Al Rae graduated MAgrSc with first class honours from Massey University College in 1946. His academic achievements continued at Iowa State University under Drs JL Lush and LN Hazel. Upon completing his PhD he returned to New Zealand in 1951 to the foundation chair in Sheep Husbandry. He relinquished his role as Head of Department in 1980 to accept a Personal Chair until his retirement in 1989 when he was honoured with the award of Professor Emeritus at Massey University.
Professor Rae's long associations with Massey University have had a significant impact on the development of animal production in New Zealand, both directly through his own teaching, research, extension and industry activities, and indirectly through his involvement in the administration of agricultural education and research in New Zealand and through his students. He has an unrivaled breadth of knowledge of pastoral agriculture and animal genetics and breeding, and a masterly ability to communicate with and to influence and enthuse his students and colleagues. Many of his students have proceeded to high academic qualifications and positions of influence and responsibility in animal production, genetics and biometrics, in areas involving education, research, extension and industry leadership.
His main personal research interests developed from his theses topics and focussed on the inheritance of productive traits in sheep and the development of selection plans for the genetic improvement of livestock. These endeavours have involved a close and widely accepted liaison with the farming community generally and with animal breeders and their organisations in particular. They include: initiation and continued development of national recording schemes for sheep; advocacy and associations with co-operative breeding schemes for sheep and beef cattle; involvement in the design of national dairy breeding programmes for over 30 years; major contributions to the development of the drysdale breed, and to practical breeding programmes for beef cattle, pigs and poultry. His specialised genetic knowledge, wide agricultural understanding and insight, continue to be in demand by a large number of technical and policy-making committees in New Zealand and overseas.
Al Rae has also played an active role in several professional societies. He served as President of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production and the New Zealand Genetical Society and was a foundation member of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science, becoming a Fellow of the latter Society in 1970. Other awards include: Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (1973), McMeekan Memorial Award (1977), Sir Ernest Marsden Medal (1980), Honorary Life Member of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production (1984) and an OBE (1986). He has had regular involvement with this Association since its inception in 1979. As well as attending conferences and contributing by way of papers and discussions, he was Invited Touring Speaker in 1984.
For his long-standing, eminent service to the research, teaching and extension of animal breeding and his major influence on the practical application of genetics to livestock improvement, the Australian Association of Animal Breeding and Genetics is pleased to elect Professor A L Rae to a Fellowship of the Association.