ABS Global, Inc. is celebrating 70 years in business this year. Throughout the years, ABS has shared a strong legacy within the dairy and beef industries. Founded in 1941 by J.R. “Rock” Prentice as American Breeders Service, ABS has influenced the entire artificial insemination industry through its business, philosophy, dedicated staff and technical innovation. Just 12 years after its foundation, ABS was the first to utilize liquid nitrogen technology to freeze bovine semen and has been on the cutting edge of technology and meeting the world’s production demands ever since.
ABS was proud to launch the Genetic Management System in 1968, developed to optimize sire selection and avoid inbreeding through computerized mating. By 1985, more than 500,000 dairy cows in the U.S. were mated through the GMS program.
Dedicated to looking out for all aspects of the dairy customer, ABS launched the Quality Milk System in 1990 and added the Valiant product line in 1998, which still focuses on producer’s milk quality and utilizing the best products in the business for maximum results.
Progeny testing has always been a priority at ABS, and has been the foundation of the ABS Beef program since the late 1960s. In 1995, American Breeders Service was renamed to ABS Global, Inc. to fully recognize the company’s dedication to beef and dairy producers around the globe. In 1999, ABS was purchased by its current parent company, Genus, plc, who plays a key role in the world’s agricultural economy. Genus creates advances in animal breeding through naturally applied biotechnology, helping farmers and food producers across the world to improve quality and increase output.
In 2006, ABS launched ABS Sexation sex-sorted semen providing producers the opportunity to “GROW from within”. Just a year later, ABS launched the DURAbulls brand in conjunction with the GMS durability formula to promote healthy cows built to last.
Since its foundation, ABS has had 10 sires reach millionaire status, and in the last five years the company has acquired production units in China, India and Russia. ABS is selling more than 14 million doses of beef and dairy semen in 80 countries worldwide, and is testing more than 500 beef and dairy bulls on six continents. As the ‘World Leader in Bovine Genetics’, ABS leads the industry in producing cows with superior longevity. Not only does ABS have over 190 proven bulls in six leading production centers worldwide, it also accounts for more than four million cows mated with the GMS system annually, and an additional one million cows bred through the Reproductive Management System daily. PD
—From ABS Global news release
