Genus plc is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

-based business selling elite genetics and other products manufactured using

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

and

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

farmers. It is headquartered in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

and is a constituent of the

FTSE 250 Index The FTSE 250 Index ( "Footsie") is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions and demotions to and from the index occur quarterly in March, June, Septemb ...

History

The business has its origins in the former Breeding & Production Division of the

Milk Marketing Board The Milk Marketing Board was a producer-run product marketing board, established by the Agricultural Marketing Act 1933, to control milk production and distribution in the United Kingdom. It functioned as buyer of last resort in the milk market in ...

which was established in 1933 and broken up in 1994. In 1999 Genus acquired

ABS Global ABS Global, formerly the American Breeders Service, is an artificial insemination company that sells frozen bovine semen. It headquarters are in DeForest, Wisconsin. American Breeders Service was founded in 1941 by John Rockefeller Prentice. ...

, a company founded by J.R. Prentice in the US as the ''American Breeders Service'' in 1941 selling the

semen Semen, also known as seminal fluid, is an organic bodily fluid created to contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads (sexual glands) and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize the female ovum. Semen i ...

. In 2005 Genus acquired, through the takeover of Sygen International plc, PIC, a company founded by six pork producers in the UK as the ''Pig Improvement Company'' in 1962.

Operations

The Company has three divisions: * ABS - products for

* PIC - products for

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

*Genus R&D - management of the research and development pipeline for cattle, pigs and other species. PIC's pedigree herds sire an estimated 30% of commercially reared pigs.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Biotechnology companies established in 1933 Biotechnology companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Basingstoke Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange 1933 establishments in the United Kingdom