News Archive

Farmers may have read articles in the media about a genetic defect seen in some of the calves of an LIC bull called Matrix. 

This Q&A gives you the facts about what happened, why and what we’ve done about it. 

If you have any more questions, please direct them to Clare Bayly, LIC Communications Manager cbayly@lic.co.nz.

How and when did this genetic defect start?
A replication error occurred naturally during formation of the embryo that became the Holstein Friesian bull, Halcyon, which LIC progeny tested in 2008.

As the bull matured he was seen to be unusually hairy but there was nothing to raise any concern about subsequent impact for his daughters.

Halcyon sired 95 daughters across 44 LIC Sire Proving Scheme herds and two sons, Matrix who came into the 2010 DNA Proven team as a late replacement and Maverick who was sampled in 2010 Sire Proving.

Halcyon was never used commercially.  Maverick has been sampled and does not carry the mutation.

Halcyon’s Sire Proving Scheme daughters calved in spring 2011.  Nothing unusual was noticed about them (by the farmers or breed society TOP Inspectors) but concerns were raised when herd testing showed that some were not producing milk. Investigation revealed that these effects were seen in around half of Halcyon’s daughters which were also hairier than normal.

When did LIC begin investigating the issue?
The first sign of a problem came when a breeder raised concern about performance of some Halcyon daughters which had resulted from contract mating.  LIC staff promptly visited the herd to investigate in early November 2011.

What did LIC do?
We took tissue samples from 30 or 40 Halcyon daughters which were excessively hairy and also took samples from a similar sized group of Halcyon daughters which farmers said were normal.

The DNA from both groups was sent to the United States for genotyping just before Christmas 2011. The results came in over the holidays and we began analysing the data.

By early February 2012 we had narrowed things down to 1 of the 30 bovine chromosomes which might have contained the defective gene.

Our analysis showed that one group received a piece of the chromosome while the others received the other chromosome pair on around 5% to 10% of the chromosome.  We then had to go into the region of the chromosome and see what genes were sitting in this area.  (There are around 5-10 million base pairs and 100 genes in this region of the chromosome).

Our scientific team knew about a gene which has a major role in lactation and is also known to create a hairy phenotype in humans when disrupted, and we thought this was probably the gene causing the problem – we just had to sequence it.

The gene was sequenced in Halcyon and some affected and unaffected heifers and we found the base pair that differed between the two groups.  That was in March 2012.

Some farmers have said that it took too long for LIC to advise farmers about the genetic defect.
The first indications there might be an issue was when Halcyon daughters were herd tested – ie in November 2011.  Prior to that the calves had been reared on farms and none of their owners, or Breed Society TOP inspectors, had raised any concern about the roughness of their coats.

The inability of some daughters to lactate resulted in LIC Scientists begin an urgent analysis. This involved tracking down the specific causative mutation among 3.2 billion base pairs arriving at a conclusion in March 2012.  Once we knew what was causing the problem, we immediately contacted farmers who had used Matrix.

We understand farmer frustration but 5 months is incredibly quick compared to the years it would have taken before LIC began its investment in biotechnology.  

It’s worth noting that, even a few years ago, achieving this breakthrough in identifying the cause of the defect would have taken years – not months.

LIC’s research and development is peer reviewed by the independently appointed BoviQuest Science Advisory Board (SAB) which acknowledged the speed with which our R&D team tracked down this genetic mutation. 

(SAB Membership - Dr Dorian Garrick of Iowa State University, previously Massey University, Dr Howard Jacob of the College of Wisconsin and Dr Russell Snell of Auckland University).

When did LIC contact farmers?
As soon as the genetic defect was identified (February/March 2012) we contacted all farmers who used Matrix semen in their herds (ie calvings in 2011 and 2012) and offered them free tissue sampling and DNA testing to identify if calves had the defect (ie 50% of Matrix offspring are carriers, the other 50% are not).  Our advice was to humanely cull affected animals;  a number of farmers chose to grow their animals out for beef.

We have maintained contact with all farmers who used Matrix semen, meeting some on farm to better understand their experiences and concerns, and also provided them with a comprehensive overview of what happened, where, when and how.

Why won’t LIC pay compensation to farmers who have heifers with the genetic defect?
The decision not to pay compensation was made by LIC’s farmer representatives.

The LIC Shareholder sub-Committee of the Board (made up of farmer Directors) made a recommendation to the LIC Board that compensation should not be offered because the defect occurred naturally and spontaneously and was not discovered until after the inseminations were carried out. 

Genetic defects are a fact of life – in any animal species (including humans).  No genetics company in the world has been known to compensate in similar circumstances.

LIC’s focus has been on equipping farmers with the necessary information to identify and remove affected animals to avoid further cost and to rid the industry of the genetic defect for good.

A substantial investment has been made by the Cooperative in research and the provision of tissue collection and genotyping service for hundreds of herds at no charge.

What is now known as the Halcyon Defect has been added to the list of genetic defects which all LIC sires are tested for – meaning this defect will not occur again within our bull teams.

Why is LIC now making a gesture of goodwill?
We’ve never stopped talking with farmers – those affected and our shareholder base generally.  LIC is a farmer owned cooperative and it’s important to always do what’s right for the wider shareholder base, so we’ve talked with our shareholders (directly) and through the Shareholder Council and Farmer Directors.

The majority of farmers we have talked with understand that genetic defects of this nature are extremely rare and compensation should not be paid, but support a gesture of goodwill to affected farmers.

What is the gesture of goodwill?
In addition to free tissue sampling and DNA analysis, we will be crediting the cost of all semen and inseminations from Matrix regardless of the fact that customers received a normal in-calf rate and that half of the heifer progeny are perfectly healthy.  In effect this means LIC is crediting every cent earned from the bull back to the farmers who used it.

How was the gesture of goodwill calculated?
LIC is refunding the cost of the semen and insemination for every Matrix insemination, regardless of whether that generated a pregnancy or not.  Matrix did a total of 16,951 Premier Sires inseminations plus several hundred Alpha straws.   The average cost of a semen/insemination is $22, and it has been established that one in ten inseminations resulted in a heifer with the genetic defect, so the gesture equates to around $220 per heifer calf.

Note : Around 60% of inseminations create a pregnancy, 52% of the resulting offspring are male, 48% female.  Around half the female offspring have the genetic defect. 

Will all farmers receive the same credit, regardless of whether they reared affected calves, or culled them?
Yes.  The LIC Board considered a range of options but, on the recommendation of Management, supported a credit to all farmers who used Matrix because it ensures equitable treatment for Cooperative members and does not rely on a DNA test result (as some farmers simply culled hairy Matrix calves as recommended by LIC).  

When did LIC stop selling Matrix semen?
As soon as we knew there was a problem. This means no semen has been sold since 2011.

Have Matrix and his sire, Halcyon, been culled?
The bulls were removed from LIC’s bull teams, and have been held to enable final samples to be taken for future scientific research.  Once that is completed the bulls will be culled. 

Was Matrix’s promotion page removed from the LIC website?
Yes, although ‘old’ pages often sit at the back of the website as an archive. Any enquiries for semen from the bull, from November 2011, would have been met with advice that it was no longer available.

Have any affected animals been exported?
LIC is not aware of any.

How often do these spontaneous genetic defects occur?
LIC has progeny tested more than 9,000 bulls in the past 51 years and only two have been found to transmit a genetic defect to half of their progeny (this indicates what’s called a ‘dominant mode of transmission’).  The identification of a defect meant that those two bulls were culled ensuring the defects will never repeat in an LIC sire.

Most defects involve a ‘recessive’ mode of transmission. This requires the mating of carrier bulls and cows, and even then, the defect is observed in only 25% of progeny.  That is why internationally well known defects, such as BLAD, Factor X1, DUMPS, citrillanemea, mulefoot and CVM are seldom observed on-farm.

Genetic defects are a fact of life, but their occurrence is random making it difficult to identify animals which are ‘different’.  Advances in genomic testing, however, remove any doubt – once concerns are raised DNA analysis enables scientists to track down genetic defects in a shorter timeframe than has ever been possible.

Does LIC remain confident in DNA Proven bulls?
Yes, in line with every developed dairy nation in the world.  It is a fact that genomics adds considerably to our knowledge of genetic merit in young sires.  LIC believes that farmers should have choice and will continue to provide two breeding options – progeny tested and genomically selected sires.

Any questions?
If you have any further questions, please send them to LIC’s Communications Manager, Clare Bayly.