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He was already a favorite with the team at the bull farm – now Genetics Australia’s ILLUMINATOR P is quickly becoming a favorite among farmers with early reports of his vigorous calves and excellent semen fertility. Genetics Australia Laboratory Manager, Emily Fowler, says her team has high expectations on any product they release, with their post-thaw criteria in-line with the standards set by PEAK – the world’s premier cattle genetics supplier.

“We’re very strict on our assessments and quality control measures to ensure we are only putting semen into the market that meets our world class standards,” Emily said. Emily has been assessing ILLUMINATOR’s collections for the past 12 months and was not surprised at the positive feedback surrounding his excellent conception rates on farm.

“Illuminator has exceptional semen quality,” she said. “When he comes into collection, the team knows he is going to process well and hit his targets. He always presents well with highly motile and morphologically sound sperm, so it’s not surprising he is getting good results.” According to Emily and the staff at TLG, ILLUMINATOR has been a standout bull since he first arrived on centre in 2023. They attribute much of ILLUMINATOR’s vitality to his placid temperament and his superior development.

“Illuminator is a nice natured bull that’s never stressed when he comes in for collection,” Emily said. “He clearly had a good start back as a calf and met all his key growth targets, which makes a big difference when it comes to his maturity and semen quality.”

LLUMINATOR’s vitality was demonstrated recently by local dairy farmers Tori and Ryan Tuckett. The couple manage 750 cows across two herds at Terang in south west Victoria. Last year the Tucketts installed 8x Lely milking robots to milk 550 cows on their pasture-based system. A recent pregnancy test at the Tucketts revealed ILLUMINATOR had achieved 88% conception rate at 150 days, from 50 units of conventional semen, bred on natural heats on cows from their robot herd by their local AI technician from Nationwide AB. Tori said she was thrilled by the result, and is eagerly anticipating their first ILLUMINATOR calves that are due in early December. “To get that conception rate is pretty amazing and not something we really expected,” Tori said.

“We picked ILLUMINATOR because we wanted to improve traits like chest width, muzzle width and correct pin set. All his udder traits are really good, with good teat length and placement not too close. “His proof just ticks all the boxes, so we’re going to keep using him – I don’t see any reason why we should change.”

ILLUMINATOR is destined to be in high demand again this Spring through Genetics Australia. He continues to maintain excellent stocks of both conventional and sexed Ultra 4Ml.

ILLUMINATOR P – $468 BPIg is getting tremendous feedback on his ability to get cows in

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A number of new bulls will be offered in the TLG and GA teams through the genetic partnership between GAH and Genex. The bulls are high ranking in the USA and the following bulls will be available from Total Livestock Genetics.
The portfolio is headlined by the global superstar in Peak EXCITEMENT, one of the leading available GTPI sires in the world. His GTPI of 3,258 and Net Merit of 1,228 gives Australian farmers a great opportunity to access this world class sire. Stocks are limited so early ordering is advised.

Peak EXCITEMENT

Joining Excitement is Peak CASIMIRO another high-ranking sire to hit our shores this Spring. With a GTPI of 3,250 combined with a +2.6 DPR and +7.0 for Productive Life, CASIMIRO an exceptional opportunity to access some high-end health traits. His 1.70 PTAT and 2.12 UDC also means that no functional type is lost in the pursuit of health.

Peak CASIMIRO

Peak LUCKYCHARM is sure to be another bull in high demand. His GTPI of 3,221 and 2.04 UDC for udders combined with calving ease and positive DPR means that this sire will leave long lasting daughters.
Peak BACKSPIN is the final “new” piece to the Genex Holstein puzzle, and with a near perfect linear for type he is sure to be an extremely sough after sire this Spring.
GRAYSON PP is a Jersey sire that will provide an opportunity for farmers looking for homozygous polled genetics. This Homozygous polled bull with a breed leading (no JX) also offers and an outcross pedigree, a GJPI of 149 and a JUI of +15.5.

Tog GRAYSON PP

Added to the GA team are three GENEX Holstein bulls.
All bulls are in excess of $500 BPIg led by Peak VALENTINE at $544 BPIg. He will be in high demand and in in the top 1% of the breed for BPI and SI. VALENTINE is -6 for Gestation Length, over 500 for milk with positive protein % of .32 and .45% for Fat. His daughters are below average for stature and rates well for health traits. VALENTINE is available through the Spring Premium Balanced Performer offer at $25.00 per straw, conditions apply.

Peak VALENTINE

At $516 BPIg, Peak CANDYMAN is regarded as a production specialist at 248 ASI and -7 for Gestation length and 104 for Calving Ease makes him ideal for heifer mating.

Peak CANDYMAN

Peak BLADESTORM is the final bull in the GA Spring team. At $508 BPIg he has a well balanced ABVg with positive milk and components, 113 for both Daughter Fertility and Survival ABV and in the top 1% of the breed for BPI and HWI. BLADESTORM is exceptional value in the Spring Health Weighted Pack at $22.00 per straw, conditions apply.

Peak BLADESTORM

Full details on all these bulls can be found in the 2025 August Spring catalogues, available now.

Sam Simpson’s herd has moved ahead in leaps and bounds over the past five years.

Sam, who runs the 430-cow ‘Craiglands Holsteins’ herd with her husband Mark Billing at Larpent in south-west Victoria, can’t pinpoint one thing for the burgeoning success but knows data and new technologies are playing a part

The Craiglands herd has made tremendous gains for genetic progress from about 2019. In April 2019 the herd ranked 184th in Australia for BPI and 179th for HWI. Fast forward to the recent August 2024 release and the herd in now 33rd for BPI and 39th for HWI and 36th or SI [Sustainability Index was not calculated in 2019].

The herd has been genomically testing since 2016 when they took part in the ‘Improving Herds’ project and continues to be a GINFO farm.  The business uses a lot of data from a number of sources to improve the genetic merit of the herd to constantly improve its standing within the Australian Holstein herd. 

“Over the past four years, we have incorporated Genescreen as one of those sources of information,” Sam said.  “Initially used as predominately an inbreeding report, we now also find it immensely useful when narrowing our sire selection for a bull team in a given year. 

“We use BPI, as well as other genetic parameters and herd health data to do a ‘first pass’ of potential sires, before refining this selection based on the information that we acquire from Genescreen.  This allows us to focus in on the bulls that are going to really suit our breeding objectives and fit within our budget.  No more buying more doses of semen than what we need and potentially having unwanted semen sitting on our inventory for years,” she said. 

Sam feels that the genetic space is changing rapidly and that the Genescreen report is beneficial to have a useable and clear data at her disposal to work into her business breeding objectives.

“The graphs provided allow for easy and clear understanding of how a breeding objective has had an impact on the business over 10 years”.

With the herd’s meteoric rise up the rankings, Sam says there’s not one thing she can pinpoint as having made the gains but has no doubt that genomic testing the herd and the use of sexed semen and taking a greater involvement in bull section have been key factors.

“We are now getting more dairy replacements from our higher genetic merit females and using increased amounts of sexed semen. We are also increasing the use of beef semen and now over 20% of our income is coming from beef”.

“Gaining in genetic merit has allowed us to milk less cows resulting in several advantages to cow health, labour and we are moving toward a 70:30 split of beef to dairy.

“So long as the information is true, farms have so much information available to them today to incorporate future breeding decisions.”

A Genescreen report is available from Genetics Australia. Contact your usual Genetics Australia or TLG representative to discuss how a Genescreen analysis can work for you.

While the world took notice of the strong performance of Australian athletes at the Paris Olympics, the breeding world has long recognised that Australia has one of the best populations of Jersey cows and is an elite source of Jersey genetics.

There is no better demonstration of this than in the August release of the Australian Breeding Values. Eight of the top 10 BPIg bulls were Australian standing bulls, headed by Genetics Australia Jersey Brookbora BORUNG. With 86 milking daughters, BORUNG has a BPIg of $465, a Likeability ABV of 108 and is a breed leader for Mastitis Resistance at 111 and Somatic Cell ABV of 169. By Malachi from a 93pt ASKN daughter from the number 4 BPI herd Brookbora Jerseys, it’s no wonder the bull is at the top of the ABV Jersey list. His maternal Grand Sire ASKN has helped pave the way for world recognition of Australian Jerseys, with daughters now milking in many parts of the globe and he has also been used as a sire of sons.  BORUNG too, is a sire of sons with AEROGLEN [Borung x Oliver] $368BPIg in the Spring Jersey team.

Wallacedale PICKLE is the tenth highest Jersey at $407 BPIg and has been a popular bull with his legacy growing following each ABV run. In August he has three sons higher than him in the top ten BPIg bulls with two bulls, LONGRUN [Pickle x Got Maid] $429 BPIg at number 3 and DIMORA [Pickle x Matt] $420 BPIg, at number 7. Both bulls are additions to the Genetics Australia team. They are young and semen will be made available as soon as the bulls are consistent donors. Both LONGRUN and DIMORA come from leading number 1 BPI White Star Jerseys, also the home of the number 1 daughter proven bull in DOUGGAN $396 BPI and 99% reliable.

Wallacedale Jerseys, the home of PICKLE, continues to make a significant contribution to the quality of Australian Jersey genetics with a number of bulls in both the GA and TLG Jersey team. The ever-popular STARK PP, TLGEXQUISITE and GOLDBANDP are joined in the Spring catalogue by GADGET [Pickle x Matt], a grandson of the dam of STARK, Wallacedale Tahbilk Madge P EX92. At $339 BPIg GADGET is also the highest mammary improver in the team at 112. 

The Jersey team offers a great balance of production with type and it is this combination that sets Australian Jersey apart from all other Jersey populations.

We are also pleased to see TLGSONGSIDE [Woodside x Vanahlem] $352 BPIg enter the TLG Jersey team from Miami Jerseys and to see the first bull into AI for Empire Jerseys in BANKS [Broadway x Matt] $387 BPIg.

Other leading Australia Jersey herds – Kings Ville, Beulah, Loxleigh, Windy Ways, Bushlea, Bercar, Broadlin, Kaarmona and Murray Brook all have bulls in the team and we thank these and all the breeders for their trust in Genetics Australia to make the bulls available in Australia and to the growing list of counties wanting to import Australia Jersey genetics.

BORUNG – Number 1 BPIg bull and sire of AEROGLEN

Wallacedale Matt Madge EX91 [Max] dam of GADGET

PICKLE – His genes are having a big impact on Australian Jerseys

Dam of TLGSONGSIDE – Miami Vanahlem Song 4608 EX92

 DOUGGAN – Number 1 BPI bull

The Paris Olympics was a record success for Australia with our Olympians producing elite performances against the best in the world.  Our athletes can be very proud that they were able to match it with the best and with a lot of hard work and preparation it resulted in a record gold medal haul.

The ABVs release is, in a way, the Olympics of the breeding industry. Bulls from around the world are measured on the performance of their progeny or genomic tested and compared to each other. We can be very proud that Australian bulls match it with the very best, and in many cases stand on top of the podium as the very best bulls for Australian farmers.

The August breeding values clearly demonstrate the strong performance of both GA and TLG bulls, including several the best in their respective breed for many traits.

Australian proven Holstein bulls with daughters milking PILBARA, LASTIN and PEMBERTON are the top three bulls available in August. These popular bulls have hundreds of daughters milking with PILBARA at $497BPI, 1016 SI and 41kgs protein clearly a gold medal performer. He offers improvements across the board to production, health and type traits. LASTIN follows closely at $494BPI while PEMBERTON, one of our most popular Holsteins and the sire of several sons and high-ranking daughters, is in third place at $487 BPI. He can be used with confidence with more than 560 milking daughters making him 99% reliable.

The performance on the BPIg list is even more impressive for Australian bulls. Genetics Australia holds the top four positions with AUSTRALIND [Rocknroll x Jeronimo] breaking the 600BPIg mark and topping the list closely followed by JOBOLT [Bolti x Pemberton] $597 BPIg, FENDER [Rocknroll x Bandares] $568 BPIg and JORDLIV [Varley x Nippon] $567 BPIg POLMAX [Fedora x Jeronimo]  $559 BPIg follows at number 6. In addition, LUKIE [Varley x Superdave] is the number 1 production bull at 320 ASI, JOBOLT [Bolti x Pemberton] the number 1 Sustainability Index bull at 1,140 and TLGSHERIFF [Bolti x Altamater] is the equal number 1 bull for Longevity.

Not only is it pleasing to see the strong performance of bulls sourced from Carenda Holsteins in WA holding the dual positions with PILBARA and AUSTRALIND, but congratulations must also go to Winaview and Wilara Holsteins in Gippsland. The cow families these elite breeders have developed are making a solid contribution to genetic improvement in Australia and are clearly matching it with the best in the world.

Also pleasing to see is the contribution several Australian bulls are making as sire of top-rated sons. The 2024 Holstein bull team offered by Genetics Australia and Total Livestock Genetics holds 10 of the 20 leading positions on BPIg.

Holstein daughter fertility has taken a significant lift in recent years with a greater focus on this important trait, and no doubt genomic technology has been at the forefront of this improvement. The polled gene is also rapidly gaining in interest and in a relatively short time a number of high rated polled bulls can be confidently used in breeding programs.  ILLUMINATOR P [A2P2 x Delta] 468BPIg, VISSLA P [Magicball x Superhero] and MDOUGLASS PP  [Fomo x Bighit] $435 BPIg have proven very popular for farmers looking to reduce or eliminate dehorning from their job lists.

The SLICK gene is relatively new and leaves cattle with a short and sleek hair coat and research has shown they have a greater thermal tolerance. The gene was first identified in Senepol cattle and has been introduced into dairy cows.  Two heterozygous SLICK bulls have been included in the Spring Holstein team following the August ABV release. With climate change and the Heat Tolerance ABV, greater emphasis is likely to be placed on this into the future, both in Australia but also in the Asian counties where heat stress is a current concern.  The bulls HONDA [Solar x Lundy] $420 BPIg and ICEMAN [Solar x Jeronimo] $461 BPIg not only warrant their place in the team for SLICK, but also for several other key traits. HONDA is also heterozygous polled, 104 for Heat Tolerance and the number 1 Holstein bull for Daughter Fertility at an impressive 121 ABV. ICEMAN on the other hand is in the top 2% of the breed for BPI at $461 BPIg, 111 for Daughter Fertility and is Homozygous Polled. 

The Summit View prefix is beginning to appear on a small group of GA and TLG bulls.  Appearing for the first time is the tenth highest Holstein at $554 BPIg Summit View Enzo -TLGENZO. ENZO also has a high breeding value in the USA in August at +2,987 gTPI, NM$841 and +2.00 PTAT. Joining ENZO at over 500 BPIg is HEROIC [$520 BPIg], TLGELEVATION [$504 BPIg and EVANDER [$502 BPIg]. The Summit View prefix for the internal Genetics Australia breeding program for bulls or females born from either the donor dams acquired from the acquisition of TLG in 2022 or calves resulting from embryos sourced from the Peak Genetics breeding program, now part of the URUS joint venture program. The program is designed to complement and provide diversity to the genetics that can be sourced locally and will help position Genetics Australia to continue to provide elite genetics to the Australian industry.

The August release of the ABVs clearly demonstrates the commitment Genetics Australia has to the ongoing supply of elite genetics to current and future dairy farmers in Australia. 

Genetics Australia bulls have taken out the gold in the August 2024 ABV release, topping the rankings across the major breeds.

DataGene released the latest Australian Breeding Values and bull rankings on August 19, highlighting Australia’s highest BPI bulls across all dairy breeds.

Genetics Australia dominated the release, prompting CEO Anthony Shelly to describe it as a “gold medal performance”.

“The ABVs release is like the Olympics of the breeding industry,” Mr Shelly said. “Bulls from around the world are measured on the performance of their progeny or genomic tested and compared to each other. We can be very proud that Australian bulls match it with the very best and, in many cases, stand on top of the podium as the very best bulls for Australian farmers.

“The August breeding values clearly demonstrate the strong performance of both Genetics Australia and TLG bulls, with several the best in their respective breed for many traits.”

Genetics Australia has the top three Australian proven Holstein bulls with daughters milking, with PILBARA, LASTIN and PEMBERTON. These popular bulls now have hundreds of daughters milking.

The performance on the BPIg Holstein list is even more impressive with Genetics Australia holding the top four positions with AUSTRALIND, JOBOLT, FENDER and JORDLIV, with POLMAX following at six.

The 2024 Holstein bull team offered by Genetics Australia and Total Livestock Genetics holds 10 of the 20 leading positions on BPIg.

Australian Jerseys are building in demand around the world and the highest bull in Australia with daughters milking and a publishable ABV is DOUGGAN 396 BPI. BORUNG at 465 BPIg is the highest overall BPI Jersey, delivering No. 1 Daughter Proven and No.1 Genomic Proven to Genetics Australia.

“While the world took notice of the strong performance of Australian athletes at the Paris Olympics, the breeding world has long recognised that Australia has one of the best populations of Jersey cows and is an elite source of Jersey genetics,” Mr Shelly said.

The Jersey team offers a great balance of production with type and it is this combination that sets Australia Jersey apart from other Jersey populations.

Genetics Australia also has the number 1 BPIg Illawarra bull in CNLYONS, and several new Australian Red sires have been added to the team.

Mr Shelly said the success of Australian genetics stemmed from the efforts of local breeders.

“The cow families our elite breeders have developed are making a solid contribution to genetic improvement in Australia and are clearly matching it with the best in the world,” he said.

“We also understand that it’s just not all about BPI; breeding goals can be different across farms and many of our bulls rank well for other indices such as health and sustainability as well as for overall type and mammary improvement.”

Mr Shelly said the BPI considers the economic weighting based on producing milk in Australia and the August ABV release has clearly shown the strong and deep pool of genetics for Australian farmers is the best available.

For more information contact.

Anthony Shelly

[email protected]

0408 529 410

One of the Australia’s best known and most reliable bulls, MAEBULL, has been retired from active service.

Genetics Australia Holstein Calister MAEBULL leaves with more than 4500 milking daughters and many thousands more in non-herd-tested herds.

He was recently retired from Genetics Australia just short of his 12th birthday.

MAEBULL was the oldest bull on centre and was one of the last bulls relocated from Parwan Park to the Glenormiston quarantine property following the purchase of TLG in 2021.

Selected for progeny testing in 2013, MAEBULL has forged a career both in Australia and internationally as a reliable bull leaving a consistent group of daughters known for their health and management traits.

Genetics Australia CEO Anthony Shelly said MAEBULL was lucky to have been selected to be progeny tested.

“When we selected our teams in 2013, it was still in the early days of genomic testing and our bulls were primarily selected on genomics. MAEBULL was the lowest bull in the team and we debated whether to proceed with him,” Mr Shelly said.

“However, we liked his cow family and felt he offered something different in our team at the time so decided to proceed with him. We’re pleased that we did. He ended up graduating with flying colures and outlasted all the other bulls selected at the time.

Mr Shelly said not only was Genetics Australia pleased with the decision, so were many farmers in Australia and overseas with MAEBULL rating 99 per cent reliable for most traits.

He has daughters milking in New Zealand and the first of his daughters are now calving in Pakistan where he has been used for heat stress given his 104 ABV for Heat Tolerance. “He puts a great foundation in herds and his black medium statured daughters with high daughter fertility and low cell count are some of the reasons farmers go back and use him again and again,” Mr Shelly said.

MAEBULL was purchased from Calister Holsteins in Calivil in Northern Victoria after coming in as an embryo imported from the USA by Craig Lister.

“I had a lot of faith in the Lead Mae cow family that he came from,” Mr Lister said. “It was one of the families I had long admired so when it was cost effective to import embryos, it was one that I targeted.

“In this game, you get used to bulls not turning out quite as well as you’d hoped but you get surprised by others,” Mr Lister said. “MAEBULL turned out to be one who surprised us pleasantly.”

Calister Holsteins has many MAEBULL daughters in his herd. “I judge him by the performance of his daughters,” Mr Lister said. “He made robust, functional cows with all the health traits that are required for a modern dairy cow.

“He epitomises our breeding goal. I have a lot of MAEBULL daughters to attest to my faith in him. His eldest daughter is classified Excellent and is still going well.”

Hogg family, Adlejama Holsteins, Biggara, Vic.

Ash Hogg and his family are currently milking 180 registered Holsteins at Biggara in Victoria’s northeast.

Their Adlejama Holsteins herd is ranked Number 7 for BPI in Australia following the April 2024 ABV release.

The Hoggs are milking 12 daughters of Genetics Australia’s newest daughter proven sire LASTIN BPI+523.

Ash is pleased with the uniformity of his LASTIN daughters and says there are easy-going heifers with correct leg set and neat udders.

“Our LASTIN heifers have good frames with shallow udders.” “They have plenty of strength and are easy to manage.”

“Production is very important to us, so we only use high BPI bulls underpinned with a high ASI aiming for positive milk with high protein and fat kilograms.”

“Most of our LASTIN’s calved in March, and so far, they are milking well with good tests.”

On their last herd test, the Hogg’s LASTIN heifers averaged 3.4% protein and 4.5% fat, with an average PI 100.

Among them is Adlejama Lastin Shauna 3699-ET GP83 BPI+624 who currently sits at Number 4 on the Australian Holstein female BPI ranking.

Following the April 2024 ABV release, LASTIN is positioned in the TOP 1% of the Holstein breed for BPI, HWI and Sustainability Index, with 127 milking daughters across 20 herds on official herd testing.

Driven by farmer demand, the popular genomic sire – turned daughter proven success, LASTIN is now available SEXED Ultraplus 4ML after returning to our active list at Genetics Australia.

Managing estrus intensity is a vital tool in reducing pregnancy loss and the Estrotect patch can help farmers to make the right choices. Associate Professor Dr Ky Pohler from Texas A&M University told the GA 2024 conference that assisted reproductive tools increase genetic gains. “Reproductive technology has been key in changing the way agriculture works around the world,” he said.

Ky highlighted the importance of estrus intensity in not only getting cows pregnant but in maintaining those pregnancies. “We should be proud of the pregnancy rates we have. We need to concentrate on maintaining the pregnancies we have, rather than solely thinking about how we get more pregnancies,” he said.

The modern US cow has about 30 per cent loss in the first 28 days of gestation and 12-14 per cent loss from day 28 to day 60. In beef, there is a loss of about 7-9 per cent of pregnancies from day 30 to day 100 of gestation.

These losses are a huge focus of research at Texas A&M University. “Pregnancy loss is a major issue on farms but it’s not like overnight our cattle started to lose more pregnancies; we’re just doing a better job of detecting it,” Ky said. “We have decent fertility, but it makes sense to look at how we can better maintain those pregnancies. A cow losing pregnancies from day 30-60 costs more than a cow that never got pregnant.”

The Estrotect patch has been developed to better manage pregnancy loss, with a new breeding bullseye black dot in the middle used to score estrus levels of cows. Cows with higher scores have higher pregnancy rates and lower pregnancy loss.

“As estrus intensity increases, you have increased fertility and also decreased pregnancy loss,” Ky said. “With lower estrus levels cows still get pregnant, but have 12 per cent pregnancy loss compared to 4 per cent among those with high estrus levels.”

The new Estrotect patch is making management decisions easier behind the cow, with the patch being used to target sexed semen into higher performing cows.“As we increase estrus intensity, we increase the protein level which leads to a better pregnancy rate and less pregnancy loss,” Ky said.

“By getting cows with more activated patches with black dots rubbed off, you not only get an increase in fertility, you get an increase in maintaining that pregnancy to day 60 of gestation. That means a high probability to get to calving.” He added that new technologies should be kept simple to use so farmers can make the right clinical care decisions.

Not many people can claim 1990s Saturday morning cartoons as the inspiration for a successful career in genetics…but Rick Schmidt can.

Mr Schmidt has been appointed as Genetics Australia’s Gippsland sales representative. He comes from a diverse background in sales and industrial sciences, most recently as a Key Account Manager for a chemical engineering company in the paper industry. His experiences also cover retail, hospitality, industrial laboratories, genetic research, and a little graphic design.

And it all stems from those oddball cartoons.

“Genetics has been a passion of mine since the early 90s, watching Saturday morning cartoons where every show was mixing this with that to create a super-whatever,” he said. “That later translated into video games doing much of the same and then into a passion for biology and how things work.”

Mr Schmidt started his career in groceries as a trolley pusher and worked his way up to duty manager while at high school and university before getting a taste of a working lab environment in a water chemistry lab.

He left university at 20 when his father passed away and focused on getting a career without a degree. Including managing a Good Guys store in Traralgon for five years, developing his customer service and sales skills.

Mr Schmidt later returned to Federation University to study a Bachelor of Science – Biotechnology while finding work in local laboratories, including a research lab and industrial labs in the dairy industry and later the paper industry.

Mr Schmidt says he’s up for the challenge of bridging the gap in his knowledge about farming.

“I don’t have any real farming experience,” he said. “My grandparents had a beef farm in Hazelwood Estate for several years but have since retired and sold up. I was too busy studying and working in my teenage years and missed out on the farming experience.” 

But he’s keen to learn. “I have already learned so much about the industry and have only just started, but I have a solid foundation to build off and I look forward to the learning experience,” he said. “I get to use my skillsets in a new and interesting way while exploring the Gippsland region and get to help people do what they love in a field I have a lot of passion for.” 

“I am here to help farmers and retailers with their unique needs from GA. I have a great team behind me with decades of experience who I can rely on for whatever may come up and I’m most looking forward to working with farmers and seeing the next generation of their herds.”

Genetics Australia CEO Anthony Shelly said Mr Schmidt would bring a high level of sales and account management skills to the role. “Rick has sold everything from groceries, fridges, beer, chooks and chemicals, so his sales skills are vast with some great achievements,” Mr Shelly said.

“He obtained a Bachelor of Science – Biotechnology and spent several years as a quality technician and lab supervisor in the dairy industry and as a visiting researcher in a Genomics Research Laboratory.

“He now has the stimulus to develop a deep understanding of the cattle breeding industry,” he said.

Mr Schmidt is based in Churchill and will cover the broader Gippsland region.