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VikingNews AU 2019-1
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r hys
farm
s off 325 hectares and milks his 300 jersey
s off 170 hectares of the farm. some of the country is marginal and under bush (forest) but rhys
manag- es to rear his replacements and har- vest all silage and hay on farm as well. the dairy is a 20 swing over her- ringbone in which rhys operates with the help of an extra worker for 2.5 days per week. laura helps out with calf rearing and keeping the farm books. rhys is looking for a bigger framed jersey and selecting his sires with the advice of sales representa- tives from vikinggenetics and war- ren dodd from tallangatta farm ser- vices. vikingjersey, a perfect fit for the farm rhys started including vikingjersey into his breeding programme three years ago and is very happy with the first completed lactation from vj husky and dj jante. the goal is to in- crease production without losing milk solids and rhys sees the viking- jersey as a perfect fit to achieve it. the average production for the breed is over 7000 litres at 6.0% fat and 4.2% protein and also ?the extra health traits are a real bonus? says rhys. the cows are averaging 440 kgs of solids with an average com- posite of 4.1% protein and 5.3% fat & 1.2 tonne grain fed per cow. asked if life was getting any easi- er after using vikingjersey, rhys laughed and said: ?if i free more time up through breeding better cows with less problems then i have more time to do other jobs on the farm. if i spent that extra time sat in the house playing with the children then laura would hunt me outside anyway?. other challenges current challenges on the farm are grain supplement costs as they have by erik thompson, vikinggenetics au it would not feel right milking any other breed jersey breeder, rhys thompson breeds jersey cows in the upper reaches of the beautiful mitta valley, north east victoria, australia. rhys along with his wife laura and three children, george aged 4, gracie aged 3 and harriet aged 1, are the fourth generation also to own the family business and maybe young george will make it number five! rhys thompson is the fourth generation in his family to breed jersey cows. vikingjersey herd 12 vikingnews | march 2019
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