AgriBusiness News September 2017

2/12/10 9:23:50 AM
10 WAIKATO AGRIBUSINESS NEWS September 2017
Farmer calls on others to do progeny
testing to boost national herd
Dairy farmer Mike Tillemans is calling on
others to get involved in progeny testing,
not only to benefit their own farm business,
but to benefit the national herd.
Mr Tillemans is a farm
owner from Atiamuri,
between Taupo and
Tokoroa. He milks 450 cows at
the peak of the season, on his
150ha dairy farm.
Mr Tillemans has been part
of CRV Ambreed’s sire-proving
programme known as the
Progeny Test Programme for
about eight years and says it’s
put him at an advantage when
it comes to achieving the best
herd possible.
Progeny testing involves
using semen from carefully
selected unproven but highquality
bulls for Artificial
Insemination. Through herd
testing and herd recording,
CRV Ambreed can determine
the bull’s genetic traits and
advantages – while also
improving the value of
farmer’s own herd.
“I would recommend the
CRV Ambreed Progeny Test
Programme to other farmers
because you can see the next
generation of bulls coming
through before anyone else,”
says Mr Tillemans. “It would
be great for more dairy farmers
to do it, because the more people
involved, the more reliable
the bulls will be,” he says.
Mr Tillemans says having
access to some of the best
dairy genetics in the country
is one the most appealing reasons
to take part in the PT
programme. “We have benefitted
from having access to top
quality bulls. We haven’t had
a dud heifer yet since we’ve
started.”
Farmers participating in
the programme have access to
semen from some of the best
unproven bulls in the country,
selected by the CRV Ambreed
breeding team using genomic
selection and their knowledge
of the cows and their parentage.
In the more than 30 years
the programme has been running,
CRV Ambreed has put
more than 3000 young bulls
through the programme. From
this, more than 350 bulls have
graduated to become influential
sires in the New Zealand
dairy industry, producing more
than 1.5 million herd-tested
daughters, says Aaron Parker,
CRV Ambreed’s Breeding
Programme Manager.
Semen is provided at
a discounted rate. On top of
that, farmers benefit through
increased insights into their
herd’s genetic performance,
consistent genetic gain and the
knowledge they are contributing
to the improvement of the
national herd.
Mr Tillemans feels confident
in the quality of the
unproven bulls in the programme.
“It’s not a risk at all.
These heifers coming through
CRV Ambreed’s programme
are fantastic.”
Farmers in the programme
are required to keep careful
records of the daughters for
four years, tracking them
through to their first calving
and first year in the milking
shed. The additional work “is
no problem”, he says.
“Your record-keeping has
to be pretty good, and you
have to do a minimum of four
herd tests a year, but that is no
big deal.”
He also does the Farmer
Opinion scoring, and says it’s
a breeze. “I am in the cow shed
so it’s not difficult at all.”
Through record-keeping
and genomic genetic analysis
CRV Ambreed is able to determine
the genetic traits each
bull offers. The top performing
bulls graduate as ‘proven bulls’
and contribute their genetics to
dairy farms locally and internationally.
Mr Tillemans also
sharemilks 280 Jersey cows
at a farm at Tokoroa, and
has another dairy farm at
Matamata. He’s been progeny
testing at the Tokoroa farm
for two years – with the first
group of heifers to be calved
next season.
“As a sharemilker, your
investment is in your herd as
you don’t own the land. So the
higher you’re herd’s breeding
worth (BW) the more value
there is in your herd. But the
way I look at it now, progeny
testing is a better way of measuring
value,” he says.
Mr Tillemans is pleased he
is able to contribute to the
improvement of the national
dairy herd. “It’s about having
the next generation of bulls
coming through the system,
and having access to them
before they are proven and on
the market. ”
07 849 2818
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712 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton
www.hamiltonwindscreen.co.nz
info@hamiltonwindscreen.co.nz
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