LIC: Faster Bull Team Change Reflects Genetic Progress
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.
Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) has appointed Paul Littlefair as its chief information officer.
Littlefair, who has been acting in the role since September, has previously held senior IT roles at KiwiBank, ASB Bank and the Colonial Group and was also chief information officer for the Bank of South Pacific for a time.
Chief executive Wayne McNee says Littlefair's extensive experience and leadership skills will be hugely valuable to LIC and its farmer shareholders.
"LIC is currently in the midst of a significant technology transformation programme worth more than $40 million. This work aims to provide the infrastructure and foundations that will not only support growth in the business, but enable the delivery of new innovations that add more value on-farm.
"Paul's skills, experience and strong leadership qualities will be instrumental in its success."
Littlefair starts in the role immediately, reporting to the chief executive.
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.

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