September 2, 2014  

New Zealand: US$260 million dairy genomics database to change hands

New Zealand's producer research and development organisation DairyNZ is set to acquire a dairy genomics database worth US$260 million annually from Livestock Investment Corporation.

The Ministry for Primary Industries approved the transfer of the Dairy Core Database from animal genetics company Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) to DairyNZ, to take place this year.

This will become part of the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database, which will collate breed society data, LIC and CRV Ambreed data.

"We have been working closely with LIC for over a year to develop systems to transfer data from their systems and to ensure a smooth transition. Our aim has been to enhance the national genetic evaluation system for farmers so we can identify the best sires and cows," said DairyNZ chief executive Dr. Tim Mackle. "Industry organisations must have access to collated data so we can evaluate things like breeding worth for dairy cattle and forage value index for ryegrass."