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Terang farmers and long-time GA supporters Bryan and Jo Dickson have scored a rare double feat with both their Holstein and Jersey studs topping the latest Australian Breeding Values (ABV) lists.

The April 2025 ABV release from DataGene shows Emu Banks Holsteins continued their run at the top with an average BPI of 376. For the first time, Spring Banks Jerseys took top spot on the breed’s ranking with an average BPI of 279.

This is the first time since the formation of DataGene that one farmer has topped both major breed indexes.

It fulfills a long-held ambition for Bryan, a former GA board member. “It’s pretty cool; it’s something I have wanted to do for a long time,” he said.

Daryl Hoey had a similar achievement about 12 years ago, topping the Holstein, Jersey and Aussie Red ABVs under the former Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme, the predecessor to DataGene.

The herd consists of about 50 Jerseys and 30-40 Brown Swiss but the bulk is Holstein, about 900 cows.

Bryan has enjoyed a long and fruitful connection with GA as a board member, bull supplier and a user of semen and IVF services.

Emu Banks Northeast has joined our current Holstein bull team and Emu Banks Austen will be released in spring. Austen will be one of the first sons of Australind, one of Australia’s highest standing genomic bulls for a number of years, to join the team.

For the first time, Australian cattle producers will benefit from the advanced IVF technologies developed by Trans Ova Genetics—the global leader in bovine reproduction.

Through our Joint Venture with URUS, we’re proud to announce that Trans Ova Genetics— the global leader in in-vitro fertilization (IVF) embryo production—is being integrated into the local market.

We have already begun implementing Trans Ova’s proven processes and systems into our laboratory, and two of our team members have completed extensive training in the United States.

As a brand within the URUS family, Trans Ova is the largest IVF provider globally, consistently producing the highest volume of high-quality cattle embryos. Its reputation as the best in the business will be a major advantage for Australian producers seeking reliable, top-tier reproductive solutions.

Trans Ova is internationally recognized for its superior animal husbandry and reproductive expertise. The company operates through an integrated network of regional centres, satellite locations, and on-farm services. We’re proud to share that our TLG Centre in Camperdown will become the first Trans Ova centre in Australia.

With the growing demand for IVF services, local farmers are increasingly seeking systems that consistently deliver better embryos and better calves—and that’s exactly where Trans Ova excels.

As part of the system implementation, our embryologist Tineke Jehu spent six weeks training in the U.S. earlier this year, while centre veterinarian and embryo transfer specialist Dr. Ezequiel (Eze) Boretto completed training with Trans Ova in May.

The experience has been both educational and affirming.

“Trans Ova has dedicated people for every part of the IVF process,” said Tineke. “At GA, we do a bit of everything, so I had the opportunity to rotate through each specialty area. My experience was mainly lab-based, including time at their ‘IVF University’ in Iowa and their satellite centres in Idaho. It was incredibly valuable—and a confidence boost to see that we are aligned with the global standard.”

Eze, who is spent roughly 70% of his training time in hands-on work and 30% in the lab, shared a similar perspective:

“It’s very rewarding to learn from a company considered the best in the world at IVF,” he said. “We’re proud to be collaborating with Trans Ova to bring their legacy to Australia. Their values align with ours—doing what’s best for clients. They started small 40 years ago and have grown to nearly 500 employees.”

Until now, Trans Ova Genetics was not available through any local provider—farmers could only access their embryos through private import. With this partnership, local producers will soon have direct access to Trans Ova’s leading-edge reproductive technologies.

A formal launch of the local Trans Ova operation will be announced in the near future. We look forward to sharing more about how this partnership will benefit Australian cattle operations and the broader livestock industry.

Genetics Australia Holdings (GAH) is currently awaiting the outcome of its China re-accreditation, following an onsite audit earlier this year by the General Administration of Customs China (GACC), the central authority of China Customs and a key agency responsible for managing the country’s border operations.

With trade between the United States and China presently suspended, the role of Australian exporters has become increasingly significant. This makes continued access to the Chinese market critical not only for GAH, but also for a number of Australian semen companies with bulls standing at GAH’s Camperdown production facilities, along with our private and custom collection clients with trade opportunities in China.

While no official timeline has been provided for the accreditation renewal, discussions between Chinese and Australian authorities remain constructive. We are optimistic about a positive outcome in the coming months and will continue to keep our clients and industry partners informed as on any new developments.

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.”

We are seeking relationship focussed Sales Representatives to reside in and service the Western Victoria and Gippsland regions.

The role
This role will be responsible for promoting and selling our extensive range of products and services via on-farm visits and distributor engagement, as well as promoting and supporting the organisation through attending industry related events. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Achieve agreed sales targets
• Prospecting customers, generating, and influencing product orders
• Participate across progeny inspection tours at a farm and industry level
• Identify industry trends, opportunities, threats, and assist with identifying solutions
• Take part in promotional activities and industry events

To view the full job advertisments and to apply via SEEK, please click one of the below links. For further infomation contact Rohan Butler on 0428 135 361.

Western Victoria Sales Representative: https://bit.ly/4l4KTmE
Gippsland Sales Representative: https://bit.ly/4l4KTmE

Holstein Australia CEO Rohan Butler is joining Genetics Australia as its new national sales manager.

Announcing the appointment today, Genetics Australia CEO Anthony Shelly said Mr Butler would bring strong business acumen and a passion for people and cattle to the position.

The role is a newly created position to manage the company’s sales portfolio, provide strategic management of the field sales team and to engage with stakeholders.

“We’re an expanding organisation and want to ensure we continue to support our field representatives to further drive the business,” Mr Shelly said.

“Rohan is an excellent candidate who has great experience and expertise in the herd improvement and genetics space. This role brings together a lot of Rohan’s strengths, passions and attributes. He has very strong business acumen which will be a great attribute for our business.”

Mr Butler has been with Holstein Australia for 15 years, initially as genetics service manager and for the past 4.5 years as CEO, and previously worked for another genetics company.

Mr Butler said he was looking forward to a new challenge. “This new role is an opportunity to work with an organisation with a strong domestic presence and a long history as a member cooperative, which is not dissimilar to a breed association,” he said.

“It was time for a change and a new challenge and it’s an exciting time for Genetics Australia with the new opportunities and products that are flowing from the joint venture with URUS.

“It’s a different role, not just about sales but supporting the sales field staff to ensure they have everything they need. Genetics Australia is in a great place to grow and it’s exciting to be part of that.”

Mr Butler said while he would miss his role with Holstein Australia, the organisation was also well placed for the future.

“There are some exciting opportunities ahead for Holstein Australia,” he said. “We have started a new strategic plan process so it’s a great opportunity for someone to come in to build on that with some fresh perspectives.”

Mr Butler will start with Genetics Australia in March.

It’s not often that you get the best of both worlds when it comes to targeting higher Intramuscular fat (IMF) and lower Net Feed Intake (NFI) in the beef industry.

But Allendale True Blue T325 performs exceptionally well in both traits and his popularity is showing the importance breeders are placing on these qualities.

“We’re seeing more breeders selecting for both feed efficiency and meat quality through intramuscular fat,” GA’s Beef Manager Damien Thomson said.

Higher IMF and lower NFI are negatively correlated, meaning that usually as IMF increases, feed efficiency decreases.

“Breeders have been targeting IMF for a long time, particularly in the Angus and Wagyu breeds, in pursuit of premiums in the market and to access buyers targeting higher marbling product,” Damien said.

“Generally over time as we’ve improved the quality of the meat, we’ve reduced the efficiency because fat requires more energy than lean muscle.

Generally speaking, an animal that genetically lays down more fat in the form of intramuscular fat needs to east more feed to put on the same kilos, whereas if they’re quite lean, they can put on a lot of muscle weight from eating less.

“Now there’s an increased awareness around the feed efficiency of animals.”

That’s where Allendale True Blue has been turning the tables. He’s in the top 2 per cent of the breed for Net Feed Intake and in the top 7 per cent of the breed for IMF.

“Through his popularity, we’ve seen people in the market selecting for those two traits. That’s why he’s so popular for commercial breeders and seed stock alike.”

Damien describes Allendale True Blue as a curve bender, a bull that has an unusual relationship by being positive for two traits that have a negative correlation.

He’s the only bull to feature in the top 10 per cent across the two traits. Overall, he is in the top 25 per cent of the breed for 14 different traits including calving ease direct, birth weight, 600-day weight, carcase weight, and EMA.

Allendale True Blue entered the market in May 2024 and had a strong spring and continues to attract a lot of demand. He was born in June 22 and hails from Allendale Studs at Bordertown in upper south-east South Australia.

Breeders and feeders can also use the new Angus Steer Select to target higher IMF and lower NFI. This new genomic selection tool is being used to identify the genetic merit of Angus steers (50% Angus content or greater).

It provides the ability to predict genetic differences in key production traits, enabling greater precision in sorting and/or marketing of steers into lines suitable for different paths in the beef supply chain.

The traits include MSA Marbling, Daily Feed Intake and Average Daily Gain, along with Eye Muscle Area and Carcase Weight.

Angus Australia is also producing an overall selection index, the Angus Steer Value (ASV), with the combination of Daily Feed Intake (25 per cent), Average Daily Gain (20 per cent), Marbling (27.5 per cent) having a huge influence over the index.

“It’s another new product to help in the push for increased feed efficiency and marbling by allowing commercial breeders to measure their performance in those traits,” Damien said.

“A large number of businesses are investing in feed efficiency measuring which is a good indicator of the importance of this trait which will continue to improve the accuracy going forward.”

Genetics Australia Co-operative (GAC) chairman John Pekin has reflected on a successful period of transformation at the 2024 annual general meeting.

John told the GAC AGM in Warrnambool on November 18 that the formation in 2023 of Genetics Australia Holdings (GAH) as a joint venture between GAC and URUS and operating as Genetics Australia, was an enormous task but the move was reaping rewards.

“It was a busy first six months, but by the end of the financial year the company had settled into a strong operational position,” John said.

After such a busy period, the GAC board remains committed to the future.

“As a joint venture partner in Genetics Australia, we are fully invested, both strategically and financially, in making Genetics Australia the global leader of grazing genetics that we know it can be,” John said.

“We will continue to protect the large asset base we have, as well as look to invest in strategic initiatives that will not only enhance Genetics Australia, but enable it to bring the latest technology and elite genetic material to our beef and dairy clients.”

At the 66^th AGM, Lucinda Corrigan and Tim Humphris were re-elected to the board.

The annual report shows significant changes compared to previous years, with GAC income from sales at $747,025 compared to more than $20 million last year. This is due to Genetics Australia Holdings being created as a separate private company.

The Co-operative remains in a strong position and the final result was in line with the board’s expectations. GAC’s total assets are strong at more than $26 million.

As previously agreed, no dividends were paid during the first year of the Joint Venture.

After the AGM, GAH CEO Anthony Shelly provided an update on the business operations.

“The joint venture has provided an invaluable opportunity for the business to integrate into the URUS group environment, adopting best practices from the global leader in cattle genetics,” Anthony said.

Some of the standout achievements during the year include integrating IT services, adoption of PEAK semen processing standards, and implementation of a performance management system.

Wagyu beef breeders from across Victoria and Tasmania are looking to expand and have looked at TLG for inspiration.

About 20 members of Southern Wagyu Breeders Association hosted a field day at TLG’s Camperdown facilities in late 2024, learning about the range of services on offer.

The association was formed in early 2024 to support southern Wagyu breeders.

Committee member Vanessa Ingram Daniel said the association aimed to support, advocate for and promote Wagyu breeders and connect like-minded people for networking.

“A lot of breeders in Victoria are small and some struggle to get shipments of cattle together, but we’re looking to bring farmers together to advance the breed,” she said.

The Camperdown event was one in a series that brings breeders together to learn from each other and others in the industry.

“We looked at semen collection, heard from a specialist in embryo transfer and were able to view bulls sold by Genetics Australia, including some from breeders within the group,” Vanessa said.

“We were impressed. It was an informative event and it was good to see bulls that are being sold around the world.

“If you wanted to wrap something up in a day and learn about genetics and semen collection, TLG is a really good place to go.”

Camperdown and Glenormiston operations manager Ruth Barber said the TLG facility had a lot to offer beef breeders.

“Hosting the group was a way to open the doors for existing and potential future clients,” Ruth said.

The tour focussed on semen collection services, embryo and IVF services and TLG’s ability to export to many markets, especially as the only EU approved semen collection centre in Australia.

There was also strong emphasis on the integrated technology available to support semen production and ensure the best product is going out.

The visiting breeders also learnt about how TLG can replicate their breeding genetics through embryo transfer or IVF and exporting those products and collect semen for their own use.

“That collection service is like an insurance policy to protect the bull’s genetics.”

Ruth said the tour was a good opportunity to meet existing clients in person and to give them an opportunity to see the lab in action, while also introducing new people to the services.

“We’ve had a lot of enquiries and we’re looking forward to the IVF space continuing to grow over the coming year,” she said.

When you have a cow family that has produced multiple national champions and is famous around the world, you want to make sure it continues.

Elmar Holsteins’ Jessica family fits that bill and TLG’s IVF services are helping to extend the genetic gain for the most famous cow, Elmar Goldwyn Jessica 11, now aged 14.5 years.

Elmar Holsteins is a family-owned stud, established in 1920s and based at Leitchville in Northern Victoria and run today by Steve and Deanne Hore and their son Brady.

The Jessicas have been bred and developed over the past 35 years and the success of TLG’s IVF services is giving the family new impetus.

The first 10 IVF calves are on the ground and at least 30 more are on the way.

Deanne is impressed with the results. “Our first IF calves were born around August-September and they’ve been nice, big, strong calves,” she said. “They have done really well in our system and we’re more than happy.”

Elmar Holsteins has been naturally increasing numbers over the decades, more recently accelerating from 450 in 2019 when a barn was installed to 600 today.

“Some of that comes from the benefits of using sexed semen in a controlled environment with the barn,” Deanne said. “We get really good conception rates so natural increases happen pretty easily.”

Steve is third generation at Elmar, Brady the fourth and the original 48-ha home farm has grown to about 740 ha over two sites, with Deanne’s former family farm added to the mix for fodder production. The stud was started by Steve’s grandparents Elsie and Martin (whose names led to Elmar).

In 2019, the family changed the way they farm by building a 150mx45m shed to house the milking Holstein herd, giving them shelter, fans and a sprinkle of water when needed.

Animal welfare was at the heart of the move but avoiding production loss due to extreme conditions was another factor.

The results were stunning. “The first four to six months offered `wow factor’ improvements in herd health and the flow-on effects of production increases because the controlled environment stopped our normal losses due to summer heat,” Deanne said.

That success bought forward plans for a second barn. The following year they built a second barn which houses herd health, dry cows, calving cows and has room for heifers when joining.

The heifers are joined on natural heats wearing responders. “We’ve eliminated reproductive programs and just use our collars,” Steve said. “We’ve seen amazing gains with all the data and the health benefits of having cloud-based on-tap information, and it saves using artificial means such as fixed-time AI as we try to have a more natural environment.”

They previously calved spring and autumn but over the past three years have transitioned to every-day calving.

“It takes some years to transition fully through your system because you still want your milking herd re-joined in the right time frames, but we got there,” Steve said.

They have introduced a refined TMR system and improved programs and protocols to have a quality product all-year round for their Coles fresh milk contract.

“We have always supplied a liquid milk company,” Deanne said. “I like supplying milk that people are consuming in our country. I think that’s important and it’s been able to work in with our system.”

Elmar Holsteins used embryo transfers for 35 years, but it was time to move to the next level.

“We’ve been very fortunate that our Jessica cow families have bought us a lot of success so we decided to send cows to TLG,” Deanne said. “They had expired their embryo work on farm and we needed to take the next step and use IVF to try to continue using those genetics. We felt there were benefits in using newer sires over those genetics because those cows had really made an impact for us.”

Over the past 18 months, TLG has managed the animals and the IVF side while the Hores have managed the recipient side on the farm.

“TLG has managed our donors and when the IVF embryos are produced, we drive there in the morning, bring them back and put them in our recipient program,” Deanne said.

“That’s the only artificial program we do. We’ve used a range of sires from what was available and what we thought would best fit. Instead of the semen being delivered to us, it’s delivered to Total but then we have the recipients on site so we can manage them, which is an important cog in the business because calving and milking is still a priority in our system.

“We try not to treat them any differently. If we’re rearing a calf, we’re rearing a calf as if it’s elite genetics or from the bottom tier. It doesn’t matter, all we want is a really healthy calf.”

The family looks for dairy functionality. “Our cows live in a controlled environment so dairy strength is important,” Deanne said. “They’re not under a lot of physical stress with no demands to walk long distances so they can carry weight and therefore we don’t need a big, heavy-boned animal.”

The changes have worked. Fertility is up and production has increased more than 25 per cent since bringing the herd into housed conditions.

“We’ve got a really good genetic base so when we feed them well, they do well and we get the rewards,” Steve said.

They will continue using IVF. “Jessica is 14 and it was time to bring her home; she’s done her job,” Deanne said.