increase font size
Jerseys are part of a three-way cross breeding program with Friesians and Aussie Red bloodlines.
Working as a veterinarian pregnancy testing dairy herds helped shape the thinking of Australian farmer Tim Humphris when he and his wife Lyndal decided to go farming.
“I saw too many empty cows. Declining fertility in the dairy industry was always going to be an issue I wanted to address,” Humphris said.
A three way cross breeding program to boost hybrid vigour has been the cornerstone of their farming enterprise at Tongala in northern Victoria since they entered the industry seven years ago.
“Mixing Friesian, Jersey and Aussie Red bloodlines has given us a motley-looking herd, but we are getting outcomes in fertility and cow health,” Humphris says.
He keeps careful pedigree records and aims to keep continually out crossing their 330 milkers.
Cows that are predominantly Friesian are mated with Jersey semen, Jerseys get a red sire and Aussie Reds are crossed with a Friesian.
The couple maintain about 30 registered Aussie Reds as a contribution to building genetic diversity in the small breed. This year they have had one of their bulls selected as an AI sire by Genetics Australia.
“I’ve always had a strong interest in breeding, especially in selecting bulls,” said Humphris.
The breed had opened up its register to quality red bloodlines from Scandinavia to help broaden its genetic base.
While there were a number of Aussie Red herds in Australia, semen sales were overwhelmingly used for crossbreeding. For this reason the breed restricted the percentage of Friesian blood to help farmers maximise hybrid vigour when using Aussie Red semen.
When making breeding decisions on his farm, Humphris says he gave priority to health and fertility traits over production.
For Taupiri dairy farmers Logan and Sian Dawson, their involvement in the NZ Dairy Industry Awards has been a key catalyst in the growth of their business - the experience helping shape how they approach the farm ownership pathway they are pursuing today.
An LIC bull, Tronnoco AR Sadio-ET S3F, bred by Tony and Keri O'Connor of Tronnoco Farming Co Ltd near Timaru, has won the 2026 Mahoe Trophy.
In the past, a bull could sit comfortably in a breeding team for several years with little change, but today, that’s no longer the case.
Genetics plays a central role in helping farmers lift per-cow productivity over time.
OPINION: Your old mate hears an international incident is threatening to blow up the long-standing Anzac alliance as Kiwis and Aussies argue over who wants new Australian resident and former NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
"What's for dinner?" may sound like a simple question, but for many Kiwi parents, answering it has become a job in itself.
Fifty Eight years ago, on the 16th of August 1968, August Claas, the founder of the harvesting company and father of Helmut Claas, personally presented a Claas Senator combine harvester to Scottish farmer John Steven.
New Zealand consumers are paying more for beef mince than ever before, with the average retail price now sitting above $24 per kilogram, according to Rabobank.
State farmer Pamu has delivered its strongest operating result on record.
Four years since it was first detected in New Zealand, researchers and growers now know much more about management of maize pest fall armyworm (FAW).
OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…
OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.
