Livestock Improvement forecasts drop in 2016 earnings, extends credit to farmers feeling the pinch

Livestock Improvement forecasts drop in 2016 earnings, extends credit to farmers feeling the pinch
Jonathan Underhill
By Jonathan Underhill Oct. 20 (BusinessDesk) - Livestock Improvement Corp, a farmer cooperative that sells bull semen and manages a dairy genetics database, said it expects a drop in 2016 earnings as farmers reduce spending in the face of a lower milk payout. The Hamilton-based cooperative, known as LIC, didn't give details of the forecast profit drop. Net profit fell 24 percent to $13.7 million in the year ended May 31. Excluding fluctuations in the value of its bulls, profit fell 41 percent to $40.8 million last year. Revenue in 2016 is...