Dairy NZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation are embroiled in a very public spat over the development of an industry-good genetics database with both accusing the other of derailing the process.

For the last 12 months the two parties have been negotiating the shifting of 46 regulated core data fields, and appropriate compensation for them, from Livestock Improvement’s database to Dairy NZ.

Yesterday, Dairy NZ issued a media statement saying that negotiations to build the industry good Herd Improvement Database, had failed because the parties cannot agree to terms.

However, LIC says the transfer of the 46 core fields to the Dairy NZ database is not a problem, but that Dairy NZ is trying to ascertain all of its commercial database – more than 288 fields.

Further, LIC says Dairy NZ doesn’t want to pay for any of the extra information, which reflects millions of dollars of shareholder investment, IP, and generations’ worth of work.

However, Dairy NZ denied the allegations that it is being greedy in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, Federated Farmers says the current impasse is unacceptable.

Feds dairy sector vice-chair Robin Barkla says the industry needs an integrated data network run by Dairy NZ if the industry is to boost its on farm productivity and that this is not the time for a clash of egos.

“It smells a bit like the industry of the past where everyone protected their patch. We were hoping we were a lot more cooperative and cohesive than that.”