NZ Dairy Winter 2021

| 87 nz dairy Manawatu Jersey breeders Lindsay and Maurice Pedley. DAIRY PEOPLE » Maurice & Lindsay Pedley Sisters take over business • from page 86 “We will run the business accounts and make all on-farm decisions. While I’m hands-on on the farm day-to-day, Margie liaises with the lawyers, banks and all the necessary parties required for running the business.” While Sophia and Margie have taken over the operating reins of the farm, their father continues to enjoy farm life and maintains a presence most days. “I think having my sister and I take over from a financial perspective has been great in allowing dad to take a breath and not feel responsible for the financial success of the business. I think it does wear on someone over the years.” Herd Managers Emma and Jaron Boase have been part of the operation for the last ten seasons and continue to play a valuable role. Up till now the majority of the herd have been mated to Friesian bulls, finishing the tail enders with a short gestation Belgium Blue bull. All cows are AI’d. Sophia says in the future she would like to mate only her exceptional Friesian cows to high quality Friesian bulls to reduce heifer replacements, mating the rest with Angus, Hereford or Belgium blue for the beef market. “I’m moving away from bobby calves and have managed to do that over the last two years. I just think the transport process is unsuitable for a four-day old calf. By using beef genetics that beef farmers can value there might be something there that would eliminate the need for bobby calves while also driving down the need for beef farmers to breed their own stock, if we can supply enough beef animals.” Looking ahead, Sophia says her goal is to farm sustainably while also profitably. “I want to keep the farm in the family till it gets to the 150-year anniversary in 2066, by which time I will be in my early seventies.” While Sophia’s passion for farming may have come as a surprise to her, it is most certainly infec- tious. Breeding top Jersey cows a family trait Richard Loader Stephen Weck Livestock is proud to be involved with Orakau Dairy Farm on their 100 years of farming M 027 455 1106 E stephenweck@gmail.com Financial success is more than just keeping your books in order; That’s why we go far beyond book keeping. ; ’ . Proudly supporting Maurice & Lorraine Pedley 06 357 5793 | office@lpw.co.nz | www.lpw.co.nz DAIRY EQUIPMENT, PUMPAND IRRIGATION SPECIALISTS MILK CHILLING SYSTEMS (06) 324 8426 • E: info@farmsupplies.co.nz • W: www.farmsupplies.co.nz RONGOTEA Ice Cycle manufactures and supplies water chillers with electronic expansion v alves ensuring close temperature control preventing freezing , heat exchanger failures and unnecessa r y use of glycol. We can supply insulated water tank/chiller and pump sets on easily transported stainless steel frames ready to connect to dai r y v ats or milk heat exchangers. These “plug and play ” systems are also a v ailable as icebanks to maximise power savings. L ongstanding Manawatu Jersey breeders the Pedley family farm 135 hectares in Rongotea on the Foxton Highway about 30 kilometres west of Palmerston North. An additional 25 hectares of sand-hills to the back of the farm are testa- ment to their mainly sandy soils, and that’s where Maurice and Lorraine Pedley and their son Lindsay run their dozen Jersey bulls and dry-stock. They milk 350 registered Jersey cows, and carry another 90 in-calf heifers and 130 R1 calves on run-offs nearby. The sandy soil means things dry out quickly in the summer and while it doesn’t stop them getting very wet in the winter, it does mean they have to have open drains, explains Lindsay. “If we had a tiled drain system or an overflow the sand would just block them up. We fence them all off, obviously, but it makes paddock sizes interesting sometimes.” Part of the land the Pedley family still farm was originally owned by Maurice’s grandfather. “The Pedleys first came here in 1910 when he bought 88 acres as it was then,” says Maurice. “We’ve grown that with my father and myself and now Lindsay to what it is today. My father bought his first registered Jersey cows in the 1930’s and we still have a cow family in the herd that can be traced back to one of the cows he bought in 1932.” They call that family the G-family with names such as Grettel, and one of Grettel’s daughters runs in their current herd. “We’ve had one or two bulls in LIC from that family as well,” says Maurice. “It’s one of our high genetic families that LIC and other companies like to contract mate.” The whole of the Pedley’s Jersey herd are high-ranking in Breeding Worth (BW), and they’re currently one of the top 20 BW herds in the country. “We have a herd BW of 234, and a PW of 242,” explains Lindsay. “It’s got a lot to do with the bulls we used on AI three years previously following our breeding plan and what we’re after with our genetics.” Farmers around the country vary on what genetics they select for their herd, but the Pedleys only select the bulls that rank highest on the RAS (Ranking of Active Sires) list, the list that fits every bull in the country according to a wide range of genetic markers. “We always go with the top genet- ics for both production and confirmation,” explains Maurice,” which gives us the best opportunity to breed high-producing daughters and to stay in that top ranking.” “We’ve also been keeping an eye on fertility,” says Lindsay.” and we’re careful to keep away from any danger of in-breeding as the genetic pool seems to be narrowing.” The Pedley’s approach is clearly working. Despite their sandy soil they averaged production of 489kgs of milk solids per cow last season on a mainly grass diet plus a daily ration of meal-feed in the shed. It’s all about a balanced diet, with a mix of things like biscuit meal and distillers grain, which varies according to the seasons, along with balage and maize silage. Maurice and Lorraine enjoyed running the farm between them for many years, but they realized in around 2007 that they needed a succession plan, given that they had four children, so they set up Carnarvon Farms Ltd around the time the family were buying more land. Now 43, Lindsay’s been working on the farm since he left school. They needed a set-up to allow him to build equity in the farm and setting up the company was the start of that process. “So I got a share of the company and I’m slowly building up more equity over the years,” he explains. “We had to work out the best way to hand the farm over to the next generation that’s fair for all family members,”says Maurice. “That’s not always an easy task. You’ll find farmers all around the country our age trying to work out the best way to transfer it over.’ “We had to work out the best way to hand the farm over to the next generation that’s fair for all family members. That’s not always an easy task.”