30 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Mount Brook Jerseys Ltd Sue Russell Coming joint winner of the Southland Jersey Cow of the Year competition was the icing on the cake for Southland farmer and Jersey breeder Alannah Skedgwell, who manages family owned Mount Brook Jerseys located near Tuatapere, Southland. That cow, Elmsbrook Rewind Bell, is a rising six year old and a very special animal, according to Alannah, having presented very well at local shows, gathering a reputation and a tally of points along the way. “That’s how the Southland Jersey Club - Cow of the Year is determined. Bell came first equal on points with Harbourside Gentry Penney, bred by Graham Smith and Debbie Mercer of Harbourside/ Owharoa Jerseys. This is the second year in a row that Bell and Penny have been Tied for Southland Jersey Cow of the year. I’m very proud of how well Bell did. She’s been a great cow all the way through,” Alannah says. And the accolades for Bell, as she’s affectionately known, are impressive indeed: Supreme Champion All Breeds Dairy Exhibit and Champion Jersey at the Winton A & P - 2 years in a row, Supreme Champion Jersey at Gore A & P 2 years in a row with multiple Best Uddered and Best Female Bred by exhibitor over her show career. Judges noted several impressive traits, giving Bell the Best Uddered Cow award, an excellent for Mammary Evaluation, strong dairyness, deep barrel and excellent chest width. All traits she shares with Penny that keep them neck and neck with every new show season. Mount Brook Jerseys is a generational family farm, owned by Alannah’s parents Murray Skedgwell and Linsey Bennett. Alannah’s own stud, called Elmslake has 80 odd registered Jerseys and three pedigree Ayrshires, while sister Julie has her own stud called Mount Brook. When Rural South spoke with Alannah the busy time of calving was underway, with about 40 cows in the 400 strong entirely Jersey herd having calved. “My parents are still around but the day to day operation is myself and Julie, and there’s always plenty to juggle. I rely on seasonal staff to help over spring time to keep on top of all the moving parts.” Asked what it is about breeding that she enjoys so much, Alannah says it’s one of the few activities that the whole family unit gets to do together. The icing on the cake for Alannah Skedgwell Julie holding onto Velvet. Alannah holding Ina and Linsey and Murray holding on to Bell. CC Photography. Proud to support Mount Brook Jerseys Ltd Contact the team at Rogers 84 Leet street, Invercargill 032189584 www.rogersyamaha.co.nz 60+ no bull, real world pricing. the smart farm choi ce. 0800 621 431 www.clarkes.net.nz PHONE NOW Imported Feed Blends & Contracts Dairy Meal / Pellets Calf Feeds PKE Blends & Contracts Bulk Molasses PROUD SUPPLIERS TO CRAIG STEVENSON & GLENKYLIE DAIRY FARM YOUR SEED & FEED SPECIALISTS ROUD SUPPLIERS TO MOUNT BR OK JERS YS LTD Complete Silage, Baling, Cultivation, Effluent, Spraying & Excavator Contracting Service Phone: 03 225 8488 Rabco Ag Ltd E-mail: admin@rabco.nz Web: www.rabbitt.co.nz PHILLIPS CONTRACTING PH COLIN - 027 434 5128 TUATAPERE PROUD TO SUPPORT MOUNT BROOK JERSEYS LTD FARM DRAINAGE • D6 DOZER • TRUCKS LANE CARE 20 TONNE DIGGERS • GRADER TRACTOR AND SCOOP • LASER LEVEL DEEP RIPPING AND TREE SHEAR AVAILABLE “I would say there’s an element of family rivalry. All the cows are treated the same but we do like to have the gloating rites over one another and we enjoy going to the shows. It’s nice to see year on year how our animals are stacking up against other exhibitors.” The breeding philosophy Alannah says is guided by three elements the family place significance on: Type, Production and Reproduction. “Type is your conformation - how well the cow is put together. We strive for longevity so the cow needs to be well put together to last into her teenage years, and with production for the nearly eight years I’ve been on the farm we have consistently gone up 10-15ms per cow per season while increasing the herd size. We feed them well and tweak little things every season and keep them in very good condition to achieve this.” Finally, Reproduction is a desire to improve the conformation and production of the calves and ensuring they are better than their mothers. “Mum and Dad have always had a very good herd. Now Julz and I have been able to come in and put the icing on top. If we hadn’t had that foundation we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the rapid gains we have.” Calving is a time Alannah really enjoys, despite its demands. Seeing how each calf looks and develops when it arrives is a real thrill. The farm has a wintering barn and as each cow approaches calving time, it is on grass through the day and goes back to the wintering shed at night or in poor weather. “When they’re likely to calve we put them in a smaller paddock or pen in the shed with a lot less cows. Over calving quite often Julz and I are up multiple times during the night, but that’s all part of farming and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Calving will extend to the second week of October and there isn’t a lot of time before the next mating happens. Alannah says it is always a priority to get the cows happy and recuperated following calving. “It’s also really important in the first few months of life to look after the calves really well.” When asked how long a cow is productive for Alannah says its a policy to retire the girls at 12-14 years old. “We have a special paddock we call the ‘retirement village’ and we give them a very good life in their years of ease. Quite often the last mob of calves gets thrown in with them and the old girls enjoy babysitting and stealing the calf grain. It’s the very least we can do.”
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