Inside LIC Celebrating 100 years of herd testing | Leadership of Herd Improvement | 13
The strategy and policy of dairy herd improvement was initially driven by the Herd Improvement Council formed by the Dairy Board in 1936. The Council’s main objective was to improve the standard of the dairy industry in New Zealand Herd testing is just one contributor to the driving force behind the profitability of New Zealand dairy farming – herd improvement. It’s a combination of a number of facets – herd testing, herd recording, farm extension and artificial breeding. Other dairying nations in the world have structures which seem similar – but New Zealand’s is unique; the key difference being that New Zealand’s herd improvement was integrated within one organisational structure - albeit until 1988 under separate legal entities. The Dalefield Association formed in 1909 was the first of a number of parochial organisations which were formed, most centred on the local dairy factory – over time amalgamating as those factories merged. The recommendations arising from the 1934 Royal Commission into Dairying were implemented and under the Herd Improvement Plan 1939 the, then, 28 herd testing co-operatives or associations merged into six separate Herd Improvement Associations.
• “by systematic and frequent recording of production, • by marking and registering of selective calves, • by the elimination of unpayable cows, • by the eradication of scrub bulls, • by the encouragement of the use of pedigree bulls bred on the best productive record, and • by any other means which may be deemed necessary or expedient.” While these objectives were expressed in many ways over ensuing years, the fundamental goals remain unchanged and still in place today within LIC. It’s all about farmer profitability. The introduction of commercial artificial breeding in the 1950s lead to the establishment of the NZ Dairy Board AB Committee with the six Herd Improvement Associations renamed Livestock Improvement Associations (LIAs) . On the recommendations of the Frampton Committee the various governing bodies were formed into the NZ Dairy Board Livestock Improvement Council with the six LIAs and the Dairy Board signing the Deed of Establishment. This lead to the formation of the single entity Livestock Improvement Corporation Limited (LIC) in 1988. Under the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 direct ownership was returned to the farmer users when LIC became a farmer owned co-operative.
While the Consulting Officer Service is now part of DairyNZ and herd testing is contestable, the legacy of the dairy herd improvement largely resides within LIC. Throughout its history there are two key factors that underlie the success of dairy herd improvement in New Zealand – Firstly, dairy farmers’ willingness to improve their record keeping and support the industry’s use of that data for both their individual benefit and the collective good of fellow farmers. Secondly, the passion, vision and drive of individuals and the governing bodies they represented. The fact the movement was farmer lead and governed throughout its history is undoubtedly the keystone of its success. Little did those initial farmers at Dalefield realise but their tentative start with herd testing in 1909 escalated into one of the key factors driving on-farm productivity – helping take a fledging dairy industry into New Zealand’s single largest export earner. Those 815 herd tested cows in 1909 produced on average 110 kg milk solids – today’s average cow produces 330 kg milk solids- a three-fold increase. In addition, today’s stocking rate of 2.83 cows per hectare is estimated to be at least two to three times higher than the 1909 stocking rate.