4 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » BJ and GW Hill Bros The dairy platform milks 180 cows on 80ha at Rongotea. Karen Phelps The Hill family has been breeding Ayrshires at Wakefield stud in the Manawatu dating back to the 1930s. Brothers Brian and Geoff Hill farmed together in partnership since the early 1990s until sadly Brian passed away last year, with his daughter Charlotte and her partner Cody now back home and stepping up to run the farm. The dairy platform milks 180 cows on 80ha at Rongotea, with contract milkers George and Jorja Siebelink taking care of day to day operations. “My great grandparents first registered Ayrshires in the 1930s and we have had them ever since,” Charlotte said. “My grandfather took over running the farm from them and then when he retired my Dad (Brian) and his brother (Geoff) formed a partnership known as Hill Bros. Over the years they have expanded the farming business. “Dad was heavily involved with the Ayrshire breed in his younger years – we used to always take a team of cows to the local A &P shows, he was a senior judge and was also on the New Zealand Ayrshire Association board for a number of years. He was the one who ran everything on farm so since he passed away it’s been a huge change for us all. “Now I’m rearing the calves and young stock and overseeing the dairy farm. I really love the breeding side of things and am excited to see how the Ayrshire genetics progress in the future. “This year we are going to AI selected yearling heifers and hopefully do some embryo transfers as well.” In the past the black and white cows in their herd have been bred to Friesian bulls but since last year Charlotte is choosing to use Ayrshire bulls over all their cows, with Hereford used over the lowest producers and for natural matings. “We love the Ayrshire breed; they are strong and capacious cows with great udder health.” They rear around 45 replacement dairy heifers each year and all their bull and beef heifer calves are reared through to finishing. As well as having the dairy farm and beef, their wider farming operation includes fattening trade lambs, hay and balage contracting and cropping (predominantly maize) which keeps Cody and Geoff busy. Charlotte thinks the future is bright for Ayrshires in New Zealand. She recently attended the annual Ayrshire New Zealand conference in New Plymouth where there was discussion around the opportunity for more crossbred herds to use Ayrshire bulls to further increase hybrid vigour, and the great potential for organic dairy farms to use Ayrshires due to their excellent health traits and low somatic cell counts. Breeding Ayrshires for nine decades • Round bale services • Ground work • Digger work • Maize planting • Direct drilling • Roller drilling • Conventional hay • Farm races • Truck & Trailer cartage Kairanga, Manawatu Mark 021 273 7805 office@mcdermottcontracting.co.nz PIPEWORK SOLUTIONS IRRIGATION SYSTEMS MECHANICAL FABRICATION PUMP SUPPLY & INSTALLATION Accredited to install and vertify water flow meters in accordance with Irrigation New Zealand Blue Tick standards. “Now I’m rearing the calves and young stock and overseeing the dairy farm. I really love the breeding side of things and am excited to see how the Ayrshire genetics progress in the future.” “It was a great chance to catch up with other Ayrshire breeders and we got to visit a couple of herds in Taranaki.” The whole family enjoys farm life with their son keen on everything to do with tractors and machinery and their daughter loves helping Charlotte with the calves.
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