Retired from farming...not from breeding

George Wagner might have retired from dairy farming, but that hasn’t stopped his interest in breeding good cows.

Now 70, George is enjoying retirement at Bridport, Tasmania but he has kept a small herd of Holsteins to continue his passion for breeding.

With about 40 of his cows living with farmer Chris and Jackie Collins near Tatura, Victoria, Holstein Australia’s new Tissue Sampling Ear Tags (TSUs) are proving to be a convenient way to keep track of their progress.

George has good reason to want to maintain his Rengaw prefix that was established in 1968. He became a Holstein Australia Master Breeder in 2015, was inducted onto Genetics Australia’s honour roll in 2018, had the 2016 Cow of the Year and his herd has regularly topped the DataGene’s charts for BPI. Although a smaller herd, it is still in the top three.

Despite giving up the day-to-day routine of farming, George couldn’t let go of his cows.

They were initially parked with his daughter and son-in-law Courtney and Jared Ireland at Lockington and then with Cam and Tracey Bawden at Labertouche before settling in with Chris.

About 10 of his elite cows have remained with Courtney and Jared while about 40 are with Chris.

Both George and Chris came upon the idea of using TSUs after hearing presentations at International Dairy Week and the local Holstein branch.

George has genomically tested everything since the system started and he remains a big fan of the system and the new TSUs.

“You get information on the calf’s potential so you can make a decision on whether to keep them or not,” he said. “The genomics are much more accurate now than in the early days.”

He said the TSUs, developed by Holstein Australia and German company Caisley, were a great step forward. “You do everything in the one go: take the tissue sample and insert the ear tag at the same time. You get all the relevant information and you can compare it to other systems like Canadian and American if you want to import embryos.”

Find out more about HA's Caisley TSU Ear Tags

Chris’s registers animals under the Mangarra Lodge prefix but admits his breeding methods and goals differ from George. It doesn’t stop the two of them working well together.

“George and I have different ideas on the genetics side of things,” he said. “The way he breeds his cows and the way we breed our cows is very different. George plays the numbers game – trying to get bulls into AI, trying to get the next high flyer and everything needs to be genomically tested.

He said it made sense to use the TSUs on George’s cows. “I saw a presentation about the TSUs at the local Holstein sub-branch and I thought that would work perfectly for George.

“They have his prefix on the tags so we know which cows are his. When we tag them, the sample is sent away and it’s all done.

“Under the old system, you have to tag and sample them separately.”

Chris waits until the calf is a couple of weeks old and going well before tagging.

While the cows are interstate, George still oversees all his breeding. “He knows what he wants his cows joined to,” Chris said. “He’s got his numbers and information but I also let him know if any of his cows have any faults.”

The paired herds came about after Chris bought some cows from George. “We moved to this farm in October last year and needed some extra cows. With the price of cows dropping with the milk price, George had to find somewhere else for his cows because they couldn’t stay where they were. We discussed it and decided to save us buying cows, we could take George’s and milk them for him.”

They run together without a problem and the TSUs make it simple to differentiate. “The only difference is when we herd test, we have two different colour markers.”

With George’s additions, Chris is now milking about 120 Holsteins.

Chris would like to see the TSU system expand to include more information.

George aims to visit Victoria at least once a year to see family and his cows. While the bulk of his herd has been sold, he’s keen to retain a select few.

“I’ll gradually sell more but want to keep some of the best cows. I’ve always had the interest in breeding and that will never change.”

Tissue Sampling Ear Tags (TSUs) provide a quick, easy and reliable way for farmers to insert an ear tag and take a DNA sample in one step to help enhance genetic management, improve animal welfare and disease control, and streamline operations.

To order HA Caisley TSUs contact Louise at Holstein Australia on (03) 9835 7600 or lhowden@holstein.com.au