HEAD TO HEAD
ABOVE RIGHT & BELOW Jordan Siemers and his Mum Janina are part of the team at Siemers Holsteins, Wisconsin.
decisions focussed on? JS: We continually look to improve cow functionality as well as health and production traits. We’re using young genomic sires to move forward at a faster rate than ever before. BB: Breeding for us is about improving our herds and that means functional traits and yield. We AI to mainly North American sires with some Canadian and New Zealand semen used too. Legs and feet are important as all our cows graze.
Q: What is the biggest challenge for a large herd? JS: Our biggest challenge without a doubt is acquiring additional land to grow forage and feed crops. This is always a challenge and limits herd expansion to a degree. BB: For us the biggest challenge is the public perception of large herds. Despite the fact that I wholeheartedly believe we’re better farmers now than when we had just 100 cows. The public have a perception that large herds are bad for the environment.
Q: How did you expand numbers? JS: Initially we expanded by buying in cows and then we were able to expand naturally from our own heifer
LEFT Siemers Dundee Hilda was grand champion International Junior Holstein Show 2011
replacements. Now our expansion is based on IVF and we sell close to 800 fresh heifers a year to other herds, breeding 115% replacements on current herd numbers. BB: We have expanded over the years through share farming agreements and grading up cows when possible. We started off in 1982 in a 50:50 share milking arrangement with 180 cows and have grown from there over the years.
Q: How does technology fit in to your system? JS: We use IVF as a huge part of our breeding programme, putting 6-12 cows through our IVF every fortnight. BB: The biggest impact of technology in our herd is the use of robots to milk the Blumoon herd which is a massive step-change compared to the rest of our herds.
Q: What contract are you paid on? JS: We’re on a volume contract with incentives for constituents. As a result we manage our rations for maximum performance and aim to keep our SCC low too. BB: All contracts in New Zealand are based on milk solids and spring calving systems. However, we’re on a winter milk contract which pays 27NZc on top of the standard 35NZc payment as we’re all year round calving. If we weren’t on this contract we’d be penalised 12NZc/litre for winter production.
THE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2015 45
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