Investment in Reds Underpins Herd Profitability

RED dairy cattle have enabled Paul Cocksedge to build his herd fast – and with minimal cost.
 
And while progressing from a herd manager, to share farmer and lessee, Red cattle have ensured he could keep a lid on health and reproduction expenses while delivering him plenty of replacements.
 
Incorporating Norwegian Reds into his breeding program during the past 25 years has also enabled the Meeniyan dairy farmer to capitalise on top-end genetics for his registered cattle and improve the quality of his cross-breds.
 
“I first tried them as a three-way cross because my uncle was using them and they worked really well,” he said.
“They produced well, got in calf with no trouble and it snowballed from there.”
 
The three and four-way crossing proved valuable, with the Norwegian Red genetics improving health and fertility traits of Paul’s Jersey-Holstein animals and the resulting progeny delivering top-end production.
 
“If I wasn’t so much into my breeding, if I was more of an accountant or business analyst I would three-way crossbreed every day of the week,” Paul said.
 
“Three or four way crosses are usually the best animals.”
 
Now, Paul  milks more than 200 cows – of which up to 90 per cent are Reds – and has plans to grow his herd to 240.
 
In recent years he’s used a lot of REDX™ – the sexed female Norwegian Red genetics.
 
“It’s caused me a big problem – I have too many heifers,” Paul joked.
 
“I’ve been keeping them, building numbers, but it will allow me to cull harder in following seasons.”

 

Paul on the farm with his Norwegian Reds

 

The cull value of the Reds is something Paul also believes adds value to his business – with the Reds returning high carcass weights and yield percentages – but it’s their health and fertility traits that have really underpinned each Red animal’s return on investment.

A few years ago Paul analysed his business costs by breed.

He said it was “mind boggling” how much cheaper his Red cows were, thanks to low cases of mastitis and lameness, compared to his Holsteins.
It was a similar story for reproduction, the Reds used less semen to get in calf than the Holsteins, while on the labour-front, he doesn’t have to check calving cows and seldom pulls calves.

These cost savings have helped Paul build his herd – his primary asset – quickly and cost effectively. 

“I believe I’m getting a better return on investment,” he said. “ I like the cows to work for me, rather than I work for the cows.

An Australian Reds Director, Paul said the local industry’s embrace of Norwegian Reds has improved the entire genetic pool.

“As part of the Australian Red breed I think the Norwegian product is vital to the advancement of the Australian Red breed because it is a different line of genetics and a lot of leading herds have been using Norwegian Reds in varying amounts for a long time,” he said.

“In a lot of successful Australian bulls you will find Norwegian genetics in the background of their pedigrees. A very knowledgeable breeding guy once said to me, ‘the way we Australian red breeders utilise the best red genetics from around the world, we may have the best red dairy cattle in the world without knowing it’.”
 

 

August 12, 2024 |