While everyone is talking about AI

[regolith]

One of the local sales reps is calling round tomorrow. This is the most exciting time of year - ordering the bulls to put over the cows next spring. But not quite as exciting as putting the calves in the cows. Or being there to see the calves come back out of the cows. Or two years later seeing those calves outperforming their mothers. And then doing it all over again, trying to make a new lot of cows who can outperform their mothers.

So tomorrow I'm going to order three Friesian bulls and three Jersey bulls, all high index, and a Swedish Red because I liked what I saw when I visited a Milking Shorthorn herd last week and have picked a bull they were using who is known to have done well under NZ conditions. From LIC I've ordered an older Jersey bull and three Ayshire and from Semex an Australian Jersey. 165 straws total, to add to the ones in storage.
That done, I'm going to look forward to seeing what calves turn up next spring and dream of three years time when the straws I've just ordered are the sires of my young cows. That's when I'll decide if I was making the right choices in Autumn 2012.
Where in the country this herd will be in three years time and on whose farm I have no idea - but we'll deal with that later.

 

[Kathie in Thorp]

Carry on! :)

 

[ANAZAZI]

One of the local sales reps is calling round tomorrow. This is the most exciting time of year - ordering the bulls to put over the cows next spring. But not quite as exciting as putting the calves in the cows. Or being there to see the calves come back out of the cows. Or two years later seeing those calves outperforming their mothers. And then doing it all over again, trying to make a new lot of cows who can outperform their mothers.

So tomorrow I'm going to order three Friesian bulls and three Jersey bulls, all high index, and a Swedish Red because I liked what I saw when I visited a Milking Shorthorn herd last week and have picked a bull they were using who is known to have done well under NZ conditions. From LIC I've ordered an older Jersey bull and three Ayshire and from Semex an Australian Jersey. 165 straws total, to add to the ones in storage.
That done, I'm going to look forward to seeing what calves turn up next spring and dream of three years time when the straws I've just ordered are the sires of my young cows. That's when I'll decide if I was making the right choices in Autumn 2012.
Where in the country this herd will be in three years time and on whose farm I have no idea - but we'll deal with that later.

You are starting in the right direction... :2cents:

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

Picking out bulls is exciting times I've just ordered 20 straws off 2 Jersey bulls to start AI'ing with this will kick off a new start for us as my partner & I are talking very seriously about starting our own dairy so from now we will have 2 yrs to get everything in order & the dairy shed back up to scratch, along with a feed pad & a shelter shed

 

[regolith]

Exciting stuff LVF! Will it take much to get the dairy back into commision?

The farm I've leased has a near new dairy shed on it... it's not perfect, in some cases poor decisions were made when it was being built. But the machines themselves have gone almost faultlessly this year which is very different from most of the old sheds I've milked through before now.

Well, one of the Jerseys I was going to order is sold out so I've got ten straws of a Maunga/Manhatten son/grandson instead. Talked to seven people yesterday, four of them in person and that's my people quota for the month now (not that it isn't nice to see old friends turn up).

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

Yeah a bit of work the milk lines, vat & cablevey were pulled out & put in the dairy my parents are leasing on the upside we can either look out for another milk line or we can use the old one from the leased dairy along with a 2000lt milk vat leaving us to buy a couple of motors & the feed cable. The dairy we're starting up was new only milked in it for about 18mths before we had a falling out with the other family members that we were renting the rest of the farm from that would be close to 10yrs ago now.
The 2 Jersey bulls I got this year are Elton & Vanhlam we have Jersey cow that is doing over 30 ltrs/day & these 2 bulls should complement her fairly well which ever 1 I decide to use on her we have other Jerseys that are doing up around the 25 ltrs/ day. I'm pretty pleased with that considering we started with a good cow ai'd her got a bull & went from there I normally ai to get replacement bulls as well as heifers seems like its paying off :)

 

[regolith]

I should see some Elton calves this coming spring.

Fonterra sold the farm owner here a vat so the farm could supply a different company - big headache, arrived with no outlet for the tanker to attach to and the lock nut mising off the plug and all the rubbers perished &c. I think we've got it all sorted now but since I didn't have anything to do with the purchase I haven't had the opportunity to go and kick up hell about the condition it was supplied in. It's so old it's impossible to get parts for.

I've heard good things about Vanahlem. Picked Virgil this year, good udders, and was tempted to put Marvarie in place of the bull I couldn't get (CRVAmbreed is marketing him) but I'll wait for him to grow up and get a proof.

 

[Loch Valley Fold]

Sounds like a headache indeed, we pulled the vat out & put it, compressor & motor in the shed & replaced it with our 5000ltr vat pulled the 1 1/4" ? milk line out & replaced it with our 3" loop line everything has been stored so should be just a matter of installing them into the 1st dairy I'm kinda excited I know its going to be a while until we get going but it will be good to be milking again.
I'm thinking I'll use Elton on this particular cow just on the workability & production abv's he's a little better than Vanahlem I would like to use her as a bull mother but she can be a little highly strung at times so that is keeping me every level headed in regards to keeping any bulls from her I have much better cows than her but none doing her production ltrs at present so we'll see what happens