Two young Victorian dairy farmers
are helping shape the future of Australian dairy genetics through a pioneering joint venture program.
Hollee Vinnicombe, 19, from Calivil, and Chloe Cook, 21, from the King Valley, are managing the Genetics Australia Co-operator herd program on their family farms. The initiative combines elite Australian and American genetic lines to breed the next generation of high-performing dairy cows.
The program operates on a small number of contracted farms in Victoria, where
elite embryos are transferred to recipient females. Offspring born on the farms are genomically tested, with top-performing females retained for future breeding and elite males added to Genetics Australia’s artificial insemination program.
For Hollee, returning to the family farm two years ago has coincided with her work on the Co-operator program. “Gerard (Brislin, GA Co-operator Program lead) coordinates the embryos, and we keep the heifers unless they have a high BPI. Those go back to Genetics Australia and join advanced programs like IVF and ET. The same goes for the bulls,” she said.
Hollee said the program was progress-
ing well.
“We’ve had embryo calves on the ground for about a year now and are very happy with them. Currently, two heifers and a bull are at Genetics Australia with excellent BPI scores.”
Chloe and her family operate Country Road Holsteins in the King Valley, where she oversees herd management and calf rearing. “We’re a bit behind Hollee but are excited about the results. In August, we transferred embryos and confirmed 10 pregnancies,”
she said.
Both Hollee and Chloe attended Genetics Australia’s 2026 Today, Tomorrow and Beyond conference in Geelong on March 17–18, visiting GA and TLG facilities at Bacchus Marsh and Camperdown.
“It’s important to encourage the next generation to take leadership in breeding programs,” Gerard said.
The Co-operator program is unique in its international collaboration. “We’re sending Australian semen to the U.S. to Peak Genetics to sire embryos that return here. This
gives us access to global cow families with Australian genomic performance breeding values,” Gerard explained.
Currently focused on the Holstein breed, the program uses embryos generated by TransOva Genetics in the U.S., alongside genotyped donor females from Peak Genetics’ nucleus breeding program. Gerard noted that advances such as gender-sorted semen have reduced the availability of elite bull calves for Australian A.I. companies, making local breeder involvement vital
for sustaining genetic resources.
“The program is in its early stages
but continues to develop nicely, helping us breed ‘Better Cows for a Better World,'” Gerard said.
