Success with Smaller Holsteins for Early Turnout in North Wales

Herd Types: Autumn Block calving

 Location: North Wales

Richard Evans and family operate Halton Farm in Chirk, North Wales. The farm calves their 175-holstein cow herd in an autumn block from August until January. Followers are made up of 73 in-calf heifers and 60 heifer calves who were all born last year to sexed genetics.

Aligning their Holsteins genetics with farm goals

Richard previously ran a dairy stock bull with his heifers, but now uses a DIY AI system. By serving his maiden heifers with Sexcel® Dairy to produce herd replacements and breeding more cows with NuEra Beef Genetics, Richard’s herd will now see further genetic progress. An AI system enables Richard to select dairy bulls that exhibit the desired traits for his herd, such as: excellent fertility, strong legs and feet, increased milk yield with high levels of fat and protein.

Richard had noticed that sires selected from earlier genetic brochures were resulting in larger, less suitable Holsteins for his system. Now, in collaboration with his Genus ABS Breeding Advisor, Brian Davies, they are focusing on selecting traits that will produce a smaller, more efficient cow. This approach aligns with the farm’s goals of increasing herd size whilst producing smaller cows that are well-suited to a grazing system.

Maximising the value of every pregnancy

Richard utilises a personalised mating plan, GMS®, to select cows with the highest genetic potential to serve with Sexcel Dairy and which to serve with NuEra Beef Genetics in order to make the best genetic progress. Heifers are served at 360kgs and calve on average at 25 months. The lower proportion of the herd are bred to Fertility Plus® British Blue, which contains semen from three British Blue sires, all certified as ‘proven’ in the Genus ABS beef stud, and Longhorns.

Efficient pasture management

Supplying their milk to ARLA under a Starbucks agreement, cows in the herd average 8,500 litres, with 4.41% fat and 3.40% protein. Yield from forage, including grazed grass and grass silage is 3800 litres. Richard uses a plate meter to measure pasture height and implements rotational paddock grazing across 14 different paddocks, ensuring optimal forage utilisation for the herd who are usually turned-out mid April.

The future is polled

In line with ARLA’s commitment to sustainability and animal welfare, Richard has selected a homozygous polled sire, Winstar Meadow-PP, whose calves will be born hornless. Working with Genus ABS, Richard has access to polled genetics of the highest standard, comparable with their horned counterparts. With no need for dehorning, cattle will experience less stress, which helps avoid stunted growth rates and supports better productivity in the long run. Since introducing polled genetics, Richard commented “save time, save money – why haven’t I done this before?”