Artificial insemination (AI) specialist, Genus, closed its equine branch, Genus Equine on 1 January after deciding to concentrate on its cattle business.
The company’s decision to withdraw from the equine breeding market was a difficult one according to Peter Mills, resources director at Genus, and was the result of a culmination of different factors.
Mr Mills says: “British breeders haven’t started to embrace frozen semen technology as readily as their counterparts on the continent. The company couldn’t afford to continue to invest large sums of money to promote the growth of equine AI with little return.”
The good news is that the main elements of the business are set to continue, and the equine AI market in Britain is unlikely to be affected by Genus’ decision to withdraw its equine operations.
Genus Equine’s DEFRA approved collection facility, for which Tullis Matson is responsible, will continue through his own company, Stallion AI Services, with support from Genus Breeding’s state of the art laboratory in Ruthin. He stated that his work will remain unaffected, and that it is very much “business as usual”.
Meanwhile, Carolyn Rycroft, former business development manager at Genus Equine, will continue to market the stallions previously sold through Genus Equine under the company name World Class Stallions Ltd.
She intends to “support British breeding and to try to help British breeders reach the top in their industry” and is confident that by focussing solely on the equine side, she will achieve faster results.
The close working relationship established between Genus Equine and Stallions AI will continue, in spite of the renaming of the marketing operation.
