in 2021. 

In this episode Belinda shares her insights on:

• What it’s like to transition from researcher and scientist to a full-time farmer

• How diversifying genetics and improving herds of livestock in a small country can be uniquely challenging for farmers

• What it’s like to tackle an industry challenge no one has attempted in over 100 years,

• The similarities between farmers and startup founders when it comes to scaling novel technologies and doing hard, controversial things 

Useful Resources:

• Valais blacknose, dubbed the cutest sheep in the world, arrive on Australian shores

• Caprotek Website

• Annual Sheep Poll 

• Valais Blacknose sheep imported into Australia for the first time