144 | nzdairy Karen Phelps Wyndham dairy farmer Helen Cummings 2025 Valden Cow of the Year Rivendell Sham Beatric-ET EX3 4*ET SP is continuing to prove her superior genetics. She produced 626kgMS in 264 days last season and her two-year-old daughter, with sire Duckett PFCT Has It All ET, delivered 478kgMS in 270 days. An embryo from Rivendell Sham Beatric is due to be born at the end of July and Helen plans to flush her again in spring. “Rivendell Sham Beatric has always achieved fantastic production levels and been classified ‘excellent’ three times by the New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association so it’s very satisfying to see her calf heading towards similarly great production,” says Helen. Rivendell Sham Beatric was the culmination of the carefully considered genetic strategy of Helen’s Mayalan Holstein Friesian stud for the past quarter century. She was also quick to share the credit for the Valden Cow of the Year achievement, with former dairy farmers Owen and Cathy Copinga, from whom she purchased Rivendell Sham Beatric before they left the industry. The Valden Cow of the Year award recognises any cow that has completed at least four lactations and is judged to have made, or have the potential to make, a sustained contribution to the breed. Helen says a bull calf born to Rivendell Sham Beatric last season has been retained as a sire for her herd’s carry-overs, with the family keen to observe what progeny it produces. The stud’s overseas genetic input remains a deliberate part of the programme, drawing on World Wide Sires’ Mate programme alongside semen from Semex and ST Genetics. “We aim for a good, well-balanced, functional cow with longevity that does the production,” says Helen. Four further cows were flushed in May, with those embryos due to be implanted in October. The stud is currently focused on building its own pedigree rather than selling stock. It still carries some crossbreds from its early days, with the goal of transitioning to an entirely pedigree herd. A small number of pedigree Ayrshires also remain in the stud, a nod to Helen’s earlier years, when she ran an Ayrshire stud before transitioning to Holstein Friesians. Calf heading towards equally great production “Holstein Friesians are just beautiful cows, you get a return for your bull calves and they produce a lot of milk solids and last a long time. There’s a lot to like,” she says. Helen and her husband Jock run a 103-effectivehectare property near Wyndham, having moved there in 2008. The herd of 230 cows, 80 per cent of which belong to the stud, averaged 550kgsMS cow this season. Helen has served on the Holstein Friesian New Zealand board and last year received the organisation’s Distinguished Service Award. The family’s commitment to the breed extends across generations. Son Clint and wife Ashleigh have their own small stud on the farm called Mayoak. Clint manages the home farm and has won Fonterra’s lowest somatic cell count award for Eastern Southland, Southland, and the South Island for 2024/25, finishing sixth nationally. He is on track to achieve similarly good results for the 2025/26 season. Daughter Kate contract milks in Western Southland and has some stud cows on the family farm as well under the stud name Maylea. Son Darren and wife Melissa contract milk in northern Southland and husband Jock works off farm for Roof Craft Industries in Gore as contracts manager. ON FARM » Helen Cummings For all your Beet, Swede and Maize Drilling requirements. • Strip till Beet and Swedes • Precision planter available • Full cultivation options • Loader wagon for Silage & Baleage • Experienced staff • Late model, full GPS auto steered tractors • Drilled right on time Covering South Otago & Southland Contact Erik (027) 204-8019 betterbeetltd@gmail.com Check us out on Facebook Rivendell Sham Beatric has always achieved fantastic production levels and been classified ‘excellent’ three times by the New Zealand Holstein Friesian Association.
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