RIGHT Majestic
Goldwyn Amanda 2
VG87 is bred from 6
generations EX.
FAR RIGHT The
highest scored cow
at Conncorr,
Threelimes Mar
Lavender 63 EX93.
where it was transported daily
CONNCORR
at 8am to Belfast. Nearly 90
years later, the Willis’ are aiming
to milk 220 cows longer term
PLAYING THE
reaching the capacity of the farm
in terms of housing, forage and
slurry storage. The aim is to have
a high type herd, encompassing
GENERATION GAME
some of the world’s greatest cow
families averaging 9000-10,000
kg with high constituents from a
mainly home-grown forage diet.
As 91 year old Alex Willis looks out from his
The average currently stands at
8200 kg at 4.05% fat and 3.18%
kitchen window on Greenacres, Portadown,
protein with SCC 200, with a
calving interval around 400 days.
Northern Ireland he can watch his son Joe, along
220 cows would be a maximum
level where the family feel they
with grandsons Noel and Steven, developing the
could look after the cows and do
them well.
pedigree herd he established in the early 1960s
The farm has mixed soil types
but generally supports two silage
cuts, with a third smaller cut
F
or Alex, whose own grandfather was the fi rst of fi ve generations of
baled. Last year cuts were later
Willis’ to milk cows, it is incredibly rewarding to see Noel have the
due to the weather and the ME
same enthusiasm and interest in pedigree. Over the last fi ve years, he has
has been lower. With poor milk
invested heavily in ‘top end’ genetics, many through embryo purchases.
prices in Ireland over the last
Noel and wife Helen’s own sons, Matthew (7), Joel (5) and Daniel (1) are year, the high yielders were also
also taking an interest with the elder two boys keen young HYB members. put out to grass, sacrifi cing some
Day to day, 180 cows are milked through a 24/24 Dairymaster parlour milk for a lower feed bill. It was
fi nished in 2007 with around 200 followers on 280 acres. Noel’s younger also evident that there were less
brother Steven is also on the farm and does the majority of the milking. slurry and feet problems with the
Dad Joe does the majority of the bedding up, scraping and feeding of the herd out for longer. The grazing
herd, which leaves Noel responsible for the day-to-day running of the farm, period tends to run from the fi rst
paperwork, calf rearing, AI, purchasing and marketing etc. week of April to mid October,
Back in the 1920s, Alex’s grandfather milked nine or ten cows on a farm but the herd is also fed a TMR,
just down the road, with the milk carried to the adjacent train station
with the Dairymaster programme
enabling a good concentrate
20 THE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2010
e1-10 Conncorr.indd 2 27/01/2010 20:13:04
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