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AB Agri completes purchase of National Milk Records
Owner Associated British Foods announced it had agreed to purchase NMR earlier this year, in a deal worth £48m – 215p per share, an 87% premium to NMR’s closing share price on 5 June.
Commenting on the acquisition, AB Agri chief executive José Nobre said: “I am delighted that AB Agri has acquired NMR. NMR is a high-quality business which is extremely complementary and additive to our dairy strategy and offering to the dairy industry.
Creating continuous improvements
“We have supported dairy farmers for more than 30 years with nutrition and specialty feed products, and more recently with data and technology platforms which deliver insights that create continuous improvement in agricultural supply chains.”
NMR provides management information and testing services to the UK dairy supply chain, developing technology used to inform farming efficiency and animal welfare and quantify food provenance.
It collects milk samples from a majority of farms in the UK, positioning it as a ‘respected and present voice’ across the industry. NMR’s collaborative approach to its worth in the industry has helped drive its success as it continues to develop and invest in new products and services, with focus on genomics and GenoCells.
What is GenoCells?
GenoCells is a ‘next-generation’ milk test that provides individual cow Somatic Cell Counts (SCC) using a single bulk milk sample.
GenoCells uses each cow’s genomic profile to identify SCC contribution to avoid the requirement for time-consuming individual cow milk sampling.
Identifying animals with the highest SCCs has never been so easy, helping farmers identify sub-clinical mastitis, improve milk quality and reduce antimicrobial use as GenoCells enables a Selective Dry Cow Therapy program.
Via https://www.nmr.co.uk/genomic-testing/genocells
History and expertise
NMR finance director Mark Frankcom added: “We are delighted to now be part of AB Agri. AB Agri's status within the UK agricultural sector and expertise in the dairy industry will provide a significant benefit to NMR's customers.
“As the UK dairy supply chain continues its drive to carbon neutrality, NMR's work with GenoCells and milk data, and our pivotal role in payment testing, will contribute important information to aid in this transition.
“The backing of AB Agri will accelerate and de-risk NMR's ability to deliver its strategic objectives, streamlining industry processes by creating a holistic business that can provide end-to-end data and analysis to ensure the long-term sustainability, efficiency and profitability of UK dairy.”
