CIS - Cattle Information Service
CIS is a UKAS-accredited dairy herd information services company that provides milk recording, bovine health testing, pedigree registration, and genomic services to dairy and beef farmers across Great Britain, processing over 4 million tests annually and holding about 50% UK milk recording market share.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1903
- HeadquartersTelford, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CIS - Cattle Information Service does
The Cattle Information Service (CIS) is a UK-based, privately held laboratory and herd information services company founded in 1903 and operating from Scope House in Telford, Shropshire. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Holstein UK Group, alongside the Holstein UK breed society and the National Bovine Data Centre (NBDC). CIS provides milk recording, bovine health testing, pedigree registration, and herd management reporting services to dairy and beef farmers across Great Britain, processing over 4 million tests per year and holding approximately 50% UK milk recording market share.
The core service portfolio comprises Milk Recording (component analysis for butterfat, protein, lactose, urea, and somatic cell counts), Health Testing (Johne's, BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis, Neospora, Liver Fluke via ELISA and Realtime PCR), the PregCheck milk pregnancy diagnosis service (98% accuracy, first accredited worldwide for IDEXX PAGs testing), Pedigree Packages, and a Genomics service. Testing is conducted at a UKAS ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited and ICAR-approved laboratory equipped with FOSS 7 combi instruments capable of processing up to 20,000 milk samples daily with sub-24-hour turnaround. Results and herd records are delivered through the YourHerd web portal and MobileHerd app, with an integrated Johne's Progress Tracker benchmarked against University of Reading national data.
Revenue is generated through a mix of recurring monthly subscription fees for Pedigree Complete packages, usage-based pay-as-you-go health testing (e.g., Johne's blood testing from £5.50 per sample), hardware sales of Caisley BVD tissue-sampling ear tags, and one-off service fees. Distribution combines a nationwide field force of CIS Area Managers providing on-farm advisory visits with self-service digital channels (web portal, mobile app) and partnerships with breed societies, veterinarians (including Clyde Veterinary Group), and AHDB. Customer concentration is low, spread across thousands of small to mid-sized dairy farms.
CIS - Cattle Information Service firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CIS - Cattle Information Service
- Legal name
- The Cattle Information Service
- Website
- https://thecis.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1903
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CIS is a UKAS-accredited dairy herd information services company that provides milk recording, bovine health testing, pedigree registration, and genomic services to dairy and beef farmers across Great Britain, processing over 4 million tests annually and holding about 50% UK milk recording market share.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CIS - Cattle Information Service industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Dairy Herd Testing and Management Services
- NAICS
- Veterinary Services (541940)
- SIC
- Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Food Animal & Herd Health Diagnostics (Surveillance, Production Medicine Lab Testing) (HLAMADAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Dairy Herd Health & Reproduction Services (non-veterinary) (AFAEACAE), Pregnancy Diagnosis Services (Ultrasound, Palpation, Lab Testing) (AFACAEAC), Veterinary Drug & Antibiotic Residue Testing (AFALAFAB)
Keywords
Where CIS - Cattle Information Service is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Telford
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
CIS - Cattle Information Service business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Milk Recording Services: Charges for milk recording services including sample collection, laboratory analysis, and reporting. Available as part of Pedigree Complete packages or standalone. Fixed prices offered.
- Health Testing Services: Disease testing for Johne's, BVD, IBR, Lepto, Neospora, Liver Fluke offered on pay-as-you-go basis without contracts. Blood testing from £5.50 per sample.
- Pedigree Packages: Complete packages combining milk recording, pedigree registrations, and type classification visits for a single monthly fee. Participating breeds include Holstein, British Friesian, Ayrshire, Jersey, Guernsey, and Brown Swiss.
- Ear Tags and BVD Testing: Sale of Caisley ear tags with tissue tubes for BVD testing. Tags include tissue sampling capability with return postage packs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Health Testing - Pay-as-you-go |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pedigree Complete Package |
| Subscription | Monthly | Total Herd Recording Pedigree Package |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels12 records
CIS - Cattle Information Service product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CIS provides milk recording and bovine health testing services to dairy and beef farmers across Great Britain, analysing milk, blood, and tissue samples at a UKAS-accredited laboratory in Shropshire. Its portfolio includes milk composition analysis (butterfat, protein, lactose, urea, somatic cell count), disease testing for Johne's, BVD, IBR, Lepto, Neospora and Liver Fluke, pregnancy diagnosis, genomic testing, and pedigree registration packages, all accessed through the YourHerd portal and MobileHerd app.
Product overview
The Cattle Information Service (CIS) is a leading provider of milk recording and health testing services for dairy and beef farmers throughout Great Britain. The core offering consists of Milk Recording and Health Testing services, supported by laboratory analysis at a UKAS-accredited facility in Shropshire. The product portfolio is unified through the YourHerd web-based management platform and MobileHerd companion app, which serve as the central hub for accessing all results and reports. Core services include Cell Count monitoring, PregCheck pregnancy diagnosis, and Pedigree Packages that bundle milk recording with registration and classification. Additional services include Geno genomic testing, Data Links for system integration, and Ear Tags including BVD tissue sampling tags from Caisley. The company operates without contracts on health testing services and maintains fixed pricing across all offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Milk Recording Comprehensive milk recording service that collects milk samples during milking to analyse butterfat, protein, lactose, urea, and somatic cell counts, providing individual cow and herd-level performance data for breeding and management decisions.
- Health Testing Comprehensive health testing from milk, blood, and tissue samples covering Johne's disease, BVD, IBR, Leptospirosis, Neospora, Liver Fluke, and antibiotic testing, including the CHECS-approved Johne's Monitoring Scheme.
- Cell Count
- YourHerd Secure web-based herd management portal providing access to milk recording results, health testing reports, Johne's progress tracker, fertility reports, cell count reports, and management lists, including Medicine Book functionality.
- MobileHerd Free mobile application linked to YourHerd, enabling farmers to view and capture herd information, check service details, record calvings and treatments while out on the farm, including Treatment Page and Medicine Book features.
- PregCheck Milk pregnancy diagnosis service using ELISA technology to detect Pregnancy Associated Glycoproteins (PAGs) from routine milk recording samples at 98% accuracy, available from 28 days after service.
- Pedigree Packages (Complete) Comprehensive package offering milk recording, female pedigree registrations, and type classification visits for Holstein, British Friesian, Ayrshire, Jersey, Guernsey, and Brown Swiss breeds, charged as one monthly fee.
- Geno (Genomics)
- Ear Tags
Quantifiable outcome
- Processing capacity: up to 20,000 milk samples daily
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use CIS - Cattle Information Service
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CIS - Cattle Information Service technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability1 record
Feature5 records
CIS - Cattle Information Service partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Michael Halliwell (Group Commercial Director)coreAppointed Group Commercial Director for Holstein UK Group in April 2023, with experience in genetics field and CattleEye Ltd tech start-up. Leads digital transformation project for the Group.
- Johne's Action GroupcoreDairy management companies including CIS embraced the new Johne's progress tracker developed by the Johne's Action Group. The tracker provides vets and producers with tools for interpreting Johne's test results using benchmarks from University of Reading data analysis.
- UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service)coreUKAS is the sole National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom, recognized by government to assess organizations providing conformity assessment services. The CIS laboratory testing facility in Shropshire is UKAS accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, demonstrating competence, impartiality, and performance capability.
- ICAR (International Committee for Animal Recording)coreICAR is the global provider of independent Guidelines, Standards and Certification for animal identification, recording and evaluation. The CIS laboratory testing facility in Shropshire is ICAR accredited, ensuring compliance with international standards for milk recording and health testing.
- UK Agri-Tech CentreminorUK Agri-Tech Centre offers support driving agri-tech innovation through world-class facilities, expert knowledge and business support. CIS is a member of the UK Agri-Tech Centre, which strengthens connections between science, business and funders.
- Holstein UKcoreCIS is owned by Holstein UK Group, Europe's largest independent breed society established over 110 years. Holstein UK Group includes Holstein UK breed society, CIS (milk recording and health testing), and NBDC (National Bovine Data Centre).
- CHECS (Cattle Health Certification Standards)minorCHECS supports cattle farmers by helping control or stamp out costly infectious diseases. CIS participates in CHECS-approved Johne's Monitoring Scheme, certified and quality-controlled by CHECS.
- AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board)minorAHDB is a statutory levy board working for over 100,000 farming and supply chain businesses. CIS supports AHDB workshops where dairy farmers discover breeding potential using milk recording data, and AHDB provides funding for initiatives like the Johne's progress tracker.
- Holstein Breed SocietyminorCIS works with Holstein UK for pedigree registrations and type classification services for Holstein herds.
- British Friesian Breed SocietyminorCIS works with British Friesian breed society for pedigree registrations and breed-specific services.
- Ayrshire Cattle SocietyminorCIS provides Ayrshire Complete Pedigree Package with milk recording, pedigree registrations and type classification for Ayrshire herds.
- Jersey Cattle SocietyminorCIS provides pedigree registration and recording services for Jersey cattle herds.
- Guernsey Cattle SocietyminorCIS provides pedigree registration and recording services for Guernsey cattle herds.
- Brown SwissminorCIS provides pedigree registration and recording services for Brown Swiss cattle herds.
- Clyde Veterinary GroupminorVeterinary practice that uses CIS data in collaboration with programs like VetImpress, Digifarm consultancy, Total Vet, Interherd, and QuarterPro to provide insights to dairy farming clients.
- CaisleyminorEar tag supplier providing BVD testing tags with tissue tubes that CIS distributes to farmers for tissue sampling and BVD testing.
- Melanie Harmitt (CEO Holstein UK Group)coreCEO of Holstein UK Group overseeing CIS, NBDC, and UK Dairy Day operations following the passing of Sue Cope in 2022.
- Dena SnidallcoreHead of Laboratory Operations at CIS, leading the accredited laboratory facility in Telford with over 4 million tests processed annually.
- Janette MathiecoreHead of Field Services at CIS, overseeing nationwide network of Area Managers and milk recording operations across Great Britain.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CIS - Cattle Information Service competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- SGS: SGS is a global testing, inspection, and certification company with agricultural and food testing services that overlap with CIS's accredited laboratory offering and would be a likely counterparty in any lab outsourcing or competitive bid.
- Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins is a global food and agricultural testing laboratory group that competes for dairy, livestock, and food safety testing work that overlaps with CIS's accredited lab services.
- Zoetis: Zoetis is a global animal health and diagnostics company offering Johne's, BVD, and other livestock disease tests; it competes with CIS in the herd health testing stack and supplies many of the same veterinary customers.
- Holstein UK: Holstein UK is CIS's parent organization within the Holstein UK Group and Europe's largest independent dairy breed society, operating adjacent breed society, classification, and registration services that channel customers into CIS.
- NBDC (National Bovine Data Centre): NBDC is the third entity within the Holstein UK Group alongside CIS and operates UK national dairy genetic and breeding databases; it provides overlapping data and benchmarking capabilities used in herd management decisions that intersect with CIS analytics.
Emerging players
- CattleEye Ltd: CattleEye is a UK AI-driven livestock analytics start-up whose former Commercial Director (Michael Halliwell) joined CIS's parent group; it is both a competitor in mobility/lameness analytics and a potential technology partner.
- IDEXX Laboratories: IDEXX is the developer of the PAGs pregnancy test for which CIS was the first accredited laboratory; it provides the underlying diagnostic technology and competes in adjacent livestock and veterinary diagnostic markets.
- Allflex Livestock Intelligence (MSD Animal Health): Allflex supplies livestock identification ear tags and sensor-based monitoring; CIS distributes Caisley BVD tissue tags and competes/coordinates with Allflex in on-farm data capture for herd health.
Direct peers
- National Milk Records (NMR): NMR is the UK's other major milk recording and dairy herd performance service, providing direct competition to CIS's core milk recording, health testing, and breeding services across Great Britain.
Regional players
- AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board): AHDB is the UK's statutory levy board for farming and funds initiatives like the Johne's Progress Tracker; it indirectly competes and partners with CIS on dairy data services, breeding workshops, and industry benchmarking.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CIS - Cattle Information Service social profiles
Digital presenceCIS - Cattle Information Service compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
CIS - Cattle Information Service financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CIS - Cattle Information Service leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
CIS - Cattle Information Service funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CIS - Cattle Information Service M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CIS - Cattle Information Service
What does CIS - Cattle Information Service do?
CIS provides milk recording and bovine health testing services to dairy and beef farmers across Great Britain, analysing milk, blood, and tissue samples at a UKAS-accredited laboratory in Shropshire. Its portfolio includes milk composition analysis (butterfat, protein, lactose, urea, somatic cell count), disease testing for Johne's, BVD, IBR, Lepto, Neospora and Liver Fluke, pregnancy diagnosis, genomic testing, and pedigree registration packages, all accessed through the YourHerd portal and MobileHerd app.
Is CIS - Cattle Information Service a public or private company?
CIS - Cattle Information Service is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was CIS - Cattle Information Service founded?
CIS - Cattle Information Service was founded in 1903. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CIS - Cattle Information Service based?
CIS - Cattle Information Service is headquartered in Telford, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does CIS - Cattle Information Service make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Milk Recording Services are the primary driver. The others are health Testing Services, pedigree Packages and ear Tags and BVD Testing.
Who are CIS - Cattle Information Service's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are SGS, Eurofins Scientific, Zoetis, Holstein UK and NBDC (National Bovine Data Centre). Emerging players are CattleEye Ltd, IDEXX Laboratories and Allflex Livestock Intelligence (MSD Animal Health). National Milk Records (NMR) is listed as a direct peer. AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) is listed as a regional player.
Does CIS - Cattle Information Service have an API?
No public API is recorded for CIS - Cattle Information Service.
What industry is CIS - Cattle Information Service in?
CIS - Cattle Information Service's product category is Dairy Herd Testing and Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAMADAL, Food Animal & Herd Health Diagnostics (Surveillance, Production Medicine Lab Testing), with a secondary code of AFAEACAE, Dairy Herd Health & Reproduction Services (non-veterinary). Its NAICS code is 541940 and its SIC code is 8734.