Finding the true cash cow

The 'True Cash Cow' fielday saw Jersey New Zealand and CRV Ambreed teamed up to offer local farmers two days of nutrition, health, production management and breeding programme guidance and support to help maximise their farm profit and increase the value of their herd.

The programme included presentations from award winning Jersey farmers Graham and Lyn Lawry, Dairy Business Centre NZ Limited nutrition consultant Rensinus Schipper, and DairyNZ genetic evaluation developer Melissa Stephen.

Jersey New Zealand representatives and CRV Ambreed's breeding team was also on hand to share the latest developments and successes in their joint venture programmes JerseyGenome and Jersey Genes, which are helping to create valuable progeny and strengthen the overall genetic gain for the Jersey breed.

Attendees visited four Jersey herds where farmers shared their achievements within their breeding programmes and discussed what they are doing to increase the profitability of their herds. Jersey New Zealand president Brian Carter says it was a great opportunity to see the potential of the Jersey breed and how the Jersey cow can be competitive in the national herd.

Jersey New Zealand general manager Warwick Dowse adds that that JerseyGenome and Jersey Genes provide excellent breeding opportunities that will help to achieve efficient production, and create a more valuable herd.

"The Jersey cow is the breed of choice for farmers in both New Zealand and overseas," says Dowse.

As Jerseys are typically a lighter animal with good longevity, Dowse believes this could potentially motivate some farmers in the future to re-think the breed make-up of their herd and how they can best produce a long-lasting, productive cow.