Two dairy industry bodies have reached an agreement over the development of an integrated cattle breeding database.
An industry-good body funded by farmer levies, DairyNZ, will take over the core database currently held by big livestock improvement co-operative, LIC.
A confirming vote from LIC shareholders and a law change will be required to have the changes take effect around the middle of next year.
Technological advances in genetic profiling and matching DNA of individual animals to performance and commercial traits mean that big animal genetics databases offer potentially-lucrative opportunities.
Negotiations over the transfer reached a deadlock last year, because DairyNZ wanted to expand the database by adding other breeding information held separately by LIC.
LIC regards that data as intellectual property and says under the new agreement it will continue to be held by with LIC, and made available under commercial arrangements.
