Page 40 - NZ Hereford Magazine 2023

Herefords turn

bobbies into income

Hereford bulls with the Kochs’ dairy heifers.

Photos: Chelsea Millar/supplied

urning bobby calves into valuable beef calves has
been one of the goals of Waikato sharemilkers
Ethan and Sarah Koch.
They’ve been sharemilking for three seasons at
TPatetonga-Kaihere on the edge of the Hauraki Plains.
The 96-hectare farm, Kikflats, has been owned for more than 30
years by Sarah’s parents, John and Kathy van Bysterveldt. Sarah Koch, left, and Ethan Koch, peaking at the NZ Herefords
Ethan and Sarah milk 330 to 350 predominantly Friesian Milk the Meat field day at their property.
cows, targeting 125,000 kilograms of milk solids (kgMS).
Heifers and tail-end cows are mated to low birth weight, easy-
calving Herefords to reduce any need to send calves away as
bobbies, Sarah says.
Replacement heifers are moved to the farm’s run-off, just
down the road, at 10 to 12 weeks. Beef calves are sold to
rearers at roughly 10 to 14 days.
“In previous years when I’ve done a cost analysis they’ve
made up about 60 cents per kilogram of our dairy income; to
be fair, that was when the beef calf prices were very good, but The Kochs’ cows on a chicory crop.
still, that’s significant revenue.
“We don’t see any of our calves as a by-product, we see them dry stock block near Te Aroha, where her dad looks after their
as a significant income stream… they’re a valuable product.” day-to-day management. Ethan does the day-to-day running
The threat of mycoplasma Bovis was one of the reasons the of the Kikflats dairy farm and the milking, and Sarah does
Kochs wanted to start breeding their own bulls. After happily the calf rearing and administration. Part of the appeal of
using Mahuta bulls, they decided to become a closed herd, sharemilking for Ethan and Sarah was the ability to work in
with the exception of artificial insemination. their own business, as well as working around their young
“We bought some Hereford breeding cows from Diane family – Levi (5), Emily (2), and Lucy (1).
Murdoch’s Isola Herefords, that were previously farmed near Ethan was a builder before going dairy farming and Sarah
Waiuku. We delved into the science behind breeding low birth was a secondary school teacher. They saved Sarah’s entire
weight, easy-calving Herefords with the idea of putting them wage for more than three years to help buy 200 cows to go
over our heifers. sharemilking at Onewhero in north Waikato. The couple won
“Since then, we’ve had nearly enough bulls to be self-sufficient the Dairy Industry Awards’ Auckland-Hauraki Share Farmer of
most years.” the Year in 2019 and then moved to the family farm in 2020.
The Koch’s Kikhills Hereford Stud is run on Sarah’s parents’ Their ultimate goal is farm ownership.

38 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2023