Tuesday, 05 March 2013 08:56

High tech innovation at new boar stud

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A new Gene Transfer Centre (GTC) opened in Hororata, Canterbury is set to become the largest pig semen collection and processing facility for the New Zealand pork industry. The GTC was opened by Associate Minister for Primary Industry Jo Goodhew on Friday.

PIC stands for Pig Improvement Company and is a privately owned franchise in New Zealand and forms part of the global PIC business.

"Our goal is to provide world leading genetics to pig producers to improve their productivity and product quality. The new GTC is a big part of that," says Peter MacDonald, general manager, PIC New Zealand.

"This new boar stud is using the latest technology to ensure that high health and quality semen is consistently supplied to our customers."

MacDonald says customer satisfaction is the top priority for the company. "We only want the best boars in our stud, to ensure the best performance of the progeny on our customer's farm."

Retaining a high health status is critically important for the business and the industry, MacDonald said. "There is no compromise on our biosecurity and the new stud is using air-filtration systems to minimise the risk of air-borne diseases entering the facility."

The New Zealand pork industry is a great industry to be involved in, he says. "We are very proud to be part of the industry and pleased to be able to bring innovation and improvement to it."

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