54 | nzdairy Good foundation underpins genetic gain Kim Newth In his fth year 50/50 sharemilking, Morrinsville dairy farmer Shayne Caird is seeing positive results from his breeding focus on developing strong, consistent cow families. Milking 210 cows on 72ha with partner Scott Duncan, Shaydoc has a predominantly Holstein Friesian herd as well as some pedigree Jerseys with the herd production averaging 450kgMS/cow. Shayne’s love of the Holstein Friesian breed goes back to his childhood, growing up in a dairying family with his parents running a pedigree Holstein Friesian stud, (Dandy View). He showed calves from a young age and achieved numerous championship titles and photo competition successes through his younger years. “All that experience has stood me in good stead on the breeding side,” says Shayne. “It gives you a better understanding of how to make good breeding decisions because you know what conformation High achieving cows from his Shaydoc stud include Shaydoc Cinderdoor Daana VG89. Sharemilker Shayne Caird is seeing positive results from his breeding focus. DAIRY PEOPLE » Shaydoc Holsteins traits need to be combined to make a top animal.” High achieving cows from his Shaydoc stud include Shaydoc Cinderdoor Daana VG89. Born in 2018, Daana won the Maughlin Storm – Two-YearOld Cow Champion in the 2021 HFNZ-Semex NZ Ltd On-Farm Competition and placed rst in the Dairy All Breeds Heifer two-year-old in milk class at the 2020 Stratford A&P Show. As a heifer, she also won rst equal in the 2021 Broom eld Senior Youth Heifer Competition. Daana has an exciting Claynook Dealmaker two-year-old and Shayne is very optimistic about the growth of this family within the herd. From the start of his sharemilking career, Shayne has used imported semen from North America to achieve his breeding goals – “which is evident in our two- and three-year-olds; we have improved their udders a lot as well as overall conformation.” He has also introduced bloodlines from some of the top NZ Holstein Friesian cow families, recently including the Belrose C Family into the herd. “We have a good foundation for breeding from here. It’s just a case of ne tuning and being picky about the replacements we bring in. I’m happy with how far we’ve come in ve years.” Originally, the herd was August calving and Shayne has worked to bring calving forward and get more days in milk. This has been successfully achieved, with calving now starting in early July. The Morrinsville dairy farm is run as System 3, but Shayne and the farm owner are looking at moving toward a System 4. Maize and grass silage is produced on farm, along with a meal blend in the shed. “Going forward, we’re looking at how we can grow more feed to get more production. We’re exploring various cropping options and weighing up what would work best under our system.” One option that Shayne and Scott are considering is to lease a block of land for growing supplements and supporting further herd improvement. In the course of the sharemilking journey, Shayne has appreciated the advice and guidance of mentors within the industry, such as experienced local ex-dairy farmer Garry Colquhoun. Shayne rst met Garry at showing events where Garry was the judge. He ran into him again at a pre-dispersal Jersey cow herd walk, where they struck up a good connection. “It’s gone from strength to strength. Garry lives up the road and often drops by to check on the cows and provides useful critique for our operation.” Shaydoc Holstein’s Shayne Caird and Scott Duncan. Kyle Selman 027 391 1201 kyleselman@yahoo.com UNDER SOWING, MAZE PLANTING AND HARVESTING, CULTIVATION Subcontracts to
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