Genocells to return to Innovation Arena at National Ploughing Championships

Following a successful appearance as a finalist in the Innovation Arena in 2025, Genocells is returning to the National Ploughing Championships this September.

Dairy farmers will have another opportunity to learn more about the innovative technology helping to make somatic cell count (SCC) management, in genotyped herds, simpler.

Munster Bovine and Progressive Genetics, in association with ICBF, introduced Genocells to the Irish market in 2025.

The technology allows dairy farmers to gain individual cow SCC information from a single bulk tank milk sample, providing an additional source of information to support SCC management throughout lactation.

How does Genocells work?

Every genotyped cow has her own unique DNA profile.

Somatic cells present in milk contain the DNA of the individual cow, while a bulk tank milk sample contains somatic cells from all cows contributing milk to that tank.

Genocells analyses the DNA contained within the bulk tank sample and matches it with the genotypes of the individual cows contributing milk to the bulk tank.

It can then assign each cow a percentage of the total somatic cell DNA in the sample, referred to as her ‘cellular responsibility’.

This information is subsequently used, alongside milk yield information, to provide predicted SCC bands for individual cows.

The real benefit is the opportunity to gain additional points of SCC information at different stages of lactation.

For example, if a farmer sees an unexpected increase in bulk tank SCC between recordings, a Genocells test can provide additional information to help identify the cows that are most likely contributing to that increase with a high degree of certainty.

Results are presented in SCC bands, with colour coding making reports straightforward to interpret.

Cows highlighted in red have a strong probability of having an SCC above 200,000 cells/ml, while cows highlighted in green have a strong probability of being below 200,000 cells/ml.

This additional surveillance can help farmers make more informed decisions around SCC management during the lactation and towards the end of the season when dry-period decisions are being considered.

New €180 price

For 2026, Munster Bovine and Progressive Genetics have introduced a new Genocells price of €180 per sample, making the technology more accessible to farmers looking for additional SCC surveillance throughout the year.

You must have at least one milk recording completed before you can avail of a Genocells test.

The new price gives farmers a clear cost per test and the flexibility to use Genocells at the points during lactation when the additional information is most valuable.

A Genocells test can be completed as often as required throughout the year, giving farmers the option to incorporate testing into their individual SCC management strategy.

Visit Genocells at Ploughing 2026

The National Ploughing Championships provides an ideal opportunity for farmers to see the latest developments in Irish agricultural technology, and the Innovation Arena has become an important showcase for innovations designed to address practical challenges on Irish farms.

Farmers visiting the Innovation Arena will be able to speak directly to the team, learn how the sampling process works, see examples of Genocells reports and discuss the requirements for getting started.

For farmers already milk recording and with genotyped herds, Genocells offers a simple way of adding another layer of SCC surveillance throughout the lactation using just one bulk tank milk sample.

Visit the Genocells team in the Innovation Arena, Booth 1, at this year’s National Ploughing Championships to find out more.

This is a sponsored post as part of our 2026 National Ploughing Championships supplement .

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