LIC bulls march to the top

The ranking are based on a system developed by independent industry experts.

LIC says it has the following positions in the latest Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) List:

· 22 of the top 25 Crossbred bulls are LIC's (including 19 of the top 20)

· 44 of the top 50 Holstein Friesian bulls (including the top 10 of 10 and the top 18 of 20)

· 17 of the top 30 Jersey bulls (including 8 of the top 10)

· 27 of the top 30 overall across all breeds.

LIC bull acquisition manager Malcolm Ellis says LIC's bulls were in great shape on the RAS List and are set to continue to contribute significant genetic gain to the dairy industry.

"Superior cow quality provides such an injection of productivity into farm systems. The value of good cows is never more important than in these more economically challenging times and this current wave of improved genetic merit is great news for farmers and the New Zealand dairy herd," Ellis says.

LIC enjoyed unprecedented levels of graduation to its elite bull teams across the breeds last year; a mark of quality.

"When you look at the Premier Sires teams we are marketing this upcoming mating season, a good half of them graduated last year. They are the new boys on the block and have absolutely proved their potential."

The herd improvement co-operative's genetics team reports it looks like an even better new crop of bulls is shaping up this year, with a real air of excitement among the staff. "We are now looking at the new crop waiting to be analysed and have every reason to believe they have the potential to exceed last year's exceptional graduation rate.

"The daughters of these bulls will be coming into milk production for the first time this season, and the merits of the bulls will be analysed on their daughters' performance within the Sire Proving scheme. We look forward to reporting the next class of top bulls to our farmers in early October," Ellis said.

The latest RAS List results were evaluated and released by DairyNZ on 16 July 2016.