Wednesday, 19 February 2020 09:37

LIC buying 50% of Israeli agritech business

Written by  Staff Reporters
Afimilk collars on cows in Taranaki. Afimilk collars on cows in Taranaki.

LIC shareholders will meet on April 7 to vote on a $109 million deal to buy 50% of Israeli agritech company Afimilk.

LIC’s board has signed a conditional deal and is seeking shareholder approval.

Based in Israel, Afimilk has a global presence across all its products and solutions, with particular success in regions of intensive dairy farming. 

Afimilk is widely regarded as one of the industry leading producers of milk meters, behaviour sensors, and farm management software, with particular strength in having strong distribution across Europe and North America. 

LIC chairman Murray King says the investment will help give LIC access to the data it needs to deliver superior herd improvement services and agritech for New Zealand farmers into the future and will improve access to on-farm technology solutions. 

“To do that, it’s vital we keep our world-leading edge in pastoral dairy farming data, while broadening access to new information to meet future needs and challenges. The proposed investment in Afimilk will do both.

“It will help ensure LIC’s on-going access to pastoral dairy farming data through the increased use of in-line milk meters and animal monitoring systems (such as collars). 

“We believe there are likely to be further development opportunities for in-line milk meters, to increase LIC’s resilience to the threat of disruption to access to pastoral dairy farming data posed as a result of the move away from traditional herd-testing services.”

Afimilk inline milk meter technology.

The investment will also help to drive future growth by opening LIC’s access to data on other farming methods beyond pastoral held by Afimilk. 

Access to Afimilk’s resources and information on other farming methods will assist LIC to develop genetic programmes for the farming systems of the future.

The investment is proposed to be funded primarily through debt provided under LIC’s existing banking facilities, with the balance paid out of its cash reserves. 

Shareholders will be sent a Notice of Meeting containing important information about Afimilk and the proposed transaction.

More like this

Next generation of DNA testing

Herd improvement co-operative LIC is combining its DNA parentage testing and genomic evaluation services into one convenient service to help farmers identify their highest genetic merit animals.

All in the family

Taking over the chairmanship of LIC feels like a generational responsibility for Tākaka farmer Corrigan Sowman.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

AGTEK and ARGO part ways

After 12 years of representing the Landini and McCormick brands in New Zealand, Bay of Plenty-based AGTEK and the brands’…

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Why?

OPINION: A mate of yours truly wants to know why the beef schedule differential is now more than 45-50 cents…

Fat to cut

OPINION: Your canine crusader understands that MPI were recently in front of the Parliamentary Primary Sector Select Committee for an…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter