4 Feb 2016

LIC buys into business that identifies when cows are on heat

7:23 am on 4 February 2016

Farmer-owned co-operative LIC has partly purchased a business that helps farmers identify when cows are on heat.

Cow just out of Feilding; Farming; rural

A cow on a farm just out of Feilding. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson

LIC has just completed its acquisition of 75 percent of the Australian-based Beacon Heat Detectors.

Beacon manufactures heat patches to help farmers identify cows that were ready for artificial insemination.

LIC is a long-standing customer of Beacon, as a supplier of its heat patches to farmers in New Zealand - including one that was specifically developed for the co-op.

Chief executive Wayne McNee said the acquisition supported LIC's core business of artificial breeding and its strategy to deliver genetics and information to create superior livestock.

Mr McNee said accurate heat detection was a vital part of a farm's mating plan and was a key driver of production for the following season.