Big tick of approval for LIC's quality

Jersey Premier Sires bulls are on top of the national Jersey Ranking.

LIC's Jersey Premier Sires bulls have cemented their position at the top of the national Jersey Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) list.

This is good news for dairy farmers who prefer to get their jersey inseminations from the farmer-owned co-operative.

Among a range of positive statistics on the Jersey RAS list, LIC has all of the top-five bulls. It also has eight of the top-10 and 11 of the top-15 bulls. Of the 11, nine are new graduates which illustrates the change in LIC's momentum.

"In these economically challenging times for dairy farmers, LIC's Jersey Premier Sires bulls offer exceptional quality and value for money," LIC jersey bull acquisition manager Malcolm Ellis says.

"As a dairy farmer myself who is passionate about farm profitability, and particularly at times like these, I want farmers to have the confidence that Jersey Premier Sires will give them the best value, at around $19 in the cow for a 400-cow herd for the average farmer.

"The Premier Sires liquid semen is the most cost-effective way to provide genetic gain to our farmer shareholders. They can be confident the majority of the industry's top Jersey bulls are now within the LIC Premier Sires team," Ellis said.

LIC has now had the top-five jersey bulls on the Jersey RAS list for the last three consecutive Animal Evaluation runs. The RAS list ranks the bulls from all the companies that provide inseminations to dairy farmers nationwide. The latest list was released on Saturday (2 April 2016). The list is administered by the industry-good organisation DairyNZ.

LIC will is holding Jersey field days in Northland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu and the West Coast to share the latest information, give updates on its breeding programme and explain related aspects including LIC's new Once a Day Selection Index.

Ellis said LIC had improved the performance of its Jersey bulls significantly over five years, with a focused programme of work. "We have brought a return-to-basics mentality to our breeding scheme.

We have put a lot of emphasis on strong, deep cow families and our bulls are graduating from that. We have had a significant fundamental shift in quality and we will continue to develop that for the good of our farmer shareholders."

Ellis said it was positive that so many new graduates were appearing on the RAS list because it confirmed LIC was focusing on the right things in its breeding programme.
"We are pleased our hard work in this area is paying off.

The benefits of the quality of LIC's top jersey bulls will flow on to farmers who invest in inseminations from LIC Premier Sires Jerseys and confirm the breed's status as a genuine parent breed with a great deal to offer the industry."

The Jersey Ranking of Sires (RAS) list also shows:

- The top-five bulls on the list are all new graduates in the current season, from LIC's Sire Proving scheme.

- The top bull on the list is LIC's Chardonnay Frankie, with a breeding worth of 270. Breeding worth is the expected economic ability of an animal to breed a future replacement.