| 39 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Quinedale Farms Stud herd rocket past production goal of 600kg The soggy summer that wreaked havoc in February just to the south, around Otorohanga, left the 72ha Singh family farm near Hamilton unscathed. Hugh de Lacy A bolus that transmits vital data from the cow’s gut, combined with a phenomenal grass-growing summer, have seen Quinedale Holsteins’ registered stud herd rocket past the production goal of 600kg of milk solids per cow. In fact the spring calvers are on target for between 660 and 670ks/ms, while the autumn calvers jumped from a healthy 600kg/ms last season to 654kg/ms this season. The soggy summer that wreaked havoc in February just to the south, around Otorohanga, left the 72ha Singh family farm near Hamilton unscathed, and farm manager and part-owner Shneil Singh says his herd of 200 Holsteins revelled in the grassgrowth. “Certainly this past strange wet season has been great for grass-growth, but the other major factor in our getting such a big per-cow production jump was our adoption of the smaxTec bolus implant system, which gives us vital up-to-the-minute information on things like internal body temperature and water intake,” Shneil says. “It’s allowed us to monitor our individual cows’ health, giving early disease detection, to better manage the reproduction cycle and more accurately monitor feed requirements. “It’s clearly lifted our herd’s performance across all those factors, resulting in the outstanding production we’ve been able to achieve.” The smaxTech ingestible bolus is lodged inside the reticulum, the second chamber in the fourchamber ruminant’s alimentary canal – that pouchlike tissue that humans eat as tripe – and lasts the life of the cow. It wirelessly transmits such data to the farm office as that earliest of indicators of developing disease well before external symptoms appear. Rumination activity is measured through the cow’s digestion contractions, providing both health and feeding status. A unique feature of the smaXtec system is that it makes the water intake of each cow visible, ensuring optimum hydration for milk production, with the added benefit of detecting potential issues in the water supply. Acute problems like lameness are identified by the monitoring of activity levels, which also aids in heat detection. When Shneil took over from his parents, Hardeep and Balraj Singh at Quinedale Holsteins a year ago, he boosted cows numbers from 180 to 200 and, encouraged by the season and the smaxTech boluses, is aiming to add another 20 to the milking herd this year. As a consequence, Quinedale Holsteins will not have any cows to offer, as they’ve done as guests in the past, at this April’s Lawwal Friesian/Holstein stud sale run by Sneil’s cousin Arjun Singh. “We won’t be selling any cows this year, and we sold none last year,” Shneil says. “We’re upping the herd size, and right now we’ve got the technology and the feed to take our Holsteins’ individual production even higher.” Shneil took over running Quinedale Holsteins along with his father Balraj after a career in professional rugby as a lock or loose forward, starting with four years with the Toyota Verblitz in Japan, followed by a couple of years with the Southland Stags and a season or two with a club in Charlotte, North Carolina. YOUR FARM MACHINERY SPECIALISTS AgPlus are the DIRECT IMPORTER for: 28-32 LAWRENCE AVE, TE AROHA 3320 • www.agplus.co.nz • 07 884 9901 All Strautmann machinery and parts throughout the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. With our dedicated field service team we can service all makes and models of machines on-farm, or in our workshop based in Te Aroha. • Mixer Wagons • Feed out wagons • Muck Spreaders • Loader Wagons Exclusive importer for Strautmann throughout the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. PROUDLY SUPPORTING QUINEDALE FARMS 0274 934 519 | pjstables@xtra.co.nz STABLES CONTRACTING • Maize & grass harvesting (bulk) • Square & round balage • Groundwork • Maize & grass planting • Fert spreading • Trailer work • North Waikato based “Certainly this past strange wet season has been great for grassgrowth, but the other major factor in our getting such a big per-cow production jump was our adoption of the smaxTec.”
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