14 | nzdairy Kim Newth “They’re all DNA tested to provide proof of parentage so that people know what they are getting.” Some of this years bulls. Some of the Ashvale herd. Last years bulls. DAIRY PEOPLE » Ashvale Jerseys Good prices likely On their 156ha farm, the Ashvale Jerseys herd is sharemilked by Rodney and Jocelyn’s son Mark and his wife Ashleigh. The 520 cows are achieving very good production, thanks to a breeding emphasis on udder support. Around 12ha is set aside for winter cropping, plus the operation includes two 62ha dry stock blocks used for rearing calves, young stock and bulls, and wintering the cows. Rodney says the past year has been one of the most challenging he’s ever experienced with predominantly wet weather from May to October last year, followed by an extended dry that plunged Southland into drought. Rain saved the day in late April/May, enabling milking to continue to the end of May. “Last year was our lowest season for the last three years but we still achieved average production of 492kgMS per cow with average days in milk of 263. For a reasonable size Jersey herd to get that production is fairly good. Overall, we did 255400kgMS or 1749kgMS per hectare after rearing 320 calves.” The bull calves being offered at the October sale are all wintered on crop before going onto grass at the end of August. “By sale day, they’ll be on a par with other years size-wise, and genetics-wise we’re selling bulls with BWs of up to 400. People come to our sale because all of our bulls are DNA tested, plus they’re all born on the farm and stay on farm so there’s no chance of them picking up bugs from other properties.” He and wife Jocelyn moved to Southland in 1993 after sharemilking around Matamata before buying a farm on the Hauraki Plains. They farmed there for 11 years before the move to Southland. Southland dairy farmer Rodney Dobson, who grew up on a family farm with a Jersey herd, reckons that he purchased his rst pedigree Jersey cow some 54 years ago. By his own admission, he’s had a lot of time to get to know the breed and what to look for when working to achieve gains in productivity and ef ciency. Last year, he and wife Jocelyn had one of their best dairy bull sales ever at their Gropers Bush property, selling all 45 rising 1yo bull calves offered. The average sale price achieved was $2830 and the top price was an impressive $4250, the highest price ever paid for one of their bulls since the annual sale started in 2006. The dam of the top price bull was Ashvale Manz Eyelid, one of Ashvale Jerseys’ best cows. At nine years, her production was 736kgMS in 292 days. This year’s 18th annual sale will be held on-farm on 3rd October and is again poised to attract strong bidding from farmers and agents who appreciate the superior breeding worth and production worth of the stock being selected for sale. “They’re all DNA tested to provide proof of parentage so that people know what they are getting,” says Rodney. “We always like to put on a morning tea and a barbecue so will be giving a lot of sausages away on the day!” Ashvale Jerseys average herd Breeding Worth (BW) is 289, ranking them in the elite of NZ dairy herds. BW incorporates eight breeding value (BV) traits that are recognised as having the greatest impact on farmer pro tability and is comparable across all herds, ages and breeds. AROS CONTRACTING LTD ~Silage Specialists~ For a friendly, quality service call Tony & Janette Carmichael 03 224 6357 or 027 457 2037 Proud to support Ashvale Jerseys Robert: 027 439 5096 Email: rivertonfarmdrainage@xtra.co.nz
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