Allan and Heather Broomhall
Staveley
Canterbury
Farm 250 hectares
Herd 680 Friesians
Production Average 430kgms per cow
Farm system 2 (low input)
Allan and Heather Broomhall purchased Heather’s parent’s farm two years ago after sharemilking on the property for several years.
“When we purchased the herd (all New Zealand genetics) around seven years ago, we decided to try and clean up some traits that we weren’t particularly happy with,” Allan said.
“We were becoming concerned at the quality of the udders we were seeing in our cows, the feet issues and also the number of cows we were having to calve.
“After a lifetime with the same genetics company we investigated other options and started by buying around 100 straws of World Wide Sires (WWS) genetics. When it came to which cows we put it across, we simply put the Day 3 cows (which traditionally had the lowest BW) to WWS.
“Once the first calves hit the ground there was an obvious difference between the WWS calves and the New Zealand. They were lower birth rates but quickly outgrew their Kiwi counterparts and were just good, strong, quiet calves.
“The calves fulfilled their potential – and our hopes – when they came into the herd as heifers. They were moderate in size with great udders and milked well. A handful of these heifers were among our top producers that season.
“Seeing the evidence we knew that we needed to continue the genetic change and increased the usage of WWS across the herd. When we bought the farm around two years ago, we moved 100% to WWS.
“We are really pleased with the quality of the cows we’re getting but that’s only one component of the service offering we get from WWS.
“AB is just one of a huge range of decisions that farmers make each year and you expect and need to work with a company which values your business and makes informed and knowledgeable decisions which enable you to reach your farming goals.
“We weren’t getting that level of service from the previous company and so noticed a real difference when we moved to WWS. Our Breeding Consultant takes a real interest in our herd. She understands our farming goals and invests time with us to understand what we want to achieve and any weakness in the herd. Then, together we go over the sires and select those which will help us achieve our goals.
“There’s no comparison between the quality of the genetics and service we are getting now compared to before – and our annual AB bill is less than it was before, so you could say we’re pretty happy all around,” Allan Broomhall said.
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