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Jacqui Suares might describe herself as an accidental farmer, but like all farmers she’s faced a lot of challenges over the years.

From battling fires, back surgery, raising a child with a disability and confronting cancer, Jacqui has had to deal with more than the usual weather conditions and price concerns.

Throughout the journey she has shown determination to step through the challenges and shared her story of resilience at the Herd 25 conference in March.

In 2020 Jacqui received an OAM for her service to the community, particularly as an advocate for people with disabilities. She also served as WestVic Dairy director and chairman, and four years as a board member of Holstein Australia before retiring from the industry in 2024 as her husband Ross battled with his own cancer diagnosis.

Jacqui’s talk at Herd 25 showed how  physical activity, connection and a proactive mindset can empower people to achieve their goals and transform into a happier, healthier person.

She recalled the aftermath of a bushfire while sharefarming at Bungador. “We were at the end of a dead-end road surrounded by bush so we always had a plan,” she said. “We both knew what jobs we had to do. Mine was to get the gather important documents together, the precious things and the pets and leave.”

After three days of tireless community work, Jacqui realised it was time to reflect. “We invited all the locals to our shed for a barbecue. As the night went on , one by one the men started talking about what they went through. It stuck me how important it is when we have catastrophic events to get people to stop and talk.”

The community decided to continue holding regular pot luck dinners. “They became a great opportunity to get together and get to know each other better and welcome new people to the community.

“We learnt out of disaster comes opportunity. The things that make you strong include planning early, communicating the plan, regrouping and debriefing.”

Jacqui trained and worked as a nurse in the Wimmera before becoming an accidental farmer alongside Ross and switching to disability work after learning of their daughter Mia’s condition.

Together the long-term Genetics Australia shareholders share farmed and built assets before buying their farm at Larpent, achieving Holstein  Master Breeder status in 2019.   Jacqui went on to serve 26 years as CEO of Colac Otway Disability Accommodation, guiding it through expansion and the transition to the NDIS.

The dual careers of nursing and dairy farming were bad for Jacqui’s back which led to surgery.

“It was a success but I was anxious to make sure I was fit enough to prune the rose garden. The surgeon advised me to put my shoes on and walk.  That really stuck with me.  When we talk about health and fitness, we sometimes overcomplicate it. It was the best advice I ever had.”

She later had surgery to remove a lump in her throat, resulting in the loss of her singing voice. “That was an important part of who I was. I wasn’t prepared for that. The lesson was how quickly things that are precious to us can be taken away.”

Concerns about blood pressure later forced her to reevaluate her lifestyle and she encouraged farmers to check their health data.

The family was told that Mia wouldn’t walk or talk but she defied those predictions. “She was treated the same as all our children,” Jacqui said. “Like the others, she sat on a chair at the end of the pit while we milked.”

Raising and supporting a child with a disability brings many joys and challenges. “It taught me a huge lesson about what we can’t control. There are some things we can’t fix or change so we have to move past them and concentrate on the things we can change and fix.”

Jacqui learnt to play several musical instruments and she would turn to music to manage difficult times. “It’s important for mental health to think about the things that distract you from the worries that we all carry, whether that be walking, playing sport, exercise, craftwork or like me playing music.

“Try to stay connected, get regular exercise, focus on the things you can control; and let go of the things you can’t; and take time out to do what gives you joy”

Mat Dennis is expanding his role with GA to take oversight of the TLG product range.

Mat joined GA in February last year as a northern Victorian sales representative, working alongside regional manager Jon Holland, and will now add TLG product specialist to his portfolio.

Mat is based at Calivil where he farms with his parents and the expanded role gives him plenty of opportunity to continue his love of genetics and breeding.

“My passion is to breed good cows, no matter who it’s for and what kind of system it’s for,” he says.

Mat has been working in the genetics field since 2012 when he joined Wellbred Genetics as a re-seller. In 2015 he moved to a similar role with National Herd and started his own reselling business Dennis AB in 2018 before joining GA.

Mat’s expanded role will ensure oversight and promotion of the TLG product range after the departure of TLG sales manager Darren Fletcher.

“Given the strong reputation of the brand and its products, we are committed to maintaining TLG as a distinct and respected entity,” he said.

“It’s not just about sales; it’s about developing the bull team and promoting everything to ensure we continue to grow the TLG market.”

“I’m still active on the dairy farm with my parents, milking about 220 cows and calving year-round, but I love the genetics side of things and want to keep expanding my work in the industry.”

 Mat will also continue his current responsibilities as a GA sales representative in Northern Victoria.

TLG is currently reviewing how the fresh sexed semen side of the TLG operations will be managed.

The team at Genetics Australia are pleased to announce the re-release of our latest Illawarra sire GBREWARD following his completed parentage verification process, with the many pending orders now in distribution

In late 2024, we issued a notification advising a temporary hold on semen from the new Illawarra bull, GBREWARD Glenbrook Beautys Reward, due to an anomaly identified in his parentage during our onboarding process. While his dam was correctly identified as O.Beauty 383 EX92, we were initially unable to confirm JAZZY Gorbro Joans Jazzy as his sire.

Unfortunately, a small quantity of semen had already been distributed before this issue was detected. Upon identifying the error, we immediately ceased further distribution and offered credit for any semen that had been used.

Over the past six months, and in close cooperation with the breeder, we undertook a comprehensive genomic testing program across a wide group of bulls, including semen from JAZZY. During this process, we also discovered that very few Illawarra bulls currently available in AI are fully parent-verified.

We’re pleased to share that this effort has now successfully confirmed the sire of GBREWARD as Blackwood Park Liberton. LIBERTON is a well-regarded sire, heavily used by the breeder and described as one of the best bulls he’s ever worked with. He sired multiple champions at the 2024 Adelaide Show, including Senior Champion Glenbrook Sunbeam 8th and Reserve Senior Champion Glenbrook Beauty Queen. LIBERTON currently has over 170 registered progeny across approximately six herds, with daughters demonstrating excellent milking performance.

With his parentage now verified, GBREWARD will soon return to active service. He is a full-coloured red bull, maturing into an impressive individual. Conventional semen is now available at $26.00 per straw. A limited quantity of sexed semen is also available at $55.00 per straw. Sire details will be updated shortly on DataVat following the next proof run.

A brief word on his dam, O.Beauty 383 EX92: she is an outstanding cow with an 8-lactation average of 11,794 litres, 506 kg fat (4.3%), and 393 kg protein (3.3%). Her best 305-day lactation exceeded 14,000 litres and over 1,000 kg of milk solids.

We thank you for your patience and understanding during this process and are excited to make GBREWARD available once again with full confidence in his pedigree.

The National Breeding Objectives (NBO) are under review with exciting new changes expected to be unveiled later this year.

Every five years, DataGene evaluates the NBO to ensure that they are in line with the direction our industry is heading. Changes in milk price, feed and other farm costs and farmer trait preferences are driving the need to update these indices to ensure they are fit for purpose.

Australia’s National Breeding Objectives are the:

• BPI – Balanced Performance Index, a profit-based index.
• HWI – Health Weighted Index, an extra emphasis on health traits.
• SI – Sustainability Index, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity.

Projecting milk price is one of the big changes of this NBO review. Instead of historical pricing, the new indices will use projected pricing (2025 – 2029). This will more accurately reflect the heifers that are bred using these indices once they hit the national herd. The projected milk prices will also signal a change in the protein-to-fat ratio within the indices. Of all the NBO changes, this will have the biggest impact on animal rankings. Currently the BPI is based on a protein-to-fat ratio of around 2:1. In the new BPI the ratio will be closer to 1:1. This change will also flow through to the production component of the HWI and SI.

The consultation work performed in late 2024 also suggested strong support for a seasonal calving, pasture-based index. In response, DataGene will now be giving a stronger seasonal focus within the HWI through the addition of gestation length and calving ease, while maintaining a high emphasis on health and fertility.

DataGene Stakeholder Relations Specialist Peter Thurn said that during the consultation phase, the need for a Total Mixed Ration (TMR) index and an index for hotter regions was investigated.  While there were polarised views on the need for a TMR index, there was solid support for an index for hotter regions from the northern states and WA. DataGene has performed some modelling as to what these proposed indices could look like and will continue to consult with farmers and stakeholders to determine if and when to introduce these potential new indices.

The herd improvement industry has strongly voiced a view around updating the base. The base is the reference or comparison point for ABVs. The current base is centred around an average of a group of cows born in 2011. The proposal is to move this to cows born in 2020. As part of this update, a methodology change will also be implemented. This will have an effect on type proofs in particular. Normally when a base is rolled, breeding values go down because you are comparing them to a more modern genetic group of animals. This time however, in the case of type ABVs, we will see them rise. Currently only classified animals are used in the type base. This only reflects a small group of elite animals including daughters of the highest ABV bulls and registered cows. In December 2025, DataGene will be broadening the base to include all cows born in the base period. This will give a more realistic view of the average of the population.

To come up with the final recommendations, more than 30 different models were tested, along with updating an extensive economic model and re-estimating correlations and genetic parameters. “We would like to take the opportunity to thank the farmers and industry partners who have contributed to this work which will be released as part of the public ABV release in December 2025,” Peter said.

Genetics Australia is poised for more growth on the back of the successful joint venture with the URUS group.

The Genetics Australia Co-operative (GAC) annual report released at Camperdown on May 14 shows the Co-operative recorded a profit of $466,571 for the six months ending December 31, 2024, along with an equity increase of $1.36 million.

The financial year has changed to follow a calendar year in line with joint venture partner URUS.

GAC leases land to Genetics Australia Holdings (GAH), the joint venture company established in partnership with URUS.

Chairman John Pekin said the good financial result was due to a strong performance by GAH and the equity increase stemmed from a positive revaluation of properties.

“From a shareholder’s point of view, this is a wonderful result and affirmation of our decision to join forces with URUS,” he said. “We can see the implementation of the services and technology having a real effect on productivity and efficiency.”

Joint venture profits are being used to build up reserves in support of the anticipated expansion of operations.

John said the GAC board would continue to protect and grow its strong asset base. “We are fully invested, both strategically and financially, in making Genetics Australia the global leader of grazing genetics.”

Following the AGM, there have been no changes to director positions. John Pekin continues as Chairman, and Tim Humphris remains Deputy Chairman. The GAC representatives on the GAH Board also remain unchanged, with Trevor Henry and Jonny O’Brien continuing in their roles.

In a show of confidence in the future of Australian agriculture, Genetics Australia Cooperative (GAC) has increased its land holding in the Camperdown region, more than doubling the existing site.

The new land adjoining to the west of the current TLG property will allow for future expansion of the GA and TLG businesses.

GAC leases the land to Genetics Australia Holdings, the joint venture company established in partnership with URUS.

The existing TLG site near Camperdown is 18.2ha while the new land covers 33.6ha.

It will add a second Princes Highway access point to the business along with potential access via Cross Forest Road.

GAC purchased the land last December after an expression of interest process.

Chairman John Pekin said the purchase would allow the businesses to expand.

“The original TLG site is fairly tight with not a lot of room for expansion,” John said. “The whole configuration around the buildings is tight so this extra land will give us opportunities going forward.”

“It gives us more biosecurity protection, room to expand and the opportunity to have a second entrance to the site,” he added.

The land is being used for lay-off cattle at the moment and there are plans for subdivision in coming years and potential expansion of the shed system.

GAC also owns 485ha at Glenormiston. “From a biosecurity point of view, it’s an advantage to have a bigger separate area,” John said.

“There have been benefits from the joint venture to allow things like this to come to fruition and it was too good an opportunity to pass up,” he added.

A ZEPHYR might be a gentle breeze in the outside world, but in the dairy industry ZEPHYR is set to create a big storm.

Summit View ZEPHYR, a son of Calister DECIPHER, is the first genomic sire to graduate through the Genetics Australia-PEAK Co-operator program created as part of the URUS joint venture. ZEPHYR was born at our Co-operator herd in Gippsland and will soon enter AI and is expected to feature with a release in our August 2025 Holstein sire catalogue where he is sure to attract strong attention.

The process started with semen leaving the shores of Australia, arriving in the U.S at the Trans Ova Genetics embryo centre, then being combined with an elite Holstein female Peak Zestful 7305-ET from the Peak Genetics program. The end result is Summit View ZEPHYR-ET-IMP.

Genetics Australia’s CEO Anthony Shelly said that Peak Zestful 7305-ET was the first donor dam selected to provide genetics to this collaborative program. She was selected for her high genomic ranking for Australia. Eight calves came from that initial mating – four females as well as four males – with two full sisters to be added to the Summit View donor program in Australia this coming spring.

The calves are impressive and display good breed characteristics.

The Co-operator program fosters a unique opportunity on a global scale for Genetics Australia, made possible through the joint venture with the URUS group. It involves a small group of contracted farms in Victoria where embryos are transferred to recipient females and calves are born. Females born in the program stay at the co-operator’s farm, with elite female offspring added to future breeding schedules. The genomic breeding values of male calves will be assessed, and elite males will join AI with Genetics Australia Holdings for Australian farmers to access.

“Sending our local semen to the US to Peak Genetics to sire embryos that come back is a great opportunity to access international cow families with Australian genomic performance breeding values,” Anthony said.

The future is looking very bright for the PEAK / GAH product development program which will continue to work alongside Australian breeder programs to supply elite genetics to dairy producers at a local and international level.

While Calister DECIPHER semen was our first shipment sent as part of the Co-operator program, other semen products have been exported to Trans Ova to make the next line of embryos, including the “Genomic Giant” and breed leading BPI sire for the past 18 months in Carenda AUSTRALIND.

 “We currently have Carenda AUSTRALIND calves being born across the 2025 Autumn calving period with co-operators from some outstanding PEAK Genetics females,” Anthony said.  “This is an exciting beginning to what should be recognised as a collaboration effort of global herd improvement organisations for the betterment of Australian dairy producers,” he added.

“We are sending semen from the very best bulls at Genetics Australia to the U.S to make embryos and Australian farmers will see the benefits of combining the best of both worlds.”

Summit View genetics are designed to capture and maximise the elite genetic merit of future breeding females as well as supply elite semen products to the Genetics Australia and Total Livestock Genetics semen portfolios.

Frank Kelly wants more Australian farmers to look at Aussie Reds as their breed of choice and he’s helping to promote the breed with his first bull entering the AI system.

Frank’s Winifred Denis – named in honour of his parents – is now available through Genetics Australia and Frank hopes he’s the first of many.

“I’ll be rapt if he does well for my first one up and there’s no reason why we can’t breed a few more,” he said. “We’ve got good enough cows to breed quite a few and hopefully we can add to the genomic base.”

Frank farms with his wife Marianne at Tragowel south of Kerang in northern Victoria, milking 400 Aussie Reds on 500 hectares.

“We’ve been breeding AI cows ever since AI started,” he said. His father Denis was a founding member of Victorian Artificial Breeders Co-op, the forerunner of Genetics Australia.

They previously bred Jerseys and Holsteins and went to Holsteins before converting to straight Reds in 2005.

“The fertility, components and health traits were superior to Holsteins, but the biggest thing with the Reds was their calving ease. With Holsteins we spent half our lives in the paddock but with the Reds, you go out the next day and they’re all up and had a feed and are all healthy.”

Frank has been a strong Genetics Australia supporter for many years and his herd has a strong base of GA genetics.

“Our cows have been crossing over from black and white to red and white and we’re well down the track and now getting proper Reds rather than cross-bred cattle,” he said.

While Frank and Marianne have taken over the family GA membership and continued the farm that’s been in the family for nearly 100 years, they’re not stud breeders. “Our cows have just had a number and we haven’t registered cow families, but in this case, the name was a good way to recognise my parents,” Frank said.

“He has really strong genetics in his sire pathway. His Type has come through really well and other than that it’s all about statistics and everything has come up to a nice spot for him. He is from a really strong cow family in our herd.”

Frank has been involved with the Aussie Red committee for several years, serving as treasurer since 2020.

“I think the breed is travelling fantastically well,” he says. “We’re heading in a really good direction. We have maintained health and fertility in the breed and we’re re-focusing on production and a bit more dairy strength at the moment.

“We had followed down the path of Europeans with cows a little bit smaller but that doesn’t suit us in Australia. We need a bit more strength back in the breed.

“Denis is a newer sire and will help the growth. I always hope more people look to the Reds. They are a fantastic and durable breed for our conditions.”

With 17,000 dairy cows across 15 farms under their Just Milk banner, South African farmers Edgar and Lynda Brotherton are looking to Australia to boost the quality of their herd.

With one of the largest herds in South Africa, Mr Brotherton wants to stabilise numbers but increase milk production through genomic testing and selective breeding.

Mr Brotherton was hosted by Genetics Australia to join the World Jersey Conference tour presented by Jersey Australia from April 6-21, and addressed a sponsors’ breakfast in Warrnambool. He was joined by Roy Dixon from CRV Xseed Genetics, the exclusive distributor of Genetics Australia’s Jersey semen in South Africa.

“The main purpose of our visit to Australia is to visit breeders of the bulls we’ve used,” he said. “It is our intention to use more Australian genetics and it has been fantastic to meet the breeders and put faces and names to the bulls we use.”

Just Milk is a management company based in the Eastern Cape that manages dairies. The milking herd comprises 17,000 cows and the total herd size including calves is 25,500. Just Milk also has cheese processing facilities, partnerships with piggeries and runs a small beef operation.

Just Milk is a unifying brand, not a single corporate entity. It operates on farms with various land ownership and profit-sharing structures. “We personally own some of the properties, 50 per cent share in some and 25 per cent share farmers in others,” Mr Brotherton said. “This model allowed land investors an opportunity to gain exposure to dairy farming.”

Very few animals have been brought into the herds from outside, resulting in selective breeding and an optimal animal suited to the Eastern Cape conditions.

Mr Brotherton says his interest in Australian genetics stems from the similarities between the two countries’ farming conditions.

“We’ve got low rainfall areas with irrigation that can have temperatures up to 40 degrees for 5-6 days in a row, and we’ve got coastal farms like Gippsland with rolling hills and dryland farming.

During their growth phase, Just Milk reared about 1000 surplus heifers every year to be on standby for new projects.

“At that stage due to growth, we weren’t able to be too selective with the heifers we put into the system,” Mr Brotherton said. “That’s changing now because we’ve decided we’ve reached our cap.

“Although I enjoy building new dairies, at my age I don’t think we will do any more and will probably cap numbers and look to process more of the milk we produce.

“We’re looking at the option of genomic testing our heifers and being more selective. The aim will be to get more milk out of the same number of cows, rather than add more and more cows.”

The Just Milk cow originated from a black and white herd crossed to Jersey after Mr Brotherton toured New Zealand in 1995.

“We started using New Zealand bred Jersey bulls like Manhattan, Maunga, Murmer, Presley, Nucleus and Kingpin, especially Manhattan,” he said.

“One of the reasons we chose the New Zealand bulls was that the black and whites we had been milking were too big. We figured the smaller New Zealand Jersey would bring them down quickly and they certainly did that and they bred us a very good cow.”

They then moved to Genetics Australia through supplier CRV. “Some of the older bulls that worked very well for us included Badger, Tahbilk, Aussiegold and more recently Stark, Ventura, Goldband, Bedford and other genomic bulls.

“It has been very nice here in Australia to see some of the mothers and daughters of the bulls we’re using and we were very impressed with what we’ve seen.”

“Now we will settle into more Australian genetics,” Mr Brotherton said. “What we’ve found is that the Australian system is about as close to our system as we can get. It is largely grass-based with supplement and concentrate in times of shortages.”

The Just Milk farms have a 12-week calving period in spring, eight weeks in autumn. Heifers calve down at 24 months, mostly using sexed semen.

They sell some heifers because of a lack of space and also lease surplus heifers for a monthly rental.

The South African dairy industry has changed significantly since Mr Brotherton began farming in 1986. In 1997 there were 7000 dairy farmers, that has been reduced to 882, though farms are bigger and production has increased.

The total herd population is 30 per cent Holstein, 27 per cent Jersey, combined herds running both Holstein and Jersey 23 per cent, cross-breds 16 per cent and Ayrshire 4 per cent.

Most of the 3.65 million litres of milk – 86.1 per cent – is produced around coastal regions and long-life UHT milk and cheese are the main markets, with the fresh milk market decreasing.

Genetics Australia was the premium sponsor of the World Jersey Conference.

Australia’s Angus beef is firmly on the international menu after the Neogen World Angus Forum showcased the quality of local product.

Genetics Australia had a strong presence throughout the tour which started in Sydney and continued into central Queensland. The forum attracted 250 international delegates to a pre-expo bus tour, nearly 1000 registrations for a forum in Brisbane and 5000 people went through the expo at Tamworth.

Beef product manager Damien Thomson said the quality of the cattle was the main focal point of the tour, prompting a lot of interest from across the globe but particularly from the European Union (EU).

One of the highlights was a visit to Millah Murrah at Bathurst where Millah Murrah Tiny Dancer T438 was on display.

“It was amazing to showcase one of the best bulls in Australia to 250 international delegates on the bus tour,” Damien said. “The response was really positive. A lot of breeders were really impressed with his foot quality, his docility with so many people around looking at him and his overall type. He has an incredibly strong head with amazing sire appeal and really good rump muscle in his hindquarter. He’s a very impressive overall package.”

Tiny Dancer is the $70,000 high selling two-year-old from Millah Murrah’s 2024 bull sale. He was purchased by Gundungarra Angus Stud at Robertson. Genetics Australia has global semen distribution rights and he is now available for export qualified semen.

Overall, there was huge interest in Australian genetics, particularly from the EU. “Because it’s so hard to access semen from around the world because of the strict collection protocols, they are particularly on the hunt for Australian genetics,” Damien said.

“They could see that our beef is among the best in the world. Everyone was extremely impressed with the carcass quality. The data from the World Angus Evaluation has really shown that strength, and they were impressed with fertility, structure and overall type.”

There was interest from the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Italy, Czech Republic, Germany and Estonia.

There was not a lot of discussion about American tariffs, though there was an understanding that China looks to be turning to Australia for importing beef and Angus genetics.