Pamu and LIC to launch Synergizer
The first calves of a new crossbred dairy-beef offering are now on the ground at a Pamu (Landcorp) farm near Taupo.
LIC has launched a new tool to help dairy farmers reduce their environmental footprint.
LIC’s new HoofPrint index provides farmers with insights on bulls born since 1 January 2009 that have the potential to breed dairy herds with a lighter environmental footprint, producing less methane and nitrogen per kgMS.
Each year LIC produces a catalogue showcasing bulls available for use within the upcoming mating season.
This year’s Genetics Catalogue has the addition of the new HoofPrint index, enabling farmers to select bulls based on their predicted ability to generate daughters with a lower environmental impact.
“HoofPrint is a 10-point ranking system developed to help farmers achieve their environmental targets and enable them to make more informed decisions about the environmental efficiency of the milk they produce,” says LIC chief executive Wayne McNee.
“The ranking system is from 10 to 1, with 10 being the strongest in terms of being the lowest environmental impact per kg product produced. The index enables farmers to rank and compare enteric methane and urinary nitrogen per kilogram of milk solid produced, using genetic data across all dairy breeding bulls.”
![]() |
---|
In the example, this bull ranked at 9 for Methane Efficiency and 8 for Nitrogen Efficiency and is ranked respectively in the top 7.5% and 17.5% of bulls born since January 1st 2009. |
Enteric methane emissions (generated from cow burps) and urinary nitrogen excretion from cows are two of the major contributors to the environmental impact of dairy production in New Zealand.
LIC says assessing actual emissions and excretion from dairy cows in a pasture-based system can be difficult for farmers, which is why it has used its HoofPrint modelling methodology to quantify the expected emissions and excretion of past, present and future cows.
Copies of LIC’s 2020 Genetics Catalogue, with HoofPrint indices relating to LIC’s daughter proven bulls and Premier Sires teams, are currently being sent to farmers seeking to select the bulls whose semen they want to use to create the next generation of their dairy herds. The catalogue is also available on www.lic.co.nz
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…