Hi
Welcome to the first NOTAM of 2026!
I hope everyone managed some time away over the festive season, although when you’re a farmer with staff (or a sole-charge operator who needs to find a relief milker) you tend to come last in the queue for a holiday I suspect!
Wingman Blog – Three Gold Nuggets from 2025
We’ve just published our 5th article on the Wingman website and LinkedIn, titled “Three Gold Nuggets.” (click HERE for article) The article touches on three common themes that emerged throughout the course of this season; nuggets gleaned from our farmers and conversations around the kitchen table and in the paddock.
The three nuggets are:
1) Bulls WITHIN a breed are more important than the breed itself;
2) The RANKING of your cows within the herd is what matters most;
3) BIGGER isn’t always better!
Conversations with LIC & Fonterra
In December, we had a couple of very productive meetings with two companies who are a massive part of the fabric of New Zealand farming – Fonterra and LIC.
We met with LIC’s head of Genetics (Izzy Willison) and discussed how LIC and Wingman can work together to deliver farmers the outcomes they’re looking for. We share the same customer in most cases, so it makes sense to collaborate.
The conversation took in all three breeds, with questions about LWT in Friesians (too big), LWT in Jerseys (too small), and udders in XB (what happened to the 22-codes?). In all, some really positive discussions which will benefit all parties concerned (LIC, Wingman, and farmers).
We also met with Fonterra and talked to them about New Zealand’s cow longevity problem. We showed them how our Warrant of Fitness provides farmers with an independent, insight-driven report, giving them a list of focused priorities to extend the longevity of animals in their herd.
Wingman’s position as an ‘Honest Broker’ interpreting the data was well received by Fonterra, and we walked out of the meeting knowing what our next steps need to be so we’re part of the conversation in the future.
Wingman Prototype – The Future Herd Audit
Something else we’ve also been doing over the last few months is prototyping up a new product – it’s called a Future Herd Audit.
The Future Herd Audit looks exclusively at your R1’s and R2’s, and compares their BW/PW, TOP traits and Production traits against breed averages for those things, as well as taking a more in-depth look at the sires of those animals and liveweight (both real-time and genetic).
We’ve taken on board feedback from our customer experience survey late last year and worked hard to incorporate more graphs/tables and less words. Your feedback will let us know if we’ve succeeded or not!
An exciting new addition to the Wingman Team
At the end of NOTAM-005 we talked about looking to recruit someone to fill a spot in the South Island for us, initially on a part-time basis.
Louise and I are thrilled to announce that Abby Ross will be joining us from February 2nd . Abby is from a dairy farming background, and has just finished her BAgSci at Lincoln. With an A in her 300-level genetics paper, and a keen interest both dairy and deer genetics, Abby will be a massive asset down South for us.
You can get in touch with her on 027 WINGMAN (027 946 4626) or abby@yourwingman.co.nz. Abby’s bio is attached at the bottom of the newsletter. Welcome on board, Abby!
As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with either Abby or myself if there’s something you’d like our help with, or if you’d like to book in a Future Herd Audit. Fingers crossed for a kind Summer!
Best wishes,
Mark and Louise Benns, and Abby Ross
Introducing Abby Ross
I’ve always had an interest in the agricultural industry; I grew up on a dairy farm in North Otago. Throughout my secondary education I worked on a number of dairy farms in the lower South Island, growing my understanding of the sector and meeting new people with different farming philosophies.This motivated me to begin my Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree at Lincoln University in early 2022.
During my time at Lincoln, I have had wide-ranging experiences connecting me with incredible people and places on a global scale. New Zealand has exceptional breeders of dairy, beef and deer, and my keen interest in genetics gave me the opportunity to work with prominent stud operations across the South Island within the 3 sectors.
I also got to experience US collegiate life, completing my tertiary education at the University of Wisconsin, (Madison) USA. During my time at the University of Wisconsin, I had the opportunity to be a part of the World Dairy Expo and the UW-Madison Dairy Judging team, further honing my practical and technical skills, while expanding my network within the industry to both Canada and the US.
Having seen the impact good genetics can have on stud businesses, small changes to breeding programmes within commercial operations can have huge benefits, both practically and economically. That’s why this opportunity with Wingman excites me – taking my accumulated knowledge and helping farmers breed cows that suit THEIR farm and THEIR farm system.
I’m looking forward to starting my journey with Wingman and can’t wait to get stuck in!