TRENDING FARMERS ANN HARDY Freelance journalist, United Kingdom W hen Scottish farmer Colin Murdoch and his family switched their herd to the Jersey breed, it was not so much that they were tired of the Holstein, but tired of the price of Holstein milk. Selling on a conventional contract, Murdoch describes ‘the roller-coaster of prices’ as the key driver for change and had indicated to his buyer that he and his parents, Jim and Sheena, and wife, Kathryn, were keen to make the switch. No place for emotional attachment When a producer eventually retired from the Jersey pool supplying Graham’s Family Dairy, they had already carried out detailed, three-year budgets and were delighted to be offered the chance to take his place. “We thought about it for two minutes… and then we said ‘yes’!” he says. The reality of this decision implied selling a herd which had been built up by his father, grandfather and great grandfather – for over 100 years. “There was no place for emotional attachment as we are a business and we need to be profitable” he says. A trip with many good results Reflecting that it was only last summer he had this interest in changing breeds, he was quick to put in place a strategy to get the new cattle on to the farm. “We looked to Denmark where the national health status is light-years ahead.” By contacting a UK-based livestock importer and a representative from VikingGenetics, a three-day trip covering 800 miles and 15 farms resulted in the selection of 150 in-calf heifers. “The quality was so high that we selected from every farm bar one, and that was as much to do with missing the calving window I required as anything else”, he says. The cattle were selected on both their genetic index and conformation, with the Nordic Total Merit (NTM) as well as milk components used as key selection criteria. NTM as breeding goal “Cattle in Denmark can also be expected to have good genetics for health as this has been a breeding goal for many decades,” says Chris Stone from VikingGenetics. “Udder and hoof health have been paid particular attention, with the top bulls reducing digital and interdigital dermatitis and sole ulcers by around 50%, when compared with the average ”, he said. “A very low incidence of mastitis across the three VikingGenetics countries (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) is as much a reflection of breeding as management,” he adds. Adapting to changes Preparing the farm for the arrival of the VikingJersey heifers, Murdoch sold his black and white herd and made adaptations to the cubicle house and parlour, with beams put in place to narrow the parlour by 23 cm each side. Once cubicles were also reduced in size, the shed increased its capacity to 200 heads, up from the 160 Holstein places it formerly held. The arrival of the first batch of heifers took place in late October with the first due to calve on 18 November 2019. “They calved down without difficulties and settled really well; their temperaments are fantastic and now they rarely kick off a unit.” Today, further shipments of heifers have increased the herd’s numbers to 210 and of the 200 already calved – many in-calf to sexed semen – 140 are heifer calves. These daughters have now been genomically tested by VikingGenetics to help in the process of choosing replacements. “We have also budgeted to sell our surplus as in-calf heifers which we feel will be more profitable than selling beef cross Jersey calves,” he says. » 19 INNOVATIVE BREEDING NOVEMBER 2020
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