Automate

We’ve been using CRV Ambreed’s bulls for the past three years and as DIY inseminators, have found having all our semen from the start gives us the flexibility to do inseminations when we want to. Flexibility is important to us as I work full time as an accountant in town, so being able to meet up with our CRV Ambreed rep in the evenings and on weekends has been useful. I would absolutely recommend CRV Ambreed. We pick from their top sires because as 50:50 sharemilkers our herd is our biggest asset. Being Once-a-Day milkers from December onwards (which is earlier than most dairy farmers) we really look for longevity in our bulls. Specifically, we look for bulls who produce daughters with strong udders and we like to chase high protein. When benchmarked, our herd’s performance is exceptional in terms of live weight production and comparable on total output, even though we are a grass-focussed system with an early Once-a-Day date. This also applies for reproductive aspects with very low empty rates with no intervention. We focus on genetics to breed healthy, fertile cattle which produce milk efficiently, and survive many lactations, and longer lactations. We think the new LowN Sires are very interesting. Any steps we can take towards having less nitrogen in the environment is positive. The development of these new sires is a great stepping stone for some farms that are going to have to change in the near future to meet new legislation.