Change in management of dairy industry animal database

Media Release

For immediate release

5 June 2012

LIC and DairyNZ announce change in management of dairy industry animal database

DairyNZ and LIC have reached agreement for the transfer of the Core Database to the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database.

Following LIC shareholder agreement and legislative change, the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database will be run by DairyNZ.

The change has been brought about following an independent review, known as the Anderson Review, on the future of the Core Database. Following consultation with the dairy industry, the Anderson Committee recommended that the Core Database should be run by an independent dairy industry good organisation.

The agreement between LIC and DairyNZ means that DairyNZ will also in future run the Animal Evaluation and provide Breeding Worth for sires in New Zealand on behalf and for the benefit of all dairy farmers. This change will not impact on LIC’s commercial operations and LIC will supply cow Breeding Worth figures directly to farmers and to other herd record providers under commercial arrangements.

LIC CEO Mark Dewdney and DairyNZ CEO Tim Mackle announced the agreement today.

Mark Dewdney says LIC fully supports the transfer of the Core Database and the organisation had been in dialogue with DairyNZ to ensure the handover happens as smoothly and as effectively as possible.

“LIC has operated one database with two components – the Core Database on behalf of the dairy industry guided by an Access Panel which is a subset of the LIC Database which comprises 18,500 fields of IP developed and paid for by LIC shareholders.

“This agreement with DairyNZ will see the Core Database pass to an industry good body which is the right thing to do for the industry. The LIC Database remains with LIC,” says Mark Dewdney.

DairyNZ CEO Tim Mackle says the agreement is another milestone for the dairy industry ensuring value creation for dairy farmers’ in the future through continued improvement in the performance of the national herd.

“LIC has done a fantastic job for the industry over many years by making New Zealand dairy cows more productive through genetic improvement. The time is now right for DairyNZ to pick up the baton and safeguard national breeding objectives by looking after the core industry information on animal evaluation,” says Tim Mackle.

LIC shareholders will vote on the transfer later in the year, and following legislative change the running of the database will move to DairyNZ around the middle of next year.

ENDS

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