Monday, 26 August 2019 08:08

Top Jersey genetics boosts NZYF farm

Written by 
The new Jersey replacement heifers before they returned from grazing. The new Jersey replacement heifers before they returned from grazing.

Calving is in full swing at an Auckland dairy farm owned by NZ Young Farmers (NZYF).

About 135 cows have wintered on the 74ha farm, up from 115 cows last season.

“We are well over halfway through calving,” said the chair of the Donald Pearson Farm board, Julie Pirie, in early August.

Forty-three in-calf Jersey heifers arrived on the farm in late May. They were bought from the estate of the late Bobbie Backhouse.

The heifers are in the top 5% for breeding worth (BW) and are said to be among New Zealand’s best Jersey genetics.

“Most of the heifers were in calf to an AB (artificial breeding) mating. Many have had heifers, which is excellent,” said Pirie.  “We already have more than 30 replacement heifer calves.”

The calves are being reared in an old wintering barn on the farm. It was converted into calf pens in June.

“Donald used to calve a couple of times a year, so his pens were perfectly adequate for his needs,” said Pirie.

“But we calve the entire herd in the spring, which means we needed more space to cope with the larger volume of calves.”

Students from nearby Manurewa High School helped construct the new rearing pens. 

The herd produced 26,370 kgMS in the 2018-19 season. Production was hampered by a wet winter and a dry summer. This season is off to a promising start.

“Milk production is up 50% on the same time last season,” said Pirie.

“The new heifers are settling in well. The herd is being fed a blend of pellets with added minerals through the in-shed feed system.”

The farm’s manager Tom Ruki is using the covered stand-off pad to feed grass silage to the cows and protect pastures from damage.

“Tom’s using that facility well. The cows are in good condition and things are looking a lot better than they were at this time last year,” said Pirie.

“Our focus now is on getting as much milk in the vat as possible before the farm dries out in the summer.”

A major upgrade to the farm’s effluent system is complete -- a lined pond to handle effluent from the 11-aside herringbone milking shed. It’s connected to pods and a travelling irrigator will spread the effluent.

“We now have a lot of effluent storage. The cost of the upgrade... looks to be about $150,000,” said Pirie.

Graduates working at Fonterra have been assisting the Donald Pearson Farm board with long term planning for the farm. 

More like this

Fiancé finalists to square off

Steph Le Brocq and Sam Allen, a bride and groom-to-be, are among those set to face off in regional finals across New Zealand in the hopes of being named the Young Farmer of the Year.

Young Farmers prepare for Grand Final

New Zealand’s best young farmers are pledging to ‘leave it all on the table’ as they prepare to battle it out at one of New Zealand’s most prestigious farming contests.

Featured

Dr Mike Joy says sorry, escapes censure

Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.

People-first philosophy pays off

The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.

Farmer anger over Joy's social media post

A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.

From Nelson to Dairy Research: Amy Toughey’s Journey

Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.

National

Machinery & Products

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…

Gene Bill rumours

OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter