increase font size
LIC chief executive Wayne McNee.
Two groups committed to the Jersey breed are joining forces and expertise to breed even better cows.
Jersey New Zealand and LIC have formally agreed to 'Jersey Future -- to jointly select and prove the genetic merit of additional top young Jersey bulls.
This will add eight extra bulls to LIC's current Jersey breeding programme, and will statistically lift the rate of genetic and productive gain for the breed.
The agreement is initially for three years but both organisations are looking and planning further ahead.
LIC chief executive Wayne McNee says LIC is committed to the Jersey breed and looks forward to working with Jersey NZ under the agreement.
"Jersey is a very important breed in NZ. It is important in its own right, it's an important part of KiwiCross, and we need to make sure the breed remains strong.
"We now have momentum: LIC has eight of the top 10 bulls on the Jersey ranking of active sires (RAS) list, including the top six, and all six are new graduates. That's testimony to the quality of the young Jersey bulls coming through now.
"We believe that together with Jersey NZ we can achieve more."
Jersey NZ outgoing president Ross Riddell says there is a generation of farmers in NZ who haven't had the benefit or pleasure of milking Jerseys. "And that's what we would like to see in the future.
"Many stars are aligning for Jerseys at the moment. We hear daily and read in the papers that we should get back to basics, that we need to keep costs down and make the best use of resources to convert pasture to milk.
"With Jersey, we have a breed with efficiency. Add to this the Jersey performance on the RAS list (11 of the top 30 on the All Breeds RAS list are Jersey – the most of any breed), the rising price comparatively of fat which we are pleased to see, protein production efficiency and Jersey's lower environmental footprint. All these things steer to a better and brighter future for Jerseys."
The Jersey Future agreement is effective July 1, 2016. The first eight bulls under the agreement will be selected this coming spring and their semen marketed in 2017 for the first time as part of the sire proving programme to be administered by Jersey NZ.
The bulls will be sourced from Jersey NZ member nominations and from the present LIC breeding scheme. The selection process will be 50/50 between LIC and Jersey NZ.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
An LIC bull, Tronnoco AR Sadio-ET S3F, bred by Tony and Keri O'Connor of Tronnoco Farming Co Ltd near Timaru, has won the 2026 Mahoe Trophy.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is estimated to cost New Zealand's dairy and beef industries more than $150 million every year, yet many of the tools needed to control it are already well understood. After more than 25 years in veterinary practice, Andrew Weir, animal health technical specialist at LIC, has seen firsthand the impact BVD can have on herd performance. We asked him about the role of persistently infected (PI) animals and the practical steps farmers can take to reduce their risk.
In the past, a bull could sit comfortably in a breeding team for several years with little change, but today, that’s no longer the case.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
