60 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Zarnie Fergusson and William Richards Loss of grandfather still raw for Zarnie Richard Loader It’s the end of an era at an Auckland dairy farm, where a family that has worked the same land for generations is preparing to move on as urban development draws near. For sharemilker Zarnie Fergusson, the change has come suddenly and painfully. Her grandfather, Keith Willis, passed away in August, ending decades of dairying on the family block and forcing a rapid rethink of her business. “It happened so fast,” she says. “He had a small fall, and when he got to hospital, he picked up pneumonia, and four days later, that was it. It was the middle of calving, and none of us were expecting that at all.” Keith’s passing brings the family’s combined beef and sharemilking arrangement to an abrupt close. “It’s been a bit of chaos,” Zarnie says. “We’re losing access to about 270 hectares worth of beef grazing, so we’ve had to really turn our system on its head quite fast.” She had always known the farm’s days were numbered, and that shaped the way she and business partner William Richards ran their operation. “We work to always have the highest-value animals at any point in case we need to sell them suddenly,” she says. That thinking extends to the genetics of the herd. “We spent a lot of money on bulls - and on the right bulls, which for us was Maranui Herefords,” Zarnie says. Every cow, including young heifers, was mated with these pedigree bulls, producing strong white-faced calves that could be raised for replacements or fattened for sale. It was a system rooted in Keith’s philosophy of efficiency and self-reliance. “He didn’t think anything should be wasted. Bulls should be kept on farm and grazed on farm. Calves should stay on farm, finish on farm. There was no bobbying or selling at four days old,” Zarnie says. By investing in carefully selected genetics, the farm consistently produced high-value calves, a reliable income that complemented the dairy operation. Many farmers shy away from using beef bulls over dairy cows, believing the calves will be too large and the cows will struggle to deliver them. “People say that it’s not worth the risk - that you’ll end up with calves getting stuck during labour or cows dying in the process,” Zarnie says. Keith Willis passed away in August, ending decades of dairying on the family block. “And if you lose even one cow that way, it’s a huge financial hit.” But she says those concerns are based on outdated thinking rather than genetics and data. “Last season we had 70 heifers come through, and all 70 calved white-faced calves with no assistance,” she says. “We had two heifers where we gave them a gentle pull with a rope, and that was it.” Zarnie credits the results to careful bull selection and a long partnership with pedigree breeders. “If you get the right genetics and properly listen to the science, then the risk is largely minimised,” she says. “We buy from studs who’ve spent decades breeding for low birth weight and easy-calving traits - wide pelvises on the females, small heads www.northlandfarm.co.nz NORTHLAND FARM SERVICES LTD DESIGN / SUPPLY / SERVICE SOLUTIONS GLOBAL PUMP 106 Jervois St, Dargaville - Ph 09 439 4005 8 Proctor Road, Whangarei - Ph 09 438 3844 Proud to be supporters of Zarnie Fergusson and William Richards Northland Farm Services Limited - Your local farm partner. Suppliers of Waikato Milking Systems and can provide expert advice and service on Effluent and Water systems. and shoulders on the bulls. The bulls still grow into long, heavy beasts when it’s time to kill them, but they don’t cause calving issues.” Her preferred bulls come from Maranui Herefords, a relationship built over many years. “Their bulls are more expensive,” she says, “but we run them for two years because they’re a medium-sized bull, so it’s cost-effective.”
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