{"id":10127,"date":"2025-11-05T10:37:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T15:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/?p=10127"},"modified":"2025-11-17T03:41:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T08:41:45","slug":"data-driven-dairy-how-hill-farm-is-breeding-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.absglobal.com\/uk\/data-driven-dairy-how-hill-farm-is-breeding-for-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Data-driven dairy: how Hill Farm is breeding for the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jones HFE Agriculture, Hill Farm, is a sixth-generation, family-run dairy farm based near Chester. The business is managed by Adrian Jones, alongside his brother Tristan, parents David and Frances and Adrians wife Joanne. Together, they continue the family\u2019s long-standing farming legacy while embracing innovation to drive efficiency and herd performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Herd Manager James Lloyd, youngstock manager Liz and Herdsperson Dan are also integral member of the team who help the family push the boundaries of herd progression, whether that\u2019s production, reproduction, health, or genetics, a field James is particularly passionate about. They are supported by an exceptional team of milkers, assistants and tractor drivers, who all contribute to the farms success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in the 18th century, Hill Farm has been home to the family for generations, with Adrian and Tristan having farmed there for more than 23 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The farm spans 1,200 acres and supplies milk under a M\u00fcller\/Tesco contract. The herd\u2019s results are a testament to the team\u2019s dedication, with cows averaging 13,000 litres, 4.2% fat, and 3.21% protein, alongside an impressively low bactoscan of 12 and somatic cell count of 70.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding and management<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The family run a closed herd, focusing on home-bred replacements after previously expanding through buying in additional cows, helping to ensure long-term herd stability and consistency. All heifer replacements are reared at their dedicated youngstock unit, while beef calves, a mix of Angus and British Blue, are sold to Meadow Quality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breeding decisions are guided by a custom index developed specifically to meet the herd\u2019s goals, with priorities split for 44% production, 40% health and fitness, and 16% conformation\u00a0<\/strong>while avoiding undesirable characteristics such as excessive stature.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Hill Farm custom index overview <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe know what works for our system,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s about finding that balance between performance, health, and traits that make the cows easier to manage.\u201d Adrian explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A longstanding partnership with Genus ABS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The family has partnered with Genus ABS for more than 20 years, making full use of the Reproductive Management System (RMS)<\/a> throughout that time. This long-term partnership has been instrumental in helping them achieve consistent fertility performance and maintain strong results year after year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around eight years ago, Adrian and his team began using Sexcel<\/a>, Genus ABS\u2019s sexed semen, the results have been impressive, both in conception rates and gender accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI find Sexcel on par, if not better, than conventional semen for conception rates,\u201d says Adrian. \u201cThe gender skew results have been phenomenal \u2013 it\u2019s very rare we get a male dairy calf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results speak for themselves: over the past 12 months, the herd has achieved an average 45% conception rate with Sexcel sexed semen<\/strong> and 41% with conventional beef semen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This level of predictability and confidence in conception has enabled the Jones family to make breeding decisions with greater precision and efficiency, helping to strengthen the herd\u2019s long-term genetic progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Driving genetic progress<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Seeking to refine herd uniformity after expanding with purchased cows, Adrian introduced GENEadvance to their breeding programme around four years ago, a move that has transformed how they manage genetic selection on the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through genomic testing and data-driven insights<\/strong>, GENEadvance<\/a> provides a deeper understanding of each animal\u2019s genetic potential. Using a combination of GMS <\/strong>and GENEadvance<\/strong>, the team work with their Genetic Service Specialist to rank cows based on a custom index. This determines which animals are bred to Sexcel Dairy<\/strong> for heifer replacements and which receive Sexcel Male Beef <\/strong>or conventional semen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Genus manually scored animals to decide cows which should breed replacements and which should go to beef. Now, GENEadvance uses data-driven insights to guide every decision with confidence and accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGENEadvance takes the guesswork out of it,\u201d says Adrian. \u201cWe let the data decide which animals breed our replacements and which go to beef. We\u2019d recommend GENEadvance to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after four years of using the programme, the team are still occasionally surprised by which animals are selected for dairy and beef breeding, but they trust the data, which has become an invaluable part of the farm\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore GENEadvance, decisions were based on visual assessment, but it\u2019s incredible to see how the data sometimes challenges what you think you know. It\u2019s helped us create a much more uniform, consistent herd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next steps in their breeding strategy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Building on their success with Sexcel dairy semen, the family recently introduced Sexcel male beef semen, focusing on sexed British Blue to further enhance the value of their calf crop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re using sexed British Blue now and are happy with the results so far,\u201d Adrian says. \u201cWe\u2019ve had no issues with calving ease with the blue\u2019s, and the added value of male calves going to Meadow Quality was a key driver for making this decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach allows the farm to maximise returns from every calf born while maintaining simplicity in herd management and rearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Join the farms building stronger, more consistent herds through smarter breeding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speak to your local breeding advisor today via the form below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Find Your ABS Representative<\/h2>\n\n
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