| 27 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » John and Kristina Wyatt The Wyatts are concentrating on accelerating the quality of their herd. Virginia Wright Life for John and Kristina Wyatt is busy as they and their three small children settle onto a new farm this season. The Central Taranaki farm they were on sold so they moved about 20km down the road to just south of Eltham. They decided that of the three 50/50 sharemilking jobs they were looking at, this one offered the best opportunities, not least because their runoff block is only 10 minutes up the road. The new farm is 160 hectares including a 130 h/a milking platform and 20 hectares of country too rough to do much with except run a few beef cattle. “We’re kind of on a hilltop so we graze all the flat land and some of the more rolling with the milking cows and put the beef into the gullies around the edges,” John explains. The Wyatts are concentrating on accelerating the quality of their herd by using sexed semen and only breeding replacements from the top 80% of the herd based on their BW (Breeding Worth) and PW (Production Worth). They use Charolais straws on the bottom 20% to give a good beef calf. “On the old farm we were selling them as calves but now we can keep them to tidy up the steep gullies and take them through to 18 months to two years and make more money from them although we have to wait longer for a return on our investment,” says John. They brought 300 cows in-calf with them from the former farm, which together with the replacements and the purchase of 40 more cows and heifers has brought the herd up to 340 Kiwi-X cows. Also in the interest of speeding up the genetic gain in their herd they use AB to inseminate their heifers, with high BW Kiwi-X semen, and keep the calves as replacements. The cowshed has the same 36-a-side herring bone they’re used to but they’re enjoying its labour-saving technology: cup-removers, automatic wash and drafting, and in-shed feeding which are all saving them time and energy. “The biggest benefit of the in-shed feeding is the animal health side of it. It reduces the labour requirement and gives us peace of mind for disease management as we can put all the minerals and zinc for things like facial eczema in with the feed, In-shed feeding making all the difference and we know that every cow is getting the correct dose,” says Kristina. Over the term of their three year contract their main focus is continuing to pay off the debt they took on last year to buy the runoff. They’re putting summer crops in and will be making silage in the spring as usual, as they get to know the farm over the first 12 months. If their budgeting is correct, based on some educated guesswork as well as previous production and the feed that’s going in, they’re hoping the change in farm will help them pay it off more quickly. The higher numbers of cows and better per cow production, which may be thanks to a slightly lower stocking rate, working to their advantage. They had a great season last year achieving 440 kg of milk solids per cow and created a new farm record. 027 894 5553 percyearthmoving@gmail.com Honest, Reliable & Prompt Electrical Services 21B Romeo St, Stratford | 06 765 8167 or 021 338 390 mike@robinsonelectrical.co.nz 027 672 3143 a.k.larsen@xtra.co.nz adanlarsenbuilders.co.nz WE CATER FOR ALL YOUR BUILDING REQUIREMENTS Exceptional quality workmanship, value for money, a exible approach, a focus on your needs and great communication. Effluent and Irrigation Services Please give us a call for all your effluent pond pumping & irrigation needs (06) 765 6668 Proudly supporting John & Kristina Wyatt Despite their cows also having to get used to a new farm they’re hoping for 450kgs this season. Ultimately, they’re hoping the cows will produce their own liveweight of around 480kg per cow. They’ll stick with the system as it is for the first year while they and the cows settle in, then see if some careful tweaks can help them achieve that milk production goal within their current three year contract.
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