HEAD to HEAD
ABOVE While John has been heavily involved with proceedings at Scotsbridge House, son Richard has been managing the 500-cow Wimboldsley herd.
Holstein UK in a better position than it has been in for several years. The appointment of Charlotte Rose to revitalise the business has been a significant step forward for the Society and her passion and dedication for the role are clear to see. “The transformation in the Society since her arrival has been outstanding and I’m looking forward to seeing both Holstein UK and CIS flourish under the guidance of Charlotte and Sue.” UK Dairy Day saw the launch of some exciting new products from CDI too, adds John. “These developments, including Fast Track Pedigree and the Herd Headline key performance indicators, as well as the Family Reports. All of these enable breeders to quickly access important herd management information as well as add value to their cattle and make key breeding decisions armed with the most up to date information possible.” Back at home John has been able to leave things in the more than capable hands of his son, Richard, who has taken on the day to day management of the 500-cow Wimboldsley herd which is run on a high input, high output system averaging 10,500 litres/ cow/year.
“Richard has taken on the management of the farm over the last three years and has really impressed, while my wife, Ruth, has maintained all the paperwork, including registrations, classifications, milk records and farm assurance.” Milk from the herd is sold to County Milk Products via Weaver Milk Producers, a consortium of 20 local dairy farmers of which John is chairman. “The consortium is currently selling 45m litres a year to County Milk Products and has worked well for all the members.”
And while the herd may not be big on the show scene, with only occasional showing undertaken, John is rightly proud of the successes they achieve when they do show. “The highlight for me was undoubtedly Wimboldsley Brad Sara being voted Reserve Champion Senior Cow in the All-Britain Awards in 2011, after a successful local show campaign. Importantly she is still going strong in the herd today.”
Reflecting on his time on the board of Holstein UK John says he’s proud to have never missed a board meeting during his term, not to mention the total solidarity he has received from all Trustees, past and present, but more proud of the developing services on offer from Holstein UK and CIS.
“There are nearly 6000 members of Holstein UK who manage black and white herds of huge divergence. It is to all these
24 THE JOURNAL OCTOBER 2014
customers that our services have to be cost effective and provide technological solutions to enable them to manage their herds more effectively and ultimately more profitably.
“Otherwise, there is no point. We aim to provide those solutions at least cost, without having to please any shareholders. The more services our customers’ use, the more benefits our customers will reap, and everyone gains.” Well known outside of dairy circles too, John has served a term of office as Cheshire YFC President and is looking forward to helping encourage the next generation of farmers in the future too. “One thing I shan’t be doing once I step down as chairman, is sitting still. I’m an active person and hopefully will stay that way for some time yet.” He’s also looking forward to visiting his two grandchildren in Australia, as well as keeping an eye on things at home, including the development of a new parlour to replace the tired 40/40 herringbone. John will doubtless also find time to enjoy his other passion of music, having once played the cello at the Chester Music Festival, and sung solos at both his daughter’s weddings, although he admits, Status Quo is his real escape. “Ruth and I are also strongly involved with our local church, St. Peter’s, Minshull Vernon, with Ruth being the organist and myself the treasurer, so I’ll be kept busy with that too.” But as treasurer of the Western Holstein Club, John will still be involved with Holsteins and as he puts it, “I’m looking forward to watching Holstein UK continue to evolve over the coming months and years, although it saddens me I’ll not be involved so much in the journey.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136