NZ Dairy Summer 2020

| 53 nz dairy ON FARM » Lindsay & Caroline Burnell Fer t i l i ser Spread i ng | Boom Spray i ng Cu l t i va t i ng | Round Ba l age or Hay Farm Race Repa i r s Ema i l : mdpage@farms ide . co . nz PAGE SPREADERS LTD AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTOR For all your agricultural and building requirements contact Gary The team at Davis Contracting Levin Ltd are proud to support Lindsay & Caroline Burnell • Grass & Maize Silage • Round & Square Hay & Baleage • Cultivation • Cartage • Hedgecutting • Tube or Individual Wrapping L i ndsay Burnell’s family have been breed- ing Ayrshires since 1928. He and his wife Caroline now live on the farm his mother’s parents bought in 1908. Affectionately known as “The Kuku” because of its address on Kuku Beach Road, in Ohau, South of Levin, it’s just a few kilometres up the road from where that stud was started by his paternal grandparents. These days the farm is run by their sons and their 101 hectare dairy platform caters for 275 cows of which 100 are Ayrshire, 100 Friesian, 30 Jersey and the rest cross-breeds. “We used to have only Ayrshires but when I came and took over the farm about 40 years ago they had 50-50 Ayrshires and Friesians. When we expanded a couple of years ago we bought some cross-breeds and Jerseys but we’ll possibly go back to just Ayrshires and Friesians.” Lindsay acknowledges his soft spot for the Ay- rshires that have always been part of his life. His assessment of their milk reflects the ten years he spent as an industrial chemist in a dairy factory before he went farming himself 50 odd years ago. “They’ve got what I call a softer milk, which sounds funny, but it dates back to years ago when they used to use sulphuric acid to test milk-fat; Ayrshire milk used to burn so you could tell in the dairy company which milk came from an Ayrshire herd and which from Friesians. So I believe it’s an easier milk for people to drink.” Generally speaking Lindsay puts them some- where in between Jerseys and Friesians. “They give more milk than jerseys but less fat, and possibly less milk than Friesians but more protein, so Ayrshires are right in the middle.” Lindsay believes the name for being bad- tempered that Ayrshires have historically had is unwarranted given that in their 275 strong herd they’re by far the quietest. “They’re the ones that carry on milking when it gets dry, they seem to fossick more - in general they’re a real tough kind of breed and I just find them really easy to work with. The farm, officially called “Holyrood”, may be relatively small compared to many these days but every cow pays its way. “Any cow that doesn’t milk here finds its way onto a truck very quickly,” says Lindsay with humour. Their aim is to select the best bulls with the traits they rate as most desirable for the herd. They rear as many heifers as they get, and they’re very careful of what calves they keep; whether it’s a Jersey, an Ayrshire, or a Friesian. Ayrshires a constant for Burnell family Virginia Wright At the top of Lindsay’s list is a good udder. “That’s not always easy to get but that’s important along with the capacity of the cow, easy calving and easy to get in calf. You can tell a lot visu- ally,” says Lindsay. “Mind you I can remember my father saying when I was young that he’d classified a cow when he was in Rotorua that he thought was a wonderful cow. Somebody asked him if she was the perfect cow and he said ‘no, when you find the perfect cow shoot it and stuff it because you’ll never see another one’ so there’s always room for improvement!“ says Lindsay with his trademark humour. “Mind you I can remember my father saying when I was young that he’d classified a cow when he was in Rotorua that he thought was a wonderful cow. Somebody asked him if she was the perfect cow and he said ‘no, when you find the perfect cow shoot it and stuff it because you’ll never see another one’ so there’s always room for improvement!’” PHOTOS: Ayreshires grazing at Holyrood, near Levin. The Burnell family has been breeding Ayrshires since 1928.