| 69 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Maegan & Terry Legg Pragmatic approach key to success Russell Fredric Terry and Maegan Legg’s love and affection for their dairy farming and family lifestyle is clearly heading them in the right direction. As sentimental as this may sound, it is the sharemilker couple’s pragmatic approach, including their focus on the genetics of their herd, that has been foundational to their success so far. Terry and Maegan 50% sharemilk for Spall Farms about 10 kilometres inland from Foxton, ManawatuWhanganui, and employ one second-in-charge. They moved to the farm after working as contract milkers for two seasons. Terry has a background in engineering while Maegan worked as a training recruitment coordinator. Their motivation for the career change was about lifestyle, especially to able to spend more time with their children, and to grow their own business. The 156 hectare property peak milks a 320 cow Friesian herd on a platform of 128 hectares effective. It is bisected by Makerua Rd which effectively delineates the contour between terraced paddocks on one side to the “beautiful at land” across the road. This variation is extremely useful for managing grazing through the seasons, Maegan says. “We can pick and choose which side of the road we’re going to use. It’s brilliant for our wet weather management plan.” The couple bought their herd three seasons ago and were shocked to win the Manawatu Dairy Industry Awards Share Farmer of the Year in 2020, the rst year of being sharemilkers. “Obviously as rst-time sharemilker who had come from outside of the industry, putting together a herd under budget was our key focus rather than buying a speci c herd.” Before becoming sharemilkers the couple completed two seasons as contract milkers to build their experience. They worked with several stock agents to nd cows that suited their needs. One thing that was not negotiable was that the cows all had to be and look the same breed which in their case was Friesian. “As sharemilkers we wanted to be able capitialise on the beef side as well so being able to sell Friesian bull calves at four days old is a bit of extra income for us.” Upon buying the herd, Terry and Maegan signed up for the LIC sire proving scheme which uses a combination of ancestry records, DNA testing, and traditional daughter proving to identify the bulls that will add the most genetic value to a herd. The two-year-old’s in their herd are DNA tested, weighed, scored for traits other than production and body condition scored. Combined with herd testing, which has assisted with making informed breeding and culling decisions based on breeding worth and production worth, the sire proving scheme has been a great way of fast tracking the genetic gain of the herd, Maegan says. “The technology behind the bulls is so good now that you are not getting any average bulls. We are getting great bulls, then we are [DNA] testing them then the best of those great bulls are going into the team.” Further endorsement of their strategy has shown in the herd’s empty rate which has dropped from 19% in their rst year of sharemilking to 9% last season. Maegan attributes this impressive result to Terry being extremely meticulous in determining if a cow was in oestrus, while their veterinarian’s commitment to getting a better outcome was outstanding. “Ryan Carr from Totally Vets was as invested in the empty rate and six week in-calf rate as we were. You would have though it was his herd. It was de nitely a team effort.” The 156 hectare property is bisected by Makerua Rd which effectively delineates the contour between terraced paddocks on one side to the “beautiful at land” across the road. Proud to Suppo Maegan and Ter Legg Call Murray: 021 414 227 Grass, Wholecrop, Maize, Stacking, Bagging, Buying & Selling, Round Bales, Hay & Baleage, Conventional Bales & Ground Work For all your harvesting needs t 06 357 0640 www.nla.net.nz We focus on providing business advice and accounting solutions, so our clients can focus on what they do best! Let’s start talking Totally Vets is proud to support Terry and Maegan Legg by providing all aspects of animal health care Awapuni 06 356 5011 Taumarunui 07 895 8899 Feilding 06 323 6161 admin@totallyvets.co.nz www.totallyvets.co.nz 06 329 1885 | dispatch@flipptransport.co.nz
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