20 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Hillier - Wadham Knocking on the door of 90,000kg Hugh de Lacy When Chris Hillier took over the management of Bev and Neil Wadham’s 220-cow herd near Carterton in the Wairarapa a few years ago, the five-year production average was 80,000kg of milk solids; he’s now got it knocking on the door of 90,000kg. That’s despite having the same number of cows on the same 69ha farming platform, and continuing to operate a no-bought-in-feed low-cost operation. It’s also despite the vulnerability of such an operation to the vagaries of the weather, and contract milker Chris in his time has seen production spike above 90,000kg one year, only to plummet towards 80,000kg the next. “Right now, in early spring, we can say we’ve had a really good run with the weather, with rain arriving when we needed it then turning dry enough to prevent bogging,” Chris says. “Production this year is running at two percent above the average, and we should crack the 90,000kg mark if the weather holds – though we’ve learned not to count on it.” The herd, a mix of Jersey, Friesian and Kiwi Crosses, is wintered solely on baleage made on the farm, with no outside inputs – and no palm kernel. Feed growth is supplemented by a fixed sprinkler irrigation system that takes water from the Waingawa River and provides some insurance against the Wairarapa’s all-too-common dry periods. The Wadhams remain in charge of the herd’s breeding policy, which aims to extract the most from the hybrid vigour of all three breeds, with a programme of six months of artificial insemination using Livestock Improvement Company genetics. The Friesians and Kiwi Crosses are inseminated with Jersey genetics, and, to tidy up after the AI, Hereford bulls are bought in and their progeny sold off. The result is a herd that comprises some straight Jerseys, some straight Friesians and some straight Kiwi Crosses, but the key to the steady rise in the herd’s productivity is the heterosis effect, the hybrid vigour, of the various mixes. “Our productivity gains are incremental and weather-dependent, but they’re steady and real over time,” Chris says. After spring calving the cows are milked twice daily until May, and throughout this time Chris is carefully recording not just production but the condition of the cows, and anything that starts to look a bit light is dropped from the milking herd. “It’s all about breeding a cow that produces better than its mother, and building resilience into the herd. “Feeding them well and getting the basics right is so important,” he says. Bev and Neil Wadham’s 220-cow herd near Carterton in the Wairarapa. Proudly supporting Hillier - Wadham ORDISH & STEVENS Chris grew up in Auckland and developed a love for dairying after holiday visits to a relative’s farm, and after doing a Bachelor in Applied Science course at Massey University he went full-time into the industry, first and briefly in Ireland, then back in the Wairapapa. Wife Amy is a school-teacher who still works part-time, and the couple has a two-year-old daughter. The couple are working towards gaining a 50/50 sharemilking position as the next step on their path to eventual farm ownership.
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