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LIC has confirmed its artificial breeding bulls are free from the Mycoplasma bovis cattle disease.
LIC has confirmed its artificial breeding bulls are free from the Mycoplasma bovis cattle disease.
More than three out of four cows grazing on New Zealand dairy farms are sired by an LIC bull.
Although confident the disease was not present in its bulls, the co-op announced in September it would test for the disease to provide its farmers with greater peace of mind through the dairy mating season.
“We’ve now completed the testing and I am pleased to confirm that all LIC bulls have received negative test results with no sign of Mycoplasma bovis,” chief scientist Richard Spelman says.
“The results are as we expected and in line with the MPI investigation which indicates the infection was limited to a few herds within NZ.
“We are pleased to provide our farmers with the confirmation and greater peace of mind for the mating season which is underway on farms right now.”
Yesterday marked the busiest day of that season for LIC, with 117,000 straws of fresh semen collected, processed and dispatched to AB techs all over the country from its bull farm, collection and laboratory facilities outside of Hamilton. A total of 4.6 million straws of fresh semen will be dispatched in the four-month lead-up to Christmas.
The PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing was done on semen samples at the co-op’s MPI-accredited laboratory in Hamilton. Bulls that LIC currently has on its farms and commercially available this season were tested, including the Premier Sires teams, Sire Proving Scheme, SGL and Wagyu.
From a young age, LIC bulls are permanently kept in strict quarantine, under close veterinary supervision. Collection bulls are regularly monitored for any signs of disease to ensure that semen is only processed from healthy bulls.
Spelman says this will continue as part of normal practice.
As a result of the negative test results, he says the extra antibiotic which was being added to the semen diluent is no longer required and will be withdrawn.
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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