| 51 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Dean & Jo Geddes Breeding, calving & pasture in focus Dean and Jo Geddes own Tahora Holstein Stud, located at Tai Tapu, some 18km south-west of Christchurch. Since last talking with Dean almost a year ago, he’s had the opportunity to step back somewhat from the day to day operation, now employing a contract milker. “It means I can concentrate on the breeding, calving and pasture management side of things and I’m not in the milking shed any more.” So much so, that when NZ Dairy spoke with Dean he was looking forward to a trip to Vietnam to ride the 1800km Ho Chi Minh trail with a group of friends. Dean says he’s pleased with pasture quality having undertaken significant pasture renewal. “It’s looking really good across the farm, though we’re feeding the herd additional grass and maize silage to keep condition on.” Calving was well underway and due to be completed by the beginning of June. It’s a time, Dean says, that he looks forward to. “We bring the girls up to the calving barn a good 10 days before they produce to settle in and I’m always keen to see what the progeny looks like.” The history of Tahora Stud goes back four generations to Dean’s great grandfather and since 1921, the quality of the cows has been recognised at various shows. The Geddes family has been showing stud Holsteins at the Christchurch A & P Show for over 110 years. Dean took over running the farm from parents Jim and Judith as a 21 year old in 1987. Asked what it is about the Holstein breed that is so attractive Dean says he enjoys breeding a strong cow that will go the distance. There’s no end point in achieving the perfect cow either which makes breeding an enjoyable challenge to improve year on year. “You are always striving to improve form, constitution and capability. It’s a case of getting the genetics right and then making decisions about crossing them the right way to achieve genetic gain.” The farm extends over 160ha with an additional 50ha in two blocks leased for the heifers and to grow supplements. The herd is kept off pasture in winter, staying in a wintering barn built 8 years ago. “We have some low-lying parts on the farm so avoiding damaging pasture and pugging is a priority.” Tahora Stud has always supplied town-milk, and operates a split calving system. Calving commences mid-March through to early June and again from Sue Russell late July through to the end of October. “We make sure the cows are well fed prior to calving with more fibre, minerals and grain supplied.” Showing top cows has always been a passion. Cows are judged at the Christchurch A & P Show, at the Leeston and Oxford shows. “It’s quite a big thing preparing them for competition. It’s certainly not just having them there on the day and you have to get the calving dates perbuyifect and have them producing well.” Last year was something of a milestone for Dean & Jo as they presented 70 head of stock for sale on 29 April in a rather unusual place – the Tai Tapu Pub. “We had a lot of support from the local community and it was the first sale since 2012 so it stirred up quite a bit of interest.” Successfully breeding is all about having the right philosophy. “First and foremost, we breed a dairy cow and the other attributes then come. We look for cows that will go the distance on milk production and are capable of walking long distances with great udders. If you get those things right then the rest seems to fall in place.” Plans ahead are possibly to increase the farms area as Dean says Josh is keen to milk 400 cows. “Upping the production would be good for us all so I have been looking at buying some more land if the opportunity presents.” 03 324 3880 - 24 Hours canterbury@thinkwater.co.nz 22 Station Street, Leeston www.thinkwatercanterbury.co.nz Your one-stop shop for all irrigation, pumping & water management needs. SOLUTIONS SERVICES ∙ Irrigation ∙ Pumping ∙ Drainage ∙ Effluent ∙ Service & Maintenance ∙ Civil & Contracting ∙ Residential & Lifestyle ∙ Reinke Centre Pivots ∙ Domestic Plumbing ∙ Irrigation Consultancy & Design ∙ Project Design Management ∙ Service & Maintenance • Concrete • Fertiliser Spreading - Farm Mapping - GPS Tracking - Variable Rate Spreading • Livestock Cartage • Grain Cartage • Shingle Supplies • Daily Freight Leeston: 03 3248 070 Dunsandel: 03 3254 039 reception@ellesmere.co.nz NZ Owned & Operated. Est 1988 Hayden McCarthy - 027 473 0802 Proudly supporting Dean & Jo Geddes Jo, Dean, Judith and Jim Geddes. Photos: Dianna Malcolm, Mud Media.
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