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Ray and Sandra Hocking with Simon Worth from LIC (centre).
One of LIC’s longest-serving bulls has reached the achievement of selling one million semen straws, just in time for Father’s Day.
Holstein-Friesian bull San Ray FM Beamer ET S2F - better known as Beamer - has sired around 170,000 daughters around the country over the last eight years.
The ten-year-old bull is the latest of just four bulls from LIC to hit the one million straw mark, joining company with 90274 SRD Dawsons Belvedere, 90281 Kingsmill PA Walesa and 96329 SRB Collins Royal Hugo.
LIC says Beamer’s achievement may be the most impressive out of the entire group.
Beamer comes from an era where new bulls are superseding older bulls in LIC’s Premier Sires teams at a faster rate than ever before, mainly due to the co-op’s investment in genomic technology.
This means it is very unlikely that another bull will ever reach the volume of straws that Beamer has delivered.
LIC says Beamer has been popular with farmers primarily due to his mix of high breeding worth (BW) and good total overall production traits as a reason for favouring him. He was the number one ranked Friesian daughter proven bull for BW when he became proven in 2015.
LIC livestock selection manager Simon Worth says Beamer’s contribution to the industry cannot be underestimated.
“It really is rewarding to see one of the industry’s highest indexing bulls contribute so much. And to be recognised further through the likes of Holstein Friesian New Zealand’s award system is just a feather in the cap. In 2015 he won the highly-regarded Mahoe Trophy and more than a dozen of his daughters have won awards as part of senior and junior progeny team awards in the Boehringer Ingelheim Progeny Competition.
“Six years in Premier Sires is an outstanding achievement and one we will see less of given the faster turnover of bulls in this genomic era. As a result, I believe Beamer will be the last to sell a million straws in New Zealand.”
Beamer’s legacy looks like it will carry on for years to come as well; three of Beamer’s daughter-proven sons are in the current Premier Sires teams along with multiple offspring in genomic teams.
Beamer will enter his sixth consecutive season as an LIC Premier Sire this year has a BW of 225.
LIC chief executive David Chin says meeting the revised methane reduction targets will rely on practical science, smart technology, and genuine collaboration across the sector.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
The first calves of a new crossbred dairy-beef offering are now on the ground at a Pamu (Landcorp) farm near Taupo.
Academic and former Fonterra director Nicola Shadbolt has been elected as LIC director.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
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The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
Rural retailer Farmlands has reported a return to profitability, something the co-operative says shows clear progress in the second year of its five-year strategy.
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