Waikato sharemilker launches ‘Tinder for cows’ using AI and breeding data
Waikato sharemilker Matthew Zonderop had no inkling that one day he would become a matchmaker for cows.
The pair, who breed Holstein Friesian cattle under the Lakeview prefix, have found a formula that works, allowing them to keep the “day jobs” they love while creating a business that offers exceptional genetics to the New Zealand dairy industry.
Isaac, who grew up in Hawke’s Bay, didn’t come from a farming family but his love of agriculture saw him attend Taratahi Training College as a teenager.
Emma didn’t grow up on a farm either but keenly participated in calf club in her hometown of Featherston, acquiring calves from family friend Selwyn Donald.
Isaac and Emma have been together for 17 years and in 2014, they took on their first farming job: working for Craig Rowe (Maire Farms Ltd) for five years.
The couple then spent a year in the US, working on the Scientific Holsteins stud (Matt and Mandy Nunes).
“It was an awesome experience, and we would like to get back over there,” Isaac says. “We made some lifelong friends.”
On their return to New Zealand, Isaac started working for Semex and has been the Semex Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu & Wairarapa area manager and beef program manager for the past six years.
Emma works in a rest home in Dannevirke and the couple have two children: Charlie (7) and Lilly (2).
Isaac and Emma’s passion for breeding cattle intensified quickly: they bought their first animal, Aldersyde Sid Adrina VG85, at the Summer Sensation Sale in 2014, and today they have 12-15 cows under the Lakeview prefix, 10 of which are Holstein Friesian.
Their animals are kept at nearby Verwaayen Farms (Hennie and Kerri, Harvey and Lucy Verwaayen).
“Because we don’t farm, our numbers are limited,” Isaac says. “Our core business is to breed good cow families: to calve them down to sexed semen or good bulls, show them, then sell them as young stock (calves or in-calf heifers). We occasionally keep one or two, but we keep it small.”
When it comes to choosing bulls, Isaac says they “chop and change” based on an individual cows’ needs.
“We are not solely hung up on high type bulls,” he says. “We pick bulls that are balanced, have good milk and DPR (daughter pregnancy rate) and are from a good cow family.
“There is no point in having high type-no milk animals; at the end of the day, they will be going into a milking herd and they need to perform for the owner.”
Old is Gold
Isaac Kelsen says they have a two-year-old cow sired by Val-Bisson Doorman who has just had a heifer by Mb-Luckylady Bullseye-ET.
Doorman might be considered “old” genetics, Isaac says, but they are genetics that keep performing. He is also impressed with a Jacobs League bull coming through.
The Kelsens are reaping the rewards of the superior genetics they use, observing several stand-out cows in the Lakeview herd.
Lakeview OK Addington EX, the first of Isaac and Emma’s true stud cows, was a head-turner in the show ring from an early age, taking out the North Island Championship in 2021.
Addington is still producing and has lived up to her reputation as an excellent foundation cow of the herd.
Instead, the sale of their genetics features very heavily in the future of their business.
Lakeview OK Addington EX’s 2019- born Crushabull daughter was Lakeview’s first public offering, at the 2021 NZ Dairy Event, and they have been sure to offer up at least one cow in this sale annually.
“We also like to contribute to the Futurity sales,” Isaac says. “We like to help up-and-coming breeders to get started on their journey. Our whole philosophy is to help the young ones and have fun.”
The Kelsens also have plans to import overseas embryos, and market and sell them in New Zealand.
“Our business is not large scale, but there is a distinct purpose behind what we do,” Isaac says. “You don’t have to have a farm to breed or show cattle.
“The trick is to find a farmer you trust and respect, and who looks after your animals like they are their own - which is what the Verwaayens do.”
