Welcome to the first edition of the Wingman NOTAM! What the heck is a NOTAM you ask?! Well, NOTAM stands for ‘Notice To Airmen’. It’s a notice filed with an aviation authority (Wingman!) to alert aircraft pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight. When you think about it, it makes sense. You and your business are asking us to help with potential hazards on your herd improvement strategy, making sure you land safely in one piece.
First things first, THANK YOU!
Without you, we don’t have a business. It’s as simple as that. Thank you for trusting me with your herd, and for inviting me into your homes and businesses. Consulting is a partnership, and an incredibly privileged one at that (I think anyway!). Sitting down at the kitchen table, having a coffee, and working out a herd improvement strategy together is incredibly rewarding, and I’m very grateful to be asked to help create value for one of your most important assets.
Bull Updates
Bulls showing early promise on the RAS list
The 21 code bulls are now starting to have daughters flowing through into their proof as herd testing results come in from the SPS herds. But as the saying goes – “one Swallow doesn’t make a Spring!” The real litmus test will be seeing how many of these graduates are there at the end of the season when the April SPS data becomes a part of their proof.
4/20 Friesians have an Udder Overall of > 0.6!
This figure for Udder Overall has been the minimum for almost every bull team we’ve picked this year. It concerns me greatly that these are the ‘latest and greatest’ bulls! Many of these will have been used as Forward Pack bulls over the last 2 seasons, leaving farmers saddled with another generation of substandard udders in their replacements.
Crossbreds are faring much better
11 of the top 20 bulls are over 0.6 for Udder Overall. This really impresses me as the crossbreeds have struggled for a long time with their udders (which is not entirely their fault given the nature of the F x J interaction in any given animal). Udders for crossbreed cows are critical as we see more farmers look towards either whole season OAD or some sort of variable milking regime that requires a significant volume of milk to be held in a cow’s udder.
Jerseys are on par with Friesians
The Jersey breed is on par with Friesians in terms of Udder Overall – 6 out of the top 20 are >0.6. I’m bitterly disappointed about the lack of quality, high liveweight Jersey bulls with a decent Udder Overall BV. It seems that high liveweight, decent production and good udders are all mutually exclusive! Rockland LQ Berkly continues to be a rockstar in this respect, and he has been in everyone’s bull teams this year where a quality Jersey bull was called for.
Tell us what you think
As we’re growing Wingman, I get continually reminded by Louise that there comes a point where everyone has seen enough of me talking about Wingman. Safe to say we’ve reached that point now (!).
Reviews are pretty important for us as we start out as they help to build trust and also appear more often when people search for ‘Your Wingman.’ If you’ve got a couple of minutes, I’d really appreciate you clicking on the hyperlink below and giving your feedback.
As I sign off from our first ever NOTAM, I’d like to wish you all the very best for Spring and mating this season.
Thank you all for your support – Louise and I are very grateful.
Go well,
