80 | Inside LIC Celebrating 100 years of herd testing | 2000s
Nelson Cook Farmer
“My mother, Jean, used to help the herd tester who called at the family farm, by converting cow names to numbers, so herd testing was part of my childhood, and has been something I’ve done throughout my farming career. When I started (farming) 40 cows was the average farm, and was considered the number that one person could manage. Today farmers are expected to manage 250 cows. The margins over the years have got smaller and smaller, and the numbers have got bigger and bigger.
Herd testing in 2009
t to choose whether to tes Today farmers are able hour period. once, or twice, in a 24 pair milk s when farmers have to Gone, too, are the day c handoni ry – EZ Link, an electr samples in the farm dai milk flask, the , scans the barcode on held electronic device , and the ple which produced the sam linking this to the cow and the ase tab directly to the LIC Da information downloads
We have always believed that you feed the same amount of feed to a poor cow, as a good one, so it’s absolutely essential to only farm the good ones.
farmer’s records.
“I’ve always believed that farmers should concentrate on the job they normally do and let somebody else look after the samples, it’s too easy to make mistakes. The information is too valuable if you make a mistake.”
lection to time – from sample col Average turn-aroundto four days. – is usually between two receipt of milk analysis ting is lected during herd tes In 2009, the raw data col a wide range h value-added through returned to farmers wit bling them nagement reports ena of tailor-made farm ma en they are e decisions as and wh to make knowledgeabl from the home be accessed on paper, needed. Reports can pocket. onic device in the back computer or an electr
01
20
2001
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001 – LIC becomes a farmer owned co-operative
2001
New providers of herd testing