A move by farmers to select daughter-proven sires has seen LIC Ireland experience one of its most successful years in the Irish market to date.

Over the past 12 months, the New Zealand owned co-op has witnessed a 15% increase in growth, it announced earlier today.

LIC’s Mark Ryder told Agriland that this growth has come as farmers have moved towards daughter-proven sires this year.

“We have seen growth in all of the genetics we have brought to the Irish market; both from our crossbred bull team and our black and white sire team.”

The LIC Europe General Manager added that the quality of these bulls has also helped with their popularity among Irish farmers.

“We are delighted with our developments and improvements in the Irish market.

“We believe that we offer Irish farmers the highest-quality product that New Zealand has to offer; this [product] is quality genetics from Holstein Friesian, Jersey and KiwiCross bulls – proven through LIC ’s unique Sire Proving Scheme in New Zealand.

“LIC’s progeny test programme, known as the Sire Proving Scheme, began in 1961. Today, it’s one of the largest progeny test schemes in the world,” he said.

Richard Spelman, Chief Scientist at LIC; Pat Ryan, LIC Customer and farmer from Waterford; and Timothy Bunnett, LIC Europe Sales Operations Manager

Added to this, impressive new herd reproduction data released by the company illustrates a marked improvement in calving patterns in New Zealand. The results show that more farmers achieved the target of having 60% of the herd calved within three weeks.

To be able to offer our great genetics to Irish farmers is the aim, and our recent calving pattern data from New Zealand proves that we are doing just that.

“Good genetics are fundamental to herd improvement, allowing farmers to be more efficient, which in turn benefits their bottom line and the wider Irish dairy industry as a whole,” he said..

New ‘Premier Club’ programme to be launched

With a high proportion of LIC-bred cows represented in the top 2,000 cow EBI list, from a disproportionately low number of matings, LIC’s vision in Ireland is to improve the prosperity, productivity and efficiency of farmers through the continual supply of its “elite” bulls.

In order to ensure this, the company has also announced that a programme will soon be available which aims to provide “better access than ever” to Irish farmers.

The LIC ‘Premier Club’ will be launched exclusively later this month at this year’s National Ploughing Championships.

It is planned that this programme will ensure that Irish farmers continue to benefit from LIC’s “elite product offering, giving them access to the very best LIC bulls available, and giving them more of a selection than ever before”.

Membership to LIC’s Premier Club will provide farmers with access to the best genetics in the world, as well as access to training resources and helpful tools, support and information from LIC dairy industry experts, according to the company.

Members will also enjoy exclusive entry to Premier Club competitions and prize draws, the company added.

‘More than just about straws’

This latest development for LIC Ireland will be put in place with the best interests of Irish farmers in mind, Ryder explained.

“We have worked closely with the Irish Industry and with LIC at home in New Zealand to ensure that at the end of the day, what we are offering is in the best interest of Irish farmers and LIC.

We all believe that this is more than just about the straws.

“It’s about LIC Ireland’s desire to go the extra mile to support the business of Irish farmers for the long-term, while protecting the investment we make in New Zealand and Ireland – to ensure we can continue to deliver our world-class products,” he said.

Further details and information around the launch of the Premier Club in Ireland, and how to become a member, are set to be announced ahead of this year’s National Ploughing Championships.