Wales Farmer 16 FEATURE APRIL 2014


Breed is no longer coming up short


FOR Abi Reader, the Dairy Shorthorn is the ultimate dairy cow. It may not match the high milk output of the Holstein, but for durability, health and fer- tility, Abi reckons few


breeds come close. Shorthorns have been part of


EXPANSION PLANS: The milking herd at Goldsland Farm currently numbers 190. By Debbie James


the dairy enterprise at Goldsland Farm, Wenvoe, since Abi’s grand- father started milking them. The focus deviated towards the Holstein Friesian when the emphasis on milk volume was greater than other breed traits. Indeed half the Readers’ herd is


Young farmer says few can match her favourite


black and white, but Dairy Short- hornsmake up the other half. The herd includesWenvoe Briar’s Dis- covery, one of the only purebred Dairy Shorthorn bulls in the UK. The Readers started building


up Dairy Shorthorn numbers when one of their few remaining cows won a top award at the Royal Show in the 1990s. After


this, the family decided to re- establish the Wenvoe pedigree herd.


“That year one cow had twins


and the other had a heifer, so we just grew the numbers from there,”explained Abi, who is cur- rently the Glamorgan NFU Cymru county chairman, and farms with her parents, John and


Jennifer, and her uncle, Robert. “I enjoy the Shorthorns, for


ease of management they are the ideal breed. They are fantastic for health, fertility and feet, if you could take the risk element out they would be the perfect cow.” By risk, she refers to the breed’s tendency to lay down fat rather than putting energy into milk production, a throwback to its dual-purpose days. But there have been significant improvements in stature and body capacity since then.


The Shorthorns at Goldsland


Farm are currently producing an average annual milk yield of 7,700 litres, but Abi believes they can achieve 8,000 litres within the next 12 months. The Holsteins have an annual yield of 9,000 litres, but where the Shorthorns really score is in longevity. They mostly stay in the herd for six lac- tations, but some are in their tenth lactation and have a calving interval of 370 days. In compari- son, the Holsteins have just bro- ken through the 400-day barrier. At 3.9%, the milk fat percent-


age is the same for both the Short- horns and the Holsteins,while the protein level in the milk from the Shorthorns is 3.4% and 3.3% in the Holsteins. Milk from the all-the-year-


round calving herd is sold to Dairy Crest on an aligned Sains- bury’s contract. The herd currently numbers


190, but there are plans to increase cow numbers to 240 when work on a new 24/24 West- falia parlour is completed. The parlour will replace a 14/14 unit which has been operational for 40 years. The herd is run as a closed herd


and in recent years Abi has used sexed semen and embryo transfer to improve genetics further. “There are times when a cow


comes into the parlour and I look at her and say ‘I wish I had 30 of you’,”said Abi. Although the Readers have a


FAVOURITE BREED: Abi Reader’s family re-established the Wenvoe pedigree Shorthorn herd in the 1990s. For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


mixed farming enterprise, dairy- ing is where Abi’s interest lies.


Farming hadn’t featured on her


future career radar until a chance phone call concentrated her mind on where her future lay. “I was really undecided what


career path to take and I took a call for the business and the per- sons I was speaking to suggested I should consider going to agricul- tural college,”Abi recalled. This is what she did, by head-


ing offto the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester and she says she loved it from day one. The Readers farm 800 acres,


assisted by two full-time and four part-time staff. The enterprise includes the milking herd, a herd of 100 beef cattle produced from the dairy herd and a flock of 120 mainly Poll Dorset ewes. There is also an arable enterprise of 160 acres of cereals, 70 acres of maize and horse haylage. The herd is regularly tested for


Johnes and neospora and any ani- mals that tests positive are used for beef. Bull beef animals are sold at 12-13 months and the grass-fed heifers at 23 months, direct to St Merryn Meat Ltd. As well as enjoying the practi-


cal side of farming, Abi gains a great deal from herNFUinvolve- ment. She said the success of the milk price protests proved the power farmers had when they united. “When we all stick together we


can make things happen,”she said.


“Gone are the days when we


sat back and let the industry take care of itself.” Abi also believes it is vital to


nurture the next generation of farmers by engaging and inform- ing young people about farming – she is currently vice-president of MaendyYFC. Each year she wel- comes many veterinary students onto her farm for work place- ments.


Connecting with the public is important too, she said. “I believe farming must take


responsibility for establishing a connection with the general pub- lic.”


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