In Australia, through the Plan Bee program, we are embarking on a journey to implement estimated breeding values to assist in genetic selection. This process has been successful in improving the productivity of other animal industries and the Australian honey bee industry is looking to emulate this success. But outside of estimated breeding values there are other lessons we can learn from other industries. One process that other industries excel at is the understanding of, and accounting for, inputs and outputs – the feed conversion ratio. That is, how much feed you put in to produce how much product. By understanding and selecting for this trait, farmers can maximise production while reducing costs. This is important to the viability of [...]