Members of the World Ayrshire Cattle Federation visited Crumlin in Co. Antrim to view the renowned Ravenhill herd of John Suffern.
The visiting group included the organisation’s immediate past president, Edmund Els from South Africa. He farms in the very heart of the country’s Western Cape.
He milks 660 Ayrshire cows, producing milk year-round. All the heifers and dry cows are retained on the farm.
“We supply the Woolworths retail chain, with branded Ayrshire milk. It’s a business that has been developing since 1986. The milk is pasteurised on farm. We also produce a range of soft cheeses.
“We get a 10% bonus for our Ayrshire relative milk to other non-branded options. We are getting the equivalent of 37ppl at the present time,” Elfs said.
He commits to producing as much feed for the herd on his own farm. The rations fed to the cows include home grown forage oats and maize.
Ayshire breeding
He believes that Ayrshire breeding in South Africa can look forward to a positive future: “In many ways, we are still a niche breed. But Ayrshire numbers are increasing at the present time.”
Chris and Pauline Prattley run an Ayrshire share milking enterprise close to Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island.
It’s a business model that allows the day-to-day management team they work with to secure a proportion of the milk cheques that are generated from the farm.
Their farm is home to 750 cows, 250 of which are Ayrshires. Producing milk from grazed grass is the key driver of the business.
Chris said: “The cows are currently averaging 500kg of milk solids per lactation. We like Ayrshires because, overall, they are good hardy animals.
“For the season just past we received an average price of NZ$7.80/kg of milk solids.”
He added that the cows are “at grass for most of the year. They get topped up with a mix of wheat, barley and molasses while in the shed for milking.
“We are quite unique in running an A2A2 herd. This means that our milk can be manufactured into infant formula, which is specifically destined for the Chinese market.
“From a breeding perspective, we are always using A2A2 bulls.”
The Prattleys firmly believe that the dairy industry in New Zealand can look forward to a very sustainable future.
Pauline added that it’s “a great country in which to milk cows”.
“Looking to the future, one of the key challenges will be to ensure that the dairy sector in New Zealand maintains the highest possible environmental standards,” she said.
