Ross & Kristy Conder are not milking your typical Southland herd. The successful farming couple 50/50 share milk an 840 cow, predominantly Jersey herd at Otapiri, near Winton.

The sight of a largely Jersey herd is less common in the area and the couple say that they are busting the myth that a bigger, blacker cow is needed to be profitable in the South.

Ross, from Auckland originally, found himself farming following a chance encounter with an enthusiastic Primary ITO tutor who encouraged him to consider dairying as a career.

Kristy grew up on a farm and the two did a role reversal for a short period while Kristy studied in Auckland and Ross worked his way up the farming ladder in Ngatea. In 2016 the couple moved south to begin their share milking career for Dairy Farms NZ Limited.

Five seasons on and they run a relatively low input system on the 274 hectare (235 effective) mixed contour farm, feeding approximately 400 kilograms of palm kernel and grain through in-shed feeding. The herd produces around 380 kilograms of milksolids per cow and around 1,380 kilograms of milksolids per hectare.

Around 20-30% of the herd is milked once-a-day (OAD) in Spring and Summer with the full herd on OAD from April/May onwards.

“We trade off a small amount of production with our milking regime but we make up for that in cow health, condition and fertility,” says Ross.

The herd are significantly above the industry average for their reproductive performance, averaging between 75 - 82% for their 6-week-in-calf rate over the last 5 seasons. The couple also averages around a 7% empty rate from 12 weeks of mating but it has been as low as 5%. Even more impressive is the fact that no intervention is used to achieve these results.

“That’s one of the main advantages of Jerseys – they are highly fertile. We have found that by focusing on cow condition and using OAD as a tool to manage lighter cows or non-cyclers we don’t need any hormonal intervention to achieve strong reproductive performance,” says Ross.

The couple use 100% Jersey bulls for AB and say that they are selecting their genetics with a bigger framed Jersey in mind, and overtime have built up a herd of superior type to the typical Southland cow.

“It’s a combination that gives us the positive traits of a Jersey animal such as higher milksolids percentage, superior fertility, easy calving, good feet, and mobility, with a little bit extra size.”

Equity growth has been a big focus in the operation and stock sales have helped to drive this.

“We have a real niche in Southland when it comes to Jersey bull calves. There is a strong demand and limited supply in our area so we have been able to capitalise on that,” says Kristy.

The couple also has an abundance of surplus mixed-age stock to sell annually. Rearing 25% young stock, they aim to bring through around 21-22% as in-calf heifers. This coupled with their lower empty rate means that there is surplus stock each season.

“Our stock sales have been an important factor in our business growth and it has allowed us to get to our herd goals quicker by selling off the higher Friesian content animals,” says Kristy.

The couple have a strong focus on cost control and say that for them it is about getting the basics right, while keeping things simple so that they can grow.

It’s a goal that has seen them purchase a 480-cow farm in equity partnership this year. The couple will contract milk the farm and play a management role across both properties.

The couples longer term vision is to purchase more land and eventually own their own farm outright so perhaps we will be seeing more Jersey herds in Southland yet.