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South Land Jericho, Jersey NZ JT Thwaites Sire of the Season.
Two of LIC's artificial breeding bulls were named sires of the season by Jersey and Holstein-Friesian breed societies at their annual conferences last month.
South Land Jericho received Jersey New Zealand's JT Thwaites Sire of the Season award and San Ray FM Beamer received Holstein-Friesian New Zealand's Mahoe Trophy.
LIC bull acquisition manager, Malcolm Ellis, says it is an honour for the co-op's sires to be recognised by the societies again, after LIC sires took out both awards last year also.
"It's fantastic that two of our top sires have been recognised with these prestigious awards and I know the breeders are equally as pleased.
"These awards acknowledge the enormous contribution that the sires are making to New Zealand's dairy industry and they also recognise the expertise to breed these elite animals for LIC and our farmers."
Mark and Megan Heslop (Bay of Plenty, recently relocated from Cambridge) bred Jericho, while Ray and Sandra Hocking of Takaka joined Stewart and Kathryn Anderson of Otorohanga to breed Beamer.
Jericho is currently the sixth ranked Jersey bull, with 253 breeding worth (BW) and Beamer is the number one ranked bull across all breeds with 328BW.
The bulls are already proving popular with farmers for this coming mating season, says Ellis, both sitting high on the industry's Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) list for their breeds.
Both bulls are expected to form part of the co-op's Premier Sires teams for 2015, to be confirmed next month. Jericho is also available through the Alpha Nominated frozen service while Beamer has already sold out.
Beamer is a second-generation winner of the Mahoe Trophy after his sire, Fairmont Mint Edition, took out the title in 2009.
Last year's winners of the breed society awards were LIC sires Willand SIA Duetto (JT Thwaites Sire of the Season) and Hazael Dauntless Freedom (Mahoe Trophy).
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.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
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.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
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.
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