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“Quite possibly the most numerous family in the herd at the moment is the Quince family, with 39 in milk and a further 23 followers. These all go back to Primans Quince, a 1972-born EX classifi ed Elite cow which gave 75 tonnes. She was a Castlemartin Black Gort daughter out of a dam with a double cross of Montgomery Marks Superb and was a three star brood cow. “Two of her daughters then went better than that, with Primans Recount Quince being a fi ve star brood cow and Primans Jethro Quince 2 being a four star brood cow. This is an exceptional family which knits well with a range of sires,” says David. “We have a number of young cows off this line which are shaping up to be every bit as good as their ancestors and all are by different bulls.”


But the best family in the herd is the Gainful line, believes David. “This is a really strong, sound family and goes back to an Ullswater Roybrook daughter out of a dam by


ABOVE LEFT There are also fi ve holiday cottages on the edge of the farm.


ABOVE RIGHT With a drive to keep diet consistent the herd is now housed all year round.


Plasnewdd Leo.


There are 27 Gainfuls in milk and a further 21 followers coming through, with the pick of the milkers including Primans Minister Gainful, an EX classifi ed cow, along with Primans Squawbuck Gainful and Primans Squawbuck Gainful 2. These twins are classifi ed VG87 and VG85, respectively, while Primans Shottle Gainful is a VG87 classifi ed 50 tonne cow.


“This family are really sound breeders and continue to deliver for us.” Current bull choices include Fever, Seaver, Mincio, Cruise and Glauco, with genomic sires being used alongside proven sires. “Genomic semen is generally used on the heifers with these being served to sexed semen,” he explains.


“Everything is served to a Holstein to maximise heifer calf numbers, with a homebred sweeper bull also used and beef semen only used as a last resort.


“Not only are we trying to increase numbers, but we also face the constant challenge of TB, regularly losing a handful of cows and currently having had one clear test. “The farm was the fi rst in the country to have badgers vaccinated, I’m not sure it will do any good, but we have to try everything we can to beat TB.”


Herd health is a key priority for the Pullins, with this starting from birth and Henry playing a close attention to colostrum quality and calf health. “We do have an underlying Johnes issue, so every calf is snatch calved and fed frozen colostrum from Johnes free cows,” says David.


10,000kg HERD


AVERAGE


THE JOURNAL FEBRUARY 2015 59


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