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Primans


LONGEVITY SUCCESS WITH HOMEBRED COWS


For the West Midlands Club feature Jonathan Long visited David Pullin of the Primans herd


ABOVE The farm is situated in the middle of the village.


LEFTAssisting David in running the farm are sons Henry and Max.


G


of Normans farm Newent, and with it the Normans herd. “Since that day not one female has been bought, with all replacements homebred. My parents were lucky to take on some good cows back in 1953, although a TB


etting the best from the modern Holstein means careful management and keeping the diet just right.


And putting high yielding cows to grass while maintaining yields can be a challenge, says David Pullin of the Primans herd, Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire.


“Its something we’ve battled with for a number of years and we now believe all year round housing for the whole herd is the best way forward. We’ve housed the high yielders all year round for a number of years, but have continued to graze the lows. “However, with yields continuing to increase and the herd averaging 10,000kg even the low yielders tend to drop milk when they go to grass. As a result we believe all year round housing is the best way forward for us.”


And with that in mind and the herd being on a Sainsburys contract the aim of the Pullin family is to concentrate hard on breeding solid functional cows bred for type and longevity.


Run by David Pullin and his wife Jo, along with their sons Henry and Max this 220-cow herd is entirely homebred, with no female additions since David’s parents started the herd in 1953 when they took the tenancy


56 THE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2015


test at the start of their tenancy left them with just 12 cows.


“Luckily those initial 12 cows were regular heifer breeders and this, coupled with longevity, allowed the herd to rapidly expand. That’s something we’ve tried to maintain throughout the herd’s history, aiming for long-lived cows which don’t require too much attention.” It is these unnoticed cows which David believes are the defi ning feature of the herd. “Very often when we classify cows you’ll see a cow come past and classify really well, but yet you won’t have noticed her in the herd for the past six months. These are the ideal cows, trouble free, hard working and easy to manage,” he explains.


PHOTOGRAPHY BY JONATHAN PAGE


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