THE UK’S LEADING

Foreword

The NETHERSIDE herd owned by the Yuill family who farm close to the town of Strathaven in Lanarkshire has been a renowned pedigree Holstein herd for many years, breeding the kind that dairy farmers really appreciate. As the Yuill’s prepare to install a new Lely Robtic milking system this summer they have decided it is necessary to reduce the work load while milking in a temporary facility thus the reason to sell this exceptional group of 100 young cows and heifers.

Since the inception of genomic indexes back in 2010 the Yuill’s have used this tool effectively to enhance the herds potential. Currently the milking herd is placed in the Top 1% of UK herds on PLI with other important traits such as Enviro Cow and Somatic Cell count also in the Top 1%. The are in the Top 5% percent for kilograms of Butterfat and Protein and Lifespan.

The herd is currently averaging 10751kgs 3.94% 3.17% with a cell count of 88 and a calving interval of 374 days. At the most recent milk recording in January the herd averaged 34kgs. Cows are housed in cubicles and are fed on a TMR of grass silage combined with a dairy blend. This sale comprises 36 heifers in milk, 22 cows in their second, 23 cows in their third and 6 with four or more calves and 9 in calf heifers. 24 are recently calved, 15 have been recently PD+, 28 are late lactation and due again late spring/summer and 20 are currently dry and due in March/April.

The breeding decisions have focused on fertility, life span and heath traits and this is evident when it comes to the on farm data. The fertility is exceptional with the calving interval running at 374 days. There are many cows that have produced massive lifetime yields and this can been seen when you look over the maternal pedigrees in the following 100 lots.

Cow families are the back bone of this robust herd of cows with the QUEEN, GAIL, ROSINA, CHIEF FAITH, BELLE, EBONY and KIZZY being the most prolific lines and all feature in this catalogue.

In many way the Netherside herd ticks all the boxes when it comes to what the modern dairy farmer currently requires. They are medium in stature, have strong legs and feet and the udder quality is at the highest level. We recommend this sale to all milk producers.

Herd Health

The herd is IBR, Lepto & BVD and is BVD accredited free. The herd has been Johnes testing for years and is regarded as low risk. The herd is from a four year TB testing area and there has never been TB in the herd.

Glyn Lucas Auctioneer