66 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Lynrich Jerseys Good demand for Lynrich bulls at sale Farm dogs Darcy, Adi with the calves. Megan with cow #13. • from page 64 “We sell 60 with three generations of pedigrees behind them as our elite mob, but all the bulls, all 290 of them we sell, are DNA pro led and BVD [bovine viral diarrhoea] tested negative.” Production is 1100kgMS per hectare and 400kgMS per cow on a low cost system “where we do not get to 300 days in milk.” Simon manages the grazing block which covers 238 hectares and supports 260 R1 yearling bulls, 20 R2 bulls and 140 R1 heifer replacements. “We bought our own grazing block because we weren’t happy with the quality of grazing we were getting.” The job is a great t for Simon, a former engineer who dislikes milking, but he loves working with livestock while it also gives him a good lifestyle and time to pursue his passion for hunting and shing. Megan has been working in the business for nine years and this is her rst year as the manager of the home farm. The two dairy farms produce a total of 490 calves each season, rearing all the heifers and bulls and selling the surplus each year. The R1 bulls are raised on the grazing block and 290 are offered at Lynrich’s bull sale each September. These bulls are popular for mating over young stock for their ease of calving. “We sell 60 with three generations of pedigrees behind them as our elite mob, but all the bulls, all 290 of them we sell, are DNA pro led and BVD [bovine viral diarrhoea] tested negative.” The farm was previously buying in high breeding worth mating bulls, but Richard and Christine realised their own livestock were equally as good. Lynrich Jerseys is in the top 10% over all breeds for breeding worth in New Zealand and this has created good demand for their stock. Since April 2021 the farm has utilised Cow Manager which provides accurate and real-time information for fertility, health and nutrition, are based on ear-temperature, activity, rumination, eating and resting time. “What we were nding, in November/December we had days of high temperatures, cows were having quiet cycles and didn’t rub tail paint. Cow Manager picks up these cows cycling, as on the hot days we still had cows cycling so it’s great.” It is “awesome” to have the family involved in the farm, Richard and Christine say. “If we didn’t have our kids to take over the farm we’d probably sell it and leave our cows to somebody else. We are happily looking forward to the future to do less on the farm and watch the kids succeed.”
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