‘
We look forward to welcoming friends and fellow breeders to our open day on the 27th June and hope they enjoy helping us celebrate our success
Competition in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. “My favourite family is the Lilacs, they have tremendous butterfat and protein. This family regularly produces heifers and one of the best members is Feithy Acme Lilac EX94, milking in her fourth lactation she is giving 50kg at 5.8%bf and 3.3%p. She also has a VG88 two year old daughter by Feithy Addiction, a Mr Sam son. Acme Lilac has recently been flushed to Soloman with embryos being offered in the TAG Sale.”
Meanwhile, key individuals in the herd are Feithy ER Ruth EX95 who has bred a VG88 two year old Dude heifer that calved in October 2014 and an August 2014-born Goldwyn daughter and she has been flushed to Doorman. “Our other EX95 cow in the herd is the seventh calver Feithy Hermitage Glenys 6, a daughter of the Stormatic son Brynhyfryd Hermitage. As well as being a good type cow she is also breeding well with an EX93 Bolton third calved daughter, a VG87 Windbrook heifer and a promising in-calf heifer by Sid. Glenys has also never wasted a straw of semen going back in-calf to first service every time.
“Our focus on type has also resulted in us building up a regular base of bull customers, with about 15 bulls sold privately each year to a mixture of pedigree and commercial herds. Occasionally we also have surplus heifers to sell in Carmarthen, although over the past few years there haven’t been so many as we built cow numbers up.” To help raise the herd’s profile and showcase the herd to potential customers, Wyn and his wife Mary have taken to social media to take advantage of free advertising. They have found it is a helpful way of getting
ABOVE Wyn, wife Mary, and sons Harri and Ioan, live at Cilfeithy Ganol which neighbours Cilfeithy Uchaf.
BELOW At seven months old heifers are moved on to cubicles at neighbouring Cilfeithy Ganol.
more people to know about the Feithy herd and use it as a shop window to spread the word about what is happening. “Obviously the Premier Herd
’
Award itself has helped to raise the profile of our herd. We use Facebook to keep the name out there and I also find it interesting to get ideas from what other people are doing.”
The herd is turned out to graze during the day and kept in at night from April to mid October. During the winter and at nights in the summer cows are fed a TMR of 24kg first cut grass silage, 14kg maize, 8kg blend, 0.5kg straw, 0.4kg megalac. “We have found that keeping cows in at night has allowed us to have better control over yield and management.”
Due to limited housing space
at Cilfeithy Uchaf young stock are reared from seven months at the neighbouring farm, Cilfeithy Ganol, where Wyn and Mary live. Heifer calves are fed colostrum initially and then reared in an individual pen for one week before moving in to a pen or four or five. They are fed milk for 70 days with the chance of ad lib hay and coarse mix. During the summer youngstock are turned out on 100 acres of land which is away from the home farm. “We look forward to welcoming friends and fellow breeders to our open day on the 27th
June and hope they
enjoy helping us celebrate our success.”
16 THE JOURNAL JUNE 2015
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