| 59 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Kemra Farms Upgraded shed for the Holstein herd The upgrade took a couple of weeks over winter with McElrea Electrical doing the new wiring. Emma Bailey Kemra Farm on Inch Clutha is hitting the ground running this spring, with an upgraded shed for the award winning Holstein herd. Fifth generation farmer Brendan Morrison said the farm made use of the off season to upgrade the 32-year-old shed. He had already noticed a difference. “We upgraded the milk plant of the cow shed. Things were getting outdated and harder to maintain. “Before calving starts we always run the heifers around the platform to get them used to it before they come in for their first milking. After those first few milkings we would usually get the odd heifer that would take a wee while to settle but I’ve found this season that it’s gone really smoothly. Maybe it’s down to the new lighter clusters.” The upgrade took a couple of weeks over winter with McElrea Electrical doing the new wiring. “They do all our electrical work on farm.” CCMP managing director Hamish Keith said they upgraded the milk lines, pulsators, rotary gland and clusters. “This improves the milking performance, makes the system easier to maintain while the new lightweight clusters are more comfortable for both operators and cows.” The season ahead was looking good, Brendan said. “We seem to have hit the ground running. The milk is on par with last year. The weather could settle down a bit, we need some good weather to grow some grass.” In late September he was busy finalising his bull team for the upcoming mating season that begins in November. We select bulls from LIC, CRV, Semex and Samen. “We want cows that are of a moderate stature, we are trying to increase the protein and fat content and positive fertility. We keep improving on the udders and getting good rump angles, sloping but with plenty of width which helps with calving. “ “We DNA’d the whole herd over winter which will help with confirming the parentage of the new calves and which ones we will want to sell.” Earlier in the year the award winning Holstein herd took out the calves section at the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand southern districts dairy heifer competition, celebrated in Oamaru in April. This is the second year in a row for the farm winning the award. The farm was visited and the mob of 93 calves assessed by judges. “They are looking at how well grown they are and the evenness of the mob.” The Morrison family have been farming on the Inch Clutha property since 1909. The farm is nestled between the northern and southern branches of the Clutha River, near Balclutha. It is still very much a family operation, the Morrison’s own three self-contained dairy farms, Kemra Farm, Haswell Farm which sister Megan Morrison manages and Kilfinan which is run by a lower order share milker. Brendan’s children Archie (8), Mila (5) and Callum (3) enjoy their rural upbringing on the farm and experiencing farm life with Dad and Papa, just like Brendan did growing up. “We keep improving on the udders and getting good rump angles, sloping but with plenty of width which helps with calving.” FOR ALL YOUR DOMESTIC, COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL REQUIREMENTS 03 418 2762 | accounts@mcelrea.co.nz Experienced Electricians providing dairy shed maintenance, rebuilds and conversions Proud to support Kemra Farms BOTTING BROS. LIMITED BALCLUTHA Silage • Ploughing • Digger & Truck Hire JAMES 027 333 3844 • MATHEW 027 333 3851 Find us on Facebook
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=