LIC managing director Wayne McNee said the farmer-owned genetics company can cater for an upsurge of interest in converting herds to A2 beta-casein protein.
Competitor CRV Ambreed said it can also satisfy the likely increased demand and most crossbred, Hostein-Friesian and Jeersey bulls in its 2018 catalogue are now A2.
“We have been reporting on the A2 status of our bulls since 2001 and we are well-placed to respond to the new demand,” CRV global product grazing manager Peter van Elzakker said.
Through the past 15 years of phenotyping LIC has determined the frequency of the A2-A2 genotype in the national herd has increased.
It is now 66% in Jerseys, 44% in Holstein-Friesian and 53% for the new-majority crossbreds because of the Jersey influence.
Just under half the nation’s cows are now A2A2 (homozygous) and the pace of transition could increase by livestock trading and well as A2 bull breeding, LIC said.
Demand for A2 bulls has grown steadily, up to 53,000 straws sold by LIC last season specifically through A2 sire packs, compared with 22,000 the previous season.
LIC is also planning to offer fresh A2 semen this year, which will lift insemination efficiency and help meet any increase in demand.
“I know that the phones of our sales team rang continuously with farmers’ inquiries after the Fonterra announcement,” McNee said.
Van Elzakker agreed and said the timing of the Fonterra-a2 Milk agreement was ideal as farmers search the catalogues and make their semen orders for the next mating season.
Both LIC and CRV said the downsides of conversion could include a small trade-off in breeding worth that many farmers might consider worth taking.
The greater the penetration of A2 in the sire catalogues, the less the BW trade-off, van Elzakker said.
LIC also expects a big lift in demand for its GeneMark phenotyping services, which include A2A2 genotype identification for an additional charge of $10 over the DNA profiling cost of about $26/animal for whole herd testing.
If genotyping a herd of cows disclosed that, say, 75% of them were A2 homozygous the pathway to full A2 milk production could be shorter.
Larger herds or multiple farms under one ownership could test everything and separate out the A2A2 cows.
McNee said LIC had stopped bringing A1A1 genotype bulls into its progeny testing programme, now using only A1A2 and A2A2.
That was a decision made a couple of years back because of the trends towards crossbred cows with natural Jersey A2 input and the growing demand for A2 dairy products.
A2 semen straws are no more expensive than A1A1 or A1A2 (heterozygous).
LIC said A2 cow status identification is not possible through standard herd testing because small traces of either protein are left behind in milk lines and confuse the milk test.
CRV said it had been assured milk testing for A2 is viable and offers a cheaper, preliminary option for farmers than DNA testing.
Bulk milk testing would indicate the A2 percentage of the herd and that would be useful information for farmers trying to decide whether the A2 milk premiums offered by the processors were worth pursuing in a breeding programme.
Farmers could future-proof their herds through buying A2 bulls, find out the overall A2 herd status through milk testing, weigh up the milk premiums, formulate a breeding programme and decide on speeding it up through DNA testing.
NZ led the developed world in A2 debate and genetic options but now all bulls on offer internationally had their A1 or A2 genotypes printed.
In the United States and the United Kingdom organic dairy farmers usually wanted only A2 semen, van Elzakker said.
CRV hadn’t yet removed A1A1 bulls from its programme because part of its role as a genetics company was to protect diversity and A1 genetics might be wanted in future.
PGG Wrightson dairy representative in Mid Canterbury, Victor Schikker, said premiums of $200 to $300 were commonly paid for A2 cows and in-calf heifers when traded between farmers.
Recently some A2 in-calf heifers had traded at $1950 while the remaining A1s in the same line made only $1650-$1700.
Standard cow prices are $1900 to $2100 but A2s had not been traded for comparison.
Because the higher prices paid for A2 cows are not recouped in the 20c/kg milk premiums over the milking lifetime, Schikker said there is a scarcity component in the livestock values.
