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Our Roots
Deer Improvement is a subsidiary of Livestock Improvement. Born of a legacy that has set the standards for the world in dairy herd improvement, our mission is to enable Livestock Improvement’s genetic improvement systems and breeding strategies to be applied to the deer industry.

A co-operative owned by dairy farmers, since the early 1900s Livestock Improvement has been constantly innovating to deliver the world’s best technologies. It has developed a unique national database that provides ultimate traceability, and offers an integrated Artificial Breeding service to farmers, including the use of liquid and frozen bull semen. Its genetic division identifies the best bovine genes from the national database and in one of the world's largest progeny testing schemes for dairy bulls - the Sire Proving Scheme, about 300 bulls are progeny tested each year. A list of selected elite bulls finally go on to sire around three quarters of the dairy replacements in the national herd. A network of world-class artificial breeding technicians provide an on-farm dairy cow insemination service and support farmers who do their own livestock inseminating.

Experience
Being part of Livestock Improvement, we have substantial experience in providing animal breeding services to a variety of species, apart from dairy, that include deer, pigs, sheep, goats, and dogs. We also share a close relationship with AgResearch Invermay, where we will be based in our first year.