Sweet spot for on demand beef genetics start-up

Having nearly doubled its expected growth in 2020, online beef cattle semen sales business, Breeder Genetics, has gone from strength to strength since its launch in mid-2019.

The start-up, which is an on-demand, breeder to breeder platform for buying and selling of beef cattle semen, exceeded its initial annual semen sales targets last year in a result that was both pleasing and surprising for founder and owner, Jack Laurie.

“I put the result down to both the appeal of having a fresh product and the almost year-round demand for beef cattle genetics,” Mr Laurie said.

“Originally we thought the business would be very seasonal, with major spikes leading into autumn and spring joining periods and little activity outside of those windows.

“Surprisingly, it’s not as seasonal as we anticipated, and the flow of transactions has been fairly constant.

“With roughly 45 per cent of our customer base being commercial beef producers, and the remainder stud breeders, our clients are based all over the country and many run their AI programs outside of traditional joining windows so the on-demand nature of the platform is appealing to them.”

The idea for Breeder Genetics came about after Mr Laurie, a fourth year Rural Science student at the University of New England, travelled throughout Canada and the United States, looking at genetics on offer there.

“I quickly realised the volume of high-quality bulls over there that weren’t on the radars of breeders back here, and vice versa. We have some of the best beef cattle genetics in the world here in Australia, but the avenue for selling our genetics overseas is limited,” Mr Laurie said.

“The platform is appealing because it provides something different. We offer bulls that no one has seen or had access to, and we do it in a way that is user friendly, quick and allows both the buyer and seller to be more directly involved in the process.”

Based on his family’s fifth-generation Angus stud, Knowla Livestock, near Moppy NSW, at just 22 years of age Mr Laurie is a trailblazer in the somewhat traditional landscape of beef cattle breeding, and his story holds valuable lessons for others seeking to enrich their knowledge about agribusiness.

Mr Laurie’s story, and the challenges and opportunities he encountered when getting Breeder Genetics off the ground, will be highlighted at the upcoming “Start-Up Stories” event held at Knowla Livestock.

Start-Up Stories offers face-to-face educational and networking opportunities for young farmers eager to learn from other agribusiness innovators, and is supported by the NSW DPI's Young Farmer Business Program.

Facilitated by the Future Farmer Network, the ticketed event will feature an in-depth presentation by Jack Laurie, Q&A session, farm tour and networking drinks.

Check back for dates and ticket link soon!

This will be a Covid-19 safe event.

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