Announcement of new ‘Premier Club’ planned for National Ploughing Championships 2017 to go that extra mile to support Irish farmers
LIC Ireland has today announced that they have had one of their most successful years in the Irish market to date, with growth over the past 12 months of 15%. Added to this, impressive new herd reproduction data released by the company illustrate a marked improvement in calving patterns in New Zealand, with more farmers achieving the target of having 60% of the herd calved within three weeks.
Commenting on the results, Mark Ryder, LIC’s European General Manager said, “We are delighted with our developments and improvements in the Irish market. We believe that we offer Irish farmers the highest quality product that New Zealand has to offer, this is quality genetics from Holstein-Friesian, Jersey and KiwiCross™ bulls proven through LIC ’s unique Sire Proving Scheme in New Zealand.
LIC’s progeny test programme, known as the Sire Proving Scheme (or SPS) began in 1961. Today it is one of the largest progeny test schemes in the world. To be able to offer our great genetics to Irish farmers is the aim, and our recent calving pattern data from New Zealand proves that we are doing just that. Good genetics are fundamental to herd improvement, allowing farmers to be more efficient, which in turn benefits their bottom line, and the wider Irish dairy industry as a whole.”
With a high proportion of LIC bred cows represented in the top 2000 cow EBI list, from a disproportionately low number of matings, LIC’s vision in Ireland is to improve the prosperity, productivity and efficiency of farmers through the continual supply of our elite bulls. To ensure this, LIC is delighted to announce that a programme will soon be available to Irish farmers which will provide better access than ever.
The LIC ‘Premier Club’ will be launched exclusively at this year’s Ploughing Championships and will ensure that Irish farmers continue to benefit from LIC’s elite product offering, giving them access to the very best LIC bulls available, and giving them more of a selection than ever before. Membership of the Premier Club will not only provide access to the best genetics in the world, but farmers will also have access to training resources and helpful tools, support and information from LIC dairy industry experts, and exclusive entry to LIC Premier Club competitions and prize draws.
Commenting on the development, Mark Ryder said, “We have worked closely with the Irish Industry and with LIC at home in New Zealand to ensure that at the end of the day, what we are offering is in the best interest of Irish farmers and LIC. We all believe that this is more than just about the straws. It’s about LIC Ireland’s desire to go the extra mile to support the business of Irish farmers for the long-term, while protecting the investment we make in New Zealand and Ireland, to ensure we can continue to deliver our world-class products.”
LIC Ireland will be announcing further details and information around the launch of the Premier Club in Ireland, and how to become a member, ahead of this year’s National Ploughing Championships.