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Media Release
New Director for Genetics Australia
Bacchus Marsh, Monday November 21st 2016:
Genetics Australia recently held elections for two vacant Board positions. Long serving Director and former Chairman, Ross Gordon of Cohuna did not seek re-election to the Board and Tony Doyle of Wallacedale had completed his first term as a director and did seek re-election.
Kollora Dairyfarmer, John Pekin and former director Wim Kampschoer of Simpson contested the ballot along with Mr. Doyle. The result saw Mr. Pekin and Mr. Doyle successfully elected to the Board. Genetics Australia Chairman Trevor Henry said, ‘I particularly want to thank Ross Gordon for his significant contribution to Genetics Australia over many years, Ross was on the Board for 10 years as a director, five of those as Chairman. We wish him and his family all the best for the future. I would also like to welcome John Pekin to our Board and look forward to his contribution.
The Chairman also commented that the Co-operative completed the call on shares process, and now has a solid base of over 1,100 members, who are fully paid up and active. This group have been rewarded for their commitment with the re-introduction of a Progeny Test rebate for Shareholders.
‘As a result of the restructure we undertook a couple of years ago, Genetics Australia is now on solid ground and has commenced the process of reinvesting in new sales and marketing initiatives designed to build growth back into its core business of providing World Class Australian proven genetics for Australian farmers.’
‘Together with a continued focus on offering high quality imported genetics as well as breeding related merchandise, the Board are very confident Genetics Australia has the breadth and depth of products to meet all our customers” requirements.’
Mr. Henry said, that the Genetics Australia breeding program continues to set the standard in the supply of top daughter proven & young genomic bulls for Australian farmers.
For more information:
Trevor Henry
0429 451 548
Anthony Shelly
0408 529 410
Filling the top three BPI places on the Holstein Proven podium are GEEMCEE, his full brother WRANGLER and the health traits specialist GOLDCREST.
GEEMCEE consolidated his claim as the number one Holstein sire in the breed with an impressive 40-point lift in his BPI rating placing him 30 points ahead of his nearest genetic rival. Improved fertility, type ratings, protein yield and cell count were the factors that contributed to his lift. This Man-O-Man son from a Shottle dam comes from the same cow family as the legendary JUDGE and was bred by Rengaw Holsteins of Tasmania.
A third full bother CHALLENGER also consolidated his April ABV showing the merit of bull selection based on genomic ratings and strength of pedigrees. WRANGLER and earns his Silver medal with a lift of 13 BPI points from his April rating. Like his brother, WRANGLER improved in his type rating and also protein production.
In the Bronze medal position is GOLDCREST, the total performance sire who continues to outperform many of his younger, more fancied rivals. GOLDCREST delivers solid ratings for production, feed efficiency and cell count and is the Number 1 HWI and number 2 TWI Australian bull.
It is a great testament to Australian Breeder”s that the top 3 spots on the daughter proven BPI all stand in Australia. In fact, 7 of the top 10 daughter BPI proven bulls are all Australian bred and all are available from Genetics Australia. The performance of the emerging genomic sires is also extremely exciting with a number now adding milking daughters and will soon appear on the daughter proven lists. PICOLA, ROYALMAN and ATLEY have been very popular genomic bulls and their early data demonstrates the value in the investment made into Australian genomics.
PICOLA is a son of the veteran DELSANTO, a bull that now with thousands of milking daughters still remains in the Top 1% BPI of available Holsteins. PICOLA was bred by the Hogg Family of Adlejama Holsteins of Biggara in Northern Victoria. He has 65 daughters in his production ABV and has improved significantly on his genomic rating. At 290 BPI he emerges as the best of the new bulls available and farmers that have used the bull already would be pleased they have daughters milking now or soon to enter their herd. ROYALMAN at 287 BPI is not far behind PICOLA with 19 early milking daughters and is around 30 BPI ahead of his genomic ratings.
ATLEY has consolidated his genomic proof with 105 milking daughters and daughters inspected to date suggest he will be a real type specialist.
Former number one genomic BPI Jersey sire, RACEWAY has consolidated his daughter proof with 122 daughters making him one of the most reliable first crop Jersey sires available. Like his Holstein counterparts, he has delivered on his genomic promise with solid ratings across the board, in particular udders and workability traits. Sons of RACEWAY will be entering the genomic team in the coming 12 months.
The August Jersey genomic list is headed by SEAHORSE and closely followed by GRIFF in 3rd position. Also on the future Stars list is GLENFERRIE at 340 BPI, a very exciting young bull and he is soon to be readily available with his very first semen to be used to breed the next generation of young sires at Genetics Australia.
In the Aussie Reds, ARBOBAMA leads the proven team with a solid and balanced proof, he continues to be a popular choice for many Aussie Red breeders closely followed by veteran and internationally popular Aussie Red ARBBONJOVI. The Aussie Red young bull team has never been stronger with VFoske sons, ARBGLACIER and ARBDAIRYWEEK, both from the Beaulands herd of Ron and Sam Graham, of Nowra, NSW and ARBSPRING, a son of Tossiko, also bred by the Grahams.
Genetics Australia recently commenced our 58th year, from a genetics perspective our offering has never been stronger. We do understand that many farmers are currently experiencing a challenging period in the dairy industry and this also gives our Cooperative many challenges. We have reduced our prices across the board and also introduced additional rebates for Shareholders. While this will put additional pressure on our business, we feel it is important to deliver on our mission of providing world class, value for money genetics and we encourage all dairy farmers to include some of our leading bulls in their 2016 breeding program.
The Genetics Australia Board of Directors met today to discuss how the Co-operative can help Australia”s dairy farmers through the current challenging time in the industry.
‘With 6 of the 7 Board members being dairy farmers, we know first-hand what our members and fellow farmers are currently going through’, said Genetics Australia”s Chairman Trevor Henry.
“The Board discussed the impact it will have on many farming families and we wanted to our bit to ensure farmers kept a level of investment in breeding programs, both in the short and longer term”
Effective from the 1st of June, Genetics Australia will make available in excess of $500,000 of additional rebates to shareholders. ‘While it may be not the best time financially for the co-operative to be giving money back to shareholders, we feel it is simply the right thing to do. In essence, this is why we as a co-operative exist’, said Trevor. ‘Our business is going to do it tough for the foreseeable future as well, but as a co-operative our responsibility is to our Shareholder members’.
Genetics Australia”s General Manager, Anthony Shelly said he and the rest of the Genetics Australia team were fully supportive of the Board decision.
‘While this is going to cause us some financial pain in the short term, it”s nothing compared to what our shareholders and other dairy farmers in general are going through’. We have a very strong asset base which will allow us to ride this through and it”s only right that we try and help out where we can’, he said.
The rebates come in the form of an extension of the $5.00, 1:1 Progeny Test & Genetic Check rebate until the 31st May 2017 or a $2.50 per straw rebate on Genetics Australia Premium Proven Sires and FutureGen Genomic sires. The rebate does not apply to imported product or progeny test semen.
To be eligible, farmers simply need to be a paid up Genetics Australia shareholder, and commit to purchase 80% of the herd size in semen. The details of the offer will be sent to all dairy farmers in the coming days.
Mr Shelly said by offering additional rebates farmers could still continue to breed their cows to Australia’s top rated bulls and not compromise in their herd improvement investment by using low rated inferior bulls. He said all farmers were encouraged to consult with their usual Genetics Australia breeding advisor who had been instructed to meet the breeding needs on all farms as cost effectively as possible.
If farmers were not a current shareholder farmers are invited to become a Genetics Australia shareholder, Australia”s only artificial breeding co-operative by calling Freecall 1800 039 047.
Mr Henry said he encouraged all dairy farmers to take advantage of this additional rebate offer to reduce the semen expenditure so as to ensure the heifers milking in the future are able to contribute to the bottom line when milk prices are more favourable.
Genetics Australia was established in 1958 and is Australia’s leading supplier of top rated genetics. After the April 2016 ABV release 4 of the top 5 Proven Holstein bulls on BPI as well as 7 of the top 10 young genomic bulls are owned by the Cooperative.
Ends.
Anthony Shelly, General Manager 0408 529 410
Trevor Henry, Board Chairman 0429 451 548
SUPERHERO (Supershot x Numero Uno): SUPERHERO is the No. 1 GTPI & GLPI sire available with conventional semen and no bull contract restrictions. He is at +2748 GTPI and +3368 GLPI and +2.24 PTAT. SUPERHERO is also chart-topping the German list with gRZG +159. His dam is an impressive young cow, recently scored VG85 VGMS at 2 years. SUPERHERO”s pedigree stack is Supershot x VG85 Numero Uno x VG86 DOM Shamrock x VG87 DOM Man-O-Man x Clear-Echo 822 Ramos EX94 DOM x VG87 Hershel x VG86 GMD DOM.
MONTANA (Montross x Uno): At +2685 GTPI, +2.51 PTAT, +7.6 PL and A2A2, MONTANA brings a powerful genetic package. He ranks as Jetstream”s No. 2 GTPI sire and delivers on production, health, fitness and type traits. MONTANA”s dam by Numero Uno is VG at 2 years. He completes 10 generations of VG and EX dams: Montross x Numero Uno x Domain x Planet Manitoba x Shottle May.
VERIFY (Halogen x Supersire): From the family of Chief Adeen EX94 DOM GMD, VERIFY is a standout at +2.93 PTAT and +2.37 UDC. He offers genetic clout with only +7.1% SCE and a profit opportunity at +752 NM$. VERIFY was selected with Jetstream”s belief that a combination of cow family, type and production create profitable herds. Also in the Jetstream sire lineup from this family are VECTOR at +2519 GTPI, VICTORY at +2635 GTPI, and ARDENT at +2640 GTPI.
ANSWER-PO (Montross x Earnhardt): ANSWER is the No. 1 GTPI and GLPI Polled sire available. At +66 Protein and +2606 GTPI combined with +2139 Milk and +2.07 Type, his genetic appeal extends far beyond polled. With low SCE at 6.4%, +788 NM$, ANSWER-PO delivers the total genetic package. His pedigree stack is Montross x Earnhardt x Robust x Planet Manitoba x Shottle May x Oman x BWMarshall x Durham x Rudolph x Lindy.
BRASH(McCutchen x Goldchip x Aftershock): Regancrest-PR Barbie EX92 GMD DOM is the foundation cow behind this new Custom Cut Type Sire. BRASH is a high-type GTPI sire with a unique combination of +3.77 Type, +3.10 UDC, +2.68 FLC and +2274 GTPI. He also delivers on calving ease with +6.5 SCE. BRASH is top-ranked in Canada at +18 for Conformation and +16 Mammary — one of the best McCutchen sons.
POWERBALL-P (Earnhardt x Robust x Zenith): For available polled sires, POWERBALL-P continues to be the most popular choice available at +2426 GTPI and A2A2. He has changed the landscape on polled genetics, exceeding trait thresholds for Milk +1198 and Protein +55. He ranks high on the German base as well at +142 RZG. At +4.1 PL and +2.3 DPR he is a health and fertility specialist from the respected Wesswood-HC Rudy Missy EX92 DOM GMD cow family.
The 2016 April ABV release was not only a great result for Genetics Australia but an even better result for Australian farmers, says Genetics Australia General Manager Anthony Shelly. In what could be an ABV first, full brothers WRANGLER and GEEMCEE hold the top two positions on the Balanced Performance Index [BPI] while a third full bother CHALLENGER, also obtained a top all round first ABV.
WRANGLER and GEEMCEE join 2015 leading BPI sire CHRISTMAS and high rated GOLDCREST to see Genetics Australia hold an impressive 4 of the top 5 BPI positions on the new 2016 Good Bulls Guide. In addition CHRISTMAS is now the Number 1 bull for Type Weighted Index [TWI] while GOLDCREST holds the Number 1 mantle for the Health Weighted Index [HWI]. A total of seven new Holsteins had graduated to the proven team following the April ABV release.
Genetics Australia General Manger Anthony Shelly said the result was most pleasing and justifies the investment and support Genetics Australia has shown in embracing Australia”s new breeding indices and in the use of genomic technology.
‘We first began to include genomic data in our young bull selections as far back as 2008 and with continual improvements to the reliability of genomic breeding values we are really beginning to see the improvement in Australian bulls, particularly in the hard to measure traits such as health and fertility. MEDALLION and more recently CHRISTMAS were great examples of how genomics can help lift the quality of bulls selected at a young age. WRANGLER and his brothers now with the improvements to genomic technology were selected on the basis of their genomic rating and now represent the new era in Australian standing Holsteins, and that is not only great news for our cooperative but even better news for Australian farmers.’, he said.
The April ABV release also saw the new release of the top new genomics sires and the results for the cooperative could not have been more pleasing. Seven of the top 10 Holstein bulls stand at Genetics Australia, reinforcing the investment in genomics and assuring Australian famers will continue to have ongoing access to world class bulls standing in Australia. KINGTUT, also bred by Rengaw Holsteins heads the Holstein BPIg list at 308 and offers a 111 Daughter Fertility rating while the successful Manna Farms herd from Yankalilla in South Australia bred second placed Holstein COOLBLUE.
The result for the Jersey genomic team is no different with 7 of the top 10 bulls standing in Australia and all owned by the cooperative.
Mr Shelly said Genetics Australia shareholders will again have exclusive access to these top young bulls as members of the Horizon Genomic program.
‘We see the demand on high rated genomic bulls continue to rise every year and we will continue to offer our shareholders first opportunity to select these bulls as part of our Horizon Genomicprogram at PT prices. The best of the young genomic bulls will also be available more widely as they complete Horizon Genomic Programdistribution. A combination of the top proven bulls together with the best young bulls in a breeding program has increased the range and variety of bulls available to farmers and will continue to help lift the genetic merit of herds around Australia’, he said.
Polled Jersey AUSSIEGOLD also obtained his first daughter proven ABV. Mr Shelly said the reliable 1st ABV of AUSSIEGOLD further validated the use of genomics as he had been a high demand sire based on his ABVg and now with 113 milking daughters closely mirrored his genomic ABV.
Through the alliance with US genetics supplier World Wide Sires a number of high rated bulls are also available. Jersey breeders will be pleased to see the first ABV of US Jersey sire 7J1038 – All Lynns Louie Valentino. This bull offers a great balance of production and type and at 271 BPI ranks 7th overall in April. A number of his highest genomic sons have also been included for testing in Australia. Top ABVg Jersey DROGO still leads the charge as the highest genomic Jersey bull standing in Australia.
Mr Shelly said the quality and variety of bulls available to farmers in 2016 was at an all-time high. He highlighted the success and solid performance of second crop bulls MEDALLION, DELSANTO and BUDDHA.
‘These three bulls are now all 99% reliable for production ABV and both BUDDHA and DELSANTO 98% reliable for type while MEDALLION has a type reliability of 99%. We are sure farmers who used all three bulls will be pleased that with just short of 10,000 daughters collectively milking of these sires BUDDHA and DELSANTO remain in the top 1% on BPI and MEDALLION in the top 1% for mammary. Farmers can continue to use these bulls with a great degree of confidence in what you see is what you get, he said.
Based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Genetics Australia is Australia”s leading animal breeding organisation, a farmer owned and controlled cooperative established in 1958. It is committed to supplying Australia”s most profitable genetics and making them available at reasonable prices.
For more information contact:
Genetics Australia focuses on a World Class future at AGM
Bacchus Marsh, Monday November 23rd 2015:
Genetics Australia [GAC] today announced a group Net Profit after tax of $19,663 for the year ending 30th June 2015. The balance sheet remains strong with a working capital of $1.9m, and a total net assets position of $10.4m, providing GAC a strong platform for future growth.
The profit was achieved after a significant write down of stock that had been identified as unsaleable. This has left the business with a more manageable and relevant inventory base of $1.3m compared to $1.9m in the prior year.
GAC Chairman Ross Gordon, a Cohuna Dairy farmer said that the result was very pleasing given this was the first full year of trading without the GAC retail businesses.
‘As a result of the restructure we undertook a couple of years ago, GAC is now on solid ground and has commenced the process of reinvesting in new sales and marketing initiatives designed to build growth back into its core business of providing World Class Australian proven genetics for Australian farmers.’
‘Together with a continued focus on offering high quality imported genetics as well as breeding related merchandise, the Board are very confident GAC has the breadth and depth of products to meet all our customers” requirements.’
Mr. Gordon said, that the GAC breeding programme continues to set the standard in the supply of top daughter proven bulls, as well as consolidating it”s offering of young genomic bulls.
‘In 2015, post the introduction of the new Australian breeding indices, GAC bulls performed exceptionally well. The Jersey bull RACEWAY topping the rankings for all three indices. In addition, GOLDCREST ranked top of the Health Weighted Index, with GAC genomic sires taking out 23 of the top 25 Holstein genomic bulls for BPI (Balanced Performance Index).
The Chairman also commented that the Co-operative completed the call on shares process, and now has a solid base of over 1,100 members, who are fully paid up and active. This group have been rewarded for their commitment with the re-introduction of a Progeny Test rebate for Shareholders.
On other Co-operative matters, he said that following on from the share call process, the company has now revised its rules, bringing them into line with the Co-operatives National Law 2013 (Victoria). The adoption of these new rules was approved at the AGM.
Mr. Gordon thanked all Directors for their commitment and hard work throughput the year. He particularly welcomed two new Directors, Dairy Farmers Rohan Sprunt and Daniel Cochrane, and thanked Dairy Farmer Wes Brown and specialist Director Jens Karnoe. Mr. Brown and Mr. Karnoe have decided not to re-nominate. They had been on the GAC Board for five and eleven years respectively.
‘I particularly want to thank Wes and Jens for their support and significant contribution to GAC over many years, and wish them and their families well in the future’, he concluded.
For more information:
Ross Gordon
0427 562 169
Genetics Australia Co-Operative Ltd. and the Irish company Alanya Animal Health Monitoring are pleased to announce that Genetics Australia will be the exclusive distributor for HerdInsights in Australia.
HerdInsights provides real-time, cloud based health and heat monitoring for dairy cows which improves the efficiency of farm breeding programs and reduces health care costs through early illness detection. A smart collar continuously monitors your cows’ behavioural patterns and skin temperature to determine the optimum insemination time, cow health status, lameness and heat stress. The Alanya Data Centre conducts a multi-metric analysis of your entire herd incorporating such things as mounting behaviour, grazing and lying time….not just activity!
Genetics Australia”s General Manager, Jayne Senior said, ‘HerdInsights is more than just heat detection. The health monitoring aspect of the HerdInsights makes it one of the superior products on the market. After an exhaustive review of the available electronic heat and health detection products, we determined that HerdInsights was the logical choice. Our experience with previous products in this space gave us some insight into what to look for and what to avoid.’
Come see us at IDW
Alanya”s Chief Operating officer, Padraig Lynch will be visiting Australia in January and will be present at IDW providing a great opportunity to learn more about the features and benefits of HerdInsights. Padrig will be on the Genetics Australia stand all week, on the Tuesday and Wednesday a tent on the oval will be set up for more information & demonstration.
Further information on HerdInsights can be found athttp://www.animalhealthmonitoring.com/
Established in 1958, Genetics Australia is the leading source of high quality, Australian-bred genetics that have been proven under Australian conditions.
The farmer-owned co-operative also markets elite international genetics and complementary livestock breeding technology.