HERNEHOUSE -
THE LADIES OF KENT
The mother and daughter combination of Bridget and Fiona Boty run the Hernehouse herd in Kent, as Simon Gee reports
Around 2000 bales are bought in annually, mostly wheat but with some barley, and the farm has two large trailers specifi cally for the job.
Breeding
One sire currently dominates breeding at Hernehouse;
Stardale van Nistelrooy, or Van
as he’s known by Bridget and Fiona. Born in 2001, Van is now scored EX95 and still working hard. His infl uence is plain to see – his daughters are not the tallest but have wonderful locomotion and correct frames whilst they maintain the good udders that are a feature the herd. No fewer than 83 of his daughters have been classifi ed, scoring 92% GP or better and including seven EX daughters. Around 50% of
FAR RIGHT
Bridget (left) and Fiona Boty with the model of Stardale van Nistelrooy Fiona made from clay .
RIGHT Bridget’s 70th birthday present from Fiona was this ceramic relief of the herd com- ing home for milking.
the milking herd are Van daughters and he has another 30 to come in later in the year. Bridget became a fan of the Stardale herd thanks to two visits on Club trips, something she’s a keen supporter of. She became determined to use a bull from the famous Vaakje family and settled on the Joylan Royal Flush son of Stardale Pre Vaakje 7 EX94-5E 5* LP70, who had a further seven generations of EX cows behind her. This epitomises Bridget’s desire to use bulls from cows that have proven themselves rather than rely too heavily on bulls out of unproven dams. Another Stardale sire to make his mark in the herd is Fantasia VG87, known
as Fanta. An Outside son of Hillbrad Patron Vanessa EX93-4E 6* LP70, Fanta has over 100 registered progeny and is blending well with Van daughters. He has fi ve daughters bred at Stardale scored VG and his sixth classifi ed daughter, and the fi rst at Hernehouse, is GP.
A third bull currently working in the herd is the March 2009-born
Hernehouse Methane, a Dalbytop Phil son of Cleevale Storm Meggie 7
EX90 4*. He is currently running with heifers but will be used on cows soon. He is the result of an arrangement Bridget has with Cynthia Hall of the Horwood prefi x. The pair met on a trip to North America and became fi rm friends. Bridget offered some heifers as recipients for Horwood embryos, with Hernehouse getting to keep some of the resultant calves.
THE JOURNAL JUNE 2010 17
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