Chairman Tom Kelly said he would like to pay tribute to the founding members of the society, whose foresight and commitment kept breeding programmes, AI and milk recording services not only in Irish hands but in the control of farmers.

Established in April 1995, having purchased the business of the State owned Dublin District Milk Board, Progressive Genetics was a lead player in the establishment of the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and the National Cattle Breeding Centre (NCBC), both of whom play an important role in present day national breeding programmes for both beef and dairy.

The co-op has also come through some difficult periods including the Foot & Mouth outbreak in 2001 and an IBR outbreak at the Enfield stud in 2011.

Recently the society has shown a willingness to enter partnerships or joint venture agreements for the benefit of its customers such as the joint venture formation of Independent Milk Laboratories (IML) with NMR plc, a UK based multi service provider.

IML, the first independent milk payment testing laboratory in Ireland, provides a disease testing and pregnancy test service with the milk sample. Kelly says that IML will continue to research what further data may be extracted from the milk sample which will help farmers make more informed decisions in relation to their herd management for the years ahead.

Kelly concluded by saying the society is optimistic for the future and that it will no doubt play a key role for farmers in the post-quota era.