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DAIRY FARMER cooperative, LIC, has bought the assets and business of Waikato-based Dairy Automation Limited (DAL).
DAL manufactures sensor technology for the real time (on farm) analysis of milk. The new ownership starts tomorrow (March 1) and the business will continue to be known as DAL. It will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of LIC (NZ) Ltd with the same staff and from the same location in Hamilton.
LIC chairman Murray King said while most dairy farmers rely on official herd testing to monitor the production performance of their herds "a number want to make more use of complementary services providing daily insight to the components of the milk their cows are producing – volume, fat, protein, mastitis etc.
"LIC is committed to pushing forward with new innovations that provide farmers with choice in the method of animal performance assessment on their farms, and the acquisition of DAL complements that choice."
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In the past, a bull could sit comfortably in a breeding team for several years with little change, but today, that’s no longer the case.
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Alliance Group has confirmed that eligible farmer-shareholders who supply and continue to back the business will receive up to $20 million later this year, following the strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats.
With a general election under five weeks away, Rural News is asking major political parties about their policies and positions on key issues facing the primary sector. We will run their responses to each question over the next four weeks. The ACT Party and the Greens didn't respond in time.
The red meat sector is in great heart.
Dr Scott Champion, Foundation for Arable Research chief executive, says that everyone in the supply chain had a role to play in driving the sector's long-term success.
Entries opened on Monday, 5 October 2026 for the 2027 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA), which organisers describe as the nation's biggest celebration of excellence in the dairy sector.
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