Page 40 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

“We have 200 registered cows all-up between the three goods, which are put up for sale. Last year’s chosen organisation
breeds,” Jacqueline says. was the Rural Support Trust and in an hour the auctioned goods
Robin’s daughter Zarrah has returned home and the Jerseys raised a whopping $13,000.
and Murray Greys are now her responsibility, and it’s likely “We have done this for the past 10 years and past
management of the Angus herd will soon be passed to her too. organisations to receive funds from the charity auction have
Zarrah has worked on large cattle stations in Australia for included schools attended by clients’ children, Cancer Society
the past four years, and has gained experience on properties in and the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter,” Jacqueline says.
and around Taihape. She also spent time as a stock agent for Jacqueline says the three registered beef herds are a big
CRT in the South Island. job in terms of admin work, but their desire to offer their clients
The Hereford bulls offered at auction are chosen for their quiet certainty and traceability is their motivation.
temperament, cosmetics, and structural soundness backed up “Any performance recording we can do helps show we are
with balanced EBVs. delivering a really good product,” she says.
The Blackwells’ dairy farming clients also demand their bulls “We are here to help our beef and dairy clients add value to
are well grown, especially clients with Holstein Friesian herds. their business.”
Their selection criteria are hitting the mark, with some clients
repeat purchasers since the first sale 22 years ago. “ANY PERFORMANCE RECORDING
The Blackwells not only host their own auction of genetics,
but they also host a charity auction following the bull sale. WE CAN DO HELPS SHOW WE ARE
They choose a different charity each year and gather donated DELIVERING A REALLY GOOD PRODUCT.”

DAIRY SUPPORT system and a finishing platform could be one option, as it adds

Running alongside the three beef herds are 950 dairy heifers that value and removes some of the intensity of the operation. It
are grazed from May to May. The heifers are grazed for a weekly would also make their business less vulnerable to the dairy
rate and Robin says they have had many of the same clients for payout and spread some risk.
years. They also supply the bulls to run with the dairy heifers. The multi-layer business is run by Robin and Jacqueline,
Another income stream generated by dairy support is the who have recently been joined by Zarrah, and they also employ
sale of 600 to 700 round hay bales annually. This has typically a stockman general, Mike Ussher.
been surplus to the Blackwells’ needs, but supply will be tight Mike is a former dairy farmer and has also been a show
this coming year as they need to replenish their own stocks shearer, and he’s been with the Blackwells for four years.
after a difficult winter. Robin also has two sons who, while they don’t work on the
Along with the dairy heifers, they also winter about 300 dairy farm, are still interested in what happens.
cows. Daniel is a computer programmer based in London and
Robin says that when running other people’s livestock, your Hamish and his wife Sally live in Awatere Valley, where they own
own animals tend to come second in the hierarchy, which acts and run a contracting business, developing the infrastructure
as built in selection pressure. for vineyards, along with managing their own 35ha of planted
They also farm Jersey bull calves and, while they can be a vines, the fruit of which they sell to wineries.
challenge as weaners, Robin says they run them because their
clients like them for use over their heifers.
The Jerseys are bought in as 90kgLW weaners in December, BELOW: Robin and Jacqueline Blackwell made Steak of Origin
history in 2017 by claiming the gold, silver and bronze medal in the
with the bulk of those weaners being sired by identified bulls. Best of British – Hereford class.
The Blackwells farm them through. The top 30 from a mob of
about 80 are selected and sold as yearlings in their September
auction and the rest are used on farm over the dairy heifers and
carried through and sold as two-year-olds.
They have good success with the Jersey bulls over the dairy
heifers, recording an empty rate of about 3%.
Looking to the future, Jacqueline says they want to continue
lifting the quality bar. For her that means looking to lift weaning
weights and improve on the animal package they already offer.
Another aspect to consider is adjusting farm policies so the
farm can react more quickly to the extremes that have been
experienced over the past couple of years.
She says it has been a long journey from 2002 to now,
having reached her goal of 100 registered cows, but she’s also
looking at the possibility of incorporating a finishing platform
within the business.
They felt a few more ‘opportunities’ were needed in the
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