April/May 2010 - Australian Jersey Breeders Society

Whitton Jerseys
By Linda Houghton
The Whitton Jersey Stud is situated at Huntingdon,
and backs onto the Hastings River, just outside of
Wauchope - near Port Macquarie in NSW. Ian
and Sue Lindsay are the fifth generation to run the
property, which was established in 1858. ‘I think I
have milk flowing through my veins, being the fourth
generation to run it as a dairy farm’ Ian said.
Before taking on the family farming enterprise, Ian
drove milk tankers, and then went home to sharefarm
with his mother, Nina. ‘When the GST was
introduced, Mum said she’d had enough (and Dad
had passed away some years before), so that’s
when Sue and I took over. However, she still lives on
the property and at 83 has a keen eye for a good
Jersey cow’, Ian said.
The Lindsay’s milk a herd of around 50 – 60 head on
the home farm 98 acres. After experiencing three
floods in 2009, this year is shaping up well. ‘Things are
better this year, but a bit dry at present – we’ve just
finished sowing the winter feed crops – rye, clover
and chicory – which should do well. We are lucky that
the soil is alluvial and very rich, which has allowed us
to be self-contained and grow all our own feed. The
only exception was the flood year, when we bought
in hay. Other than that, we feed 5kg of pellets per
cow, per day in the dairy to top them up.
‘I keep an eye on the soil by testing every now and
again, and in 2009 we tried a more natural approach
and used chook manure as fertiliser, with excellent
results. However, as the milk price is low this year,
we’ve gone back to superphosphates as usual. I
don’t like the nitrogen fertilisers – as I think the soil
becomes dependent on it. I try to put nitrogen back
into the soil by planting red clover,’ Ian said.
The property has spray irrigation via a travelling
system to 12 – 13 hectares, with a pumping licence
out of the Hastings River. ‘It is an un-regulated river,
but we still have to hold a licence, and are on a
hectare restriction,’ Ian said.
The herd is milked and calved year-round, and the
Lindsay’s supply the Hastings Co-Op, which produces
cheese and yoghurt only, with 23 suppliers currently
on the books. ‘Milking all year is constant work, but
we’ve always done it and are used to it. This year
we may not be getting a winter incentive – due to
the recent financial crisis, which will make things
harder. Currently we are getting 37 cents per litre –
however I know that some producers have privately
negotiated with other suppliers and receive between
50 – 60 cents per litre. We’ve looked at supplying
elsewhere, but factories aren’t taking on any more
suppliers, and there are waiting lists’ Ian said.
The dairy is a walk-through with step-up bales with
each milking taking around an hour. The Lindsay’s
are firm believers in herd testing, and the Whitton
Jersey herds rolling production average is 6,370
litres, with 3.5 Protein (234kg Protein) and 4.7 B/Fat
(299kg B/Fat). ‘I can’t understand anyone who
doesn’t herd test – it should be the last thing you
stop doing in tough times. How can you control your
cell count and make informed decisions without this
information? I also believe herd-testing increases
Whitton Golden Laura with Charlotte Lindsay
24 — JerseyJournal April / May 2010
Cameron, Jaclyn and Charlotte Lindsay (cousins) with a
show cow.