70 | nzdairy Pat and Shelley farm 73 effective hectares in Waikite Valley, about 30 minutes south of Rotorua. The farm’s milking platform is 60 hectares, with all young stock kept on farm. Breeding for conformation a key focus Richard Loader Breeding for conformation is a key consideration when Bay of Plenty farmers Pat and Shelley Schnuriger carefully handpick overseas genetics for their pedigree Holstein herd. “We prefer to use overseas genetics, largely because compared to New Zealand genetics there are far better conformation traits, resulting in better udders, by a long shot,” says Pat. “The number one thing that we breed for is good udders, better feet and legs with all the body parts in the correct places.” Pat acknowledges that there are aspects of New Zealand genetics that are very good and the production of milk components with a good percentage of fat and protein is one of them; fertility is another. “Overseas genetics will provide a lot more milk as in volume, and in a lot of countries farmers get paid for the volume they produce, rather than milk solids. But for Kiwi farmers it’s about the milk components and we’re penalised for volume in terms of carting it to the factory. “To get total milk solids you need volume and components. So you need to look for a bull that is positive in its percentage of milk fat and protein, while still producing some volume.” STgenetics, Worldwide Sires and Semex are all used by the Schnurigers when selecting bulls, with no preference given to any one provider other that what bull is on offer at the time. Pat and Shelley farm 73 effective hectares in Waikite Valley, about 30 minutes south of Rotorua. The farm’s milking platform is 60 hectares, with all young stock kept on farm. The couple currently milk 112 cows, all registered pedigree Holsteins, bar two pedigree Ayrshires and two pedigree Shorthorns. “We breed from the top 60% of the herd and do a round of AI mating on heifers before they go with the bull. At the moment we’re working on improving fertility traits and we’re also bringing some polled genetics. “We end up with plenty of replacements, with some surplus. The bottom 40% of the herd goes to AB Hereford, tailing off the last three weeks with short gestation Belgium Blue.” A regular entrant in the Bay of Plenty Regional Semex NZ On Farm competition, last February Pat and Shelley’s pedigree Holsteins were placed First or Second across all age groups. While the First and Second place getters are judged at the on-farm Nationals in March, results are not released until the annual Semex Conference in June. “We had one veteran cow that was placed fth in this year’s National on-farm Semex competition. In theory there are sixteen cows in each category in the Nationals and the top six in each category are placed, so to get placed at all is pretty good.” More recently, Pat and Shelley showed two of their cows in the Waikato A&P Show, held at the Claudelands Showgrounds in Hamilton and were delighted to come away with a rst place in the Senior Calf Category, with a six-year-old cow coming fourth. “We’ve struggled over the years to get cows to that standard but now they are starting to get there. It takes time.” Both the Semex and Waikato A&P competitions are judged on conformation. WE ARE MORE THAN JUST MILKING SPECIALISTS with 24/7 Service Feel free to call in, visit our shop and discuss any requirements you have in regards to your dairy shed. DeLaval Service and Support milking solutions Ph 07 348 3628 19 White Street, Rotorua www.abcmilkingsolutions.co.nz Milking Machines Dairy Consumables Machine Tests Davey Supplier Trenching DeLaval InService (Preventative Maintenance) McConnel Backing Gates Water Pumps & Fittings E uent Systems Bore Lifts Irrigation Services Reid & Harrison Brosnahan Agricultural Spraying Ltd Gene Brosnahan Cell: 027-410 1035 Email:bas@brosnahanagri.co.nz DAIRY PEOPLE» Pat & Shelley Schnuriger
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