I hope this finds you all well and having some received some good news about your pregnancy testing results! I know that particular day is either one of the best days of the year, or one of the worst (depending on which side of the ledger your results fell). Personally, I can’t recall too many times I felt like I was on the right side of the ledger when we preg tested our own cows, and it used to frustrate me no end that I’d done all the study for the exam during the first 6 months of the season between June – December, then failed on the day in February when we got a result I wasn’t happy with!
2025 Wingman numbers so far…
- 18 HERDS
- 7595 COWS
- 420 AVERAGE HERD SIZE
On a different note, Louise and I would like to extend a warm welcome to the farmers’ who have joined us since our last NOTAM – whether you’ve booked your herd in for a WoF with us, or are going ‘All In’ and doing the whole nine yards – thank you inviting us to be a part of your business and herd improvement journey.
W.O.F Improvements
Over the past few months, we’ve been working out what a Wingman ‘Warrant of Fitness’ needs to look like in Year 2. If the Year 1 WoF was all about the words, then the Year 2 WoF is all about the pictures (examples below).
We’ve introduced graphs looking at BW/PW, production traits, TOP traits and efficiency into the Year 2 Warrant. With the Year 2 WoF, we’re specifically looking at the R1 and R2 cohorts of animals and comparing their values against the herd average.
I realise that the R1 and R2 cohorts aren’t strictly relevant at this particular point in time as the next generation of animals (the ones we had direct influence over) are still in utero. In 12 months’ time we will be able to run the same Warrant and see their improvement over this seasons’ calves (who will be R2’s this time next season).
As always, I am happy to take feedback on the format/layout/content of the Year 2 WoF from you if you think there’s something missing.
RAS List Updates
21-code bull proofs are in…
The 21-code bulls have now had a good amount of daughters from different locations and herds throughout NZ flow into their proofs. Bulls which showed early promise based on a handful of herd tested daughters in a handful of herds often fade away as the season progresses. Lactation persistency is what we’re after and bulls who spend it all before Xmas and then quit when the going gets tough are no good to us.
Friesian bulls are disappointing!!
I am deeply unimpressed by the massive retrograde step in udder traits of the top 10 bulls. Excluding the #1 ranked bull (Denovo Atlantis, UO = 1.40), the average udder overall of the remaining 9 bulls at the time of writing was a miserable 0.25! On the basis of that alone, I’m struggling to see how any of those bulls justify a place in a Wingman bull planner next season.
Crossbreds are looking better
If you’ve got a crossbred herd, then things look a little better. The XB bulls look to be a bit more balanced with a good mix of udders and fertility; the average U/O score of the top 10 bulls is 0.58. I’m impressed with the fertility of the XB bulls too – only 2 out the top 10 are less than the breed average for fertility which is 1.2%.
Jersey bulls are in dire straits
The Jersey breed is still in dire straits with a distinct lack of high liveweight, quality-uddered bulls. Rockland LQ Berkly who was ‘the’ Jersey bull to have in your bull planner last season continues to dominate and I can see him being used heavily again next season. Puriri PKD Hallmark has been a late bolter and I will be watching him closely over the remainder of the season.
RAS List in summary
So all in all, a very mixed bag from the RAS List at the moment. The TOP traits of the bulls won’t change from hereon out; just the production ones. Gut feel says we’re going to have to cast our nets far and wide for the Friesian and Jersey breeds for next season. There’s always a chance, though, that something interesting will turn up on the RAS list between now and May, or there might be a surprise inclusion in the bull catalogue. I’m not holding my breath for either of those things though!
Wingman goes viral
We recently teamed up with Andrew Macky, the OnceADayFarmer, for a video that got over 17,000 views! It’s been a great way to introduce more people to Wingman, bringing in 15 new clients!!
Whilst I realise that mating seems a long way away for us all at the moment, I suspect that it will come around quite quickly with more Wingman farmers and more on farm work for next season. If you’d like to book in for a Warrant, or book in a consult, then flick me an email and let’s get the ball rolling – mark@yourwingman.co.nz otherwise I will be in touch in due course.
Finally, all the very best for the remainder of this season, and the start of the next. Thank you for your support – Louise and I are very grateful to have you as a part of our business.
Go well,
