Livestock breeding, where have we been and what lies ahead?

Presented is an overview of recent advancements in livestock breeding, focussing post the implementation of genetic evaluation, which overlaps with the career of the single author. The rise of genomics is presented as a major turning point and the increased gains and future challenges with this technology is presented. Some history of the corporatisation of breeding programs is presented and parallels with the invention of an enabling technology, such as artificial insemination, is illustrated. It is suggested that further advancements in genetic engineering, such as surrogate sires, or the joining of embryonic stem cells to enable 'speed breeding', would be the next turning point. These technologies would create the environment for large corporate investment in sheep and beef cattle and could change the structure of those genetic industries forever.