News -

Demand is growing for an Artificial Breeding Technician service described, by many farmers, as the top of the line

And the demand comes not only from farmers but other AB companies which are lining up to take advantage of a team of Technicians which is trained to NZQA standards and equipped with a level of technology seldom seen anywhere in the world.

The service comes from the most established AB company in New Zealand - farmer cooperative, Livestock Improvement (LIC) - which has experienced growing demand for its team of AB Technicians. However, the demand and shortage of qualified AB Technicians has resulted in LIC prioritising delivery of the service.

LIC Field Operations General Manager, Andrew Fear, says LIC's first responsibility is on servicing its customer base - then its competitors.

"Our first priority is to be on our customer's farms when they need us so we're simply letting our competitors know that they are going to have to get in line - behind LIC customers.

"A number of factors are driving growth - the acknowledged quality of our service being the main one. LIC AB Technicians are trained to NZQA standards and come equipped with handheld computers which contain herd records and provide breeding management information such as avoiding inbreeding and some genetic defects like CVM - backed up by the LIC Database.

"This combination of expertise and technology is rare, appreciated and sought after so we have to guard it and ensure our resource goes to the right place, at the right time - and that's our customers."

Andrew Fear said there is also a growing tendency for farmers who used to do their own AB, to simply defer to LIC now.

"The size of herds today means it's simply easier and more efficient to leave it to us.

"Until now, however, we've also had a large and growing demand from other AB companies and while we value that business, we simply have to prioritise so we can give an assurance to our own customer base. Our farmers come first. Once they're taken care of, we'll provide a service to other AB companies."

Andrew Fear said indications suggest that demand for LIC's bull teams and its AB Technician service will increase next season.

"Farmers are just coming out of the downturn and they're telling us they'll be putting increasing numbers of cows to the best bulls, making up any deficiency in replacement numbers from the current season.

"We are confident that anyone who signs up for Premier Sires will have access to an LIC technician - but we can't guarantee that we will be able to supply a technician to inseminate a product that is not ours."