Dairy Exporter April 2021

Page 41

WAIKATO | DAIRY TRAINEE OF THE YEAR

Don’t have a sunburnt cow, man WORDS BY ELAINE FISHER PHOTOS BY EMMA MCCARTHY

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reeding cows less prone to sunburn and promoting the dairy industry in a positive light are among the future aims of Ruth Connolly, the 2021 Waikato Dairy Trainee of the Year. “I want to breed brown crossbred cows because I think, as global warming increasingly affects New Zealand, we will see more and more white cows getting sunburnt. For that reason, brown-skinned cows are I believe, the way to go. “Here we put zinc cream on every sunburnt cow. It’s time-consuming but it is best for the cows. We have to think about the cows as they do all the work.” Ruth (20), who is Farm Assistant on the Rukuhia Holdings Ltd 259.6ha property at Ohaupo, milking 800 cows, won $6700 in prizes and three merit awards. “Ideally I’d aim to breed my own herd of J10 F8 because they demonstrate hybrid vigour, have the small frame of a Jersey so have less impact on the environment but produce the milk solids and volume of Friesians.” Her future farming goals are specific and

include being a herd-owning sharemilker within two years; having her herd BW in the top 10% and a daughter-proven bull in the LIC team. “Ultimately, I will one day own a farm too.” Ruth has already shown she has an eye for breeding potential. One of her biggest successes to date is a 59% conception rate in the bulling cows she picked for artificial insemination (AI). “It was a privilege to be allowed to pick the AI cows and it went really well.” Ruth is a fourth-generation dairy farmer, but farming wasn’t always her first choice of career. “When I was 16, I wanted to be a registered nurse. Then at the end of Year 13 I was offered a relief milking job with Rukuhia Holdings which led to a full-time farm assistant position and here I am. “I try to take every opportunity to grow. I saw the awards programme as an excellent way to not only improve my farming skills and knowledge but to

DAIRY TRAINEE

MERIT AWARDS: Trinity Lands Ltd Most Promising Entrant Award – Adrian Beattie FarmRight Farming Knowledge Award – Ruth Connolly Bluegrass Contracting Communication & Engagement Award – Ruth Connolly Waikato Farmers Trust Community & Industry Involvement Award – Erica Gash DairyNZ Practical Skills Award – Ruth Connolly

Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | April 2021

Runner-up in the Dairy Trainee category was Annie Gill from Otorohanga and third place went to 2IC Sean Hayes who farms at Lichfield. build myself up personally as well. My twin sister entered last year and really encouraged me to enter as she has gained so much from the awards. “Farming fits all my criteria: mathematical and scientific aspects, being outside, working with animals.” Ruth is interested in regenerative farming and sees herself becoming an advocate for this and also for positive dairy farming. “I feel we have a responsibility to give back to the land which works for us, so we need to look after it and need to consider the preservation of land for future generations,” she says. “Rukuhia Holdings' owners, the Glenn Family, are thoroughly supportive of the focus towards regenerative farming. Our pasture management includes taking cows off before they pug land and another key is making sure cows are fully fed and not hungry so they don’t walk around as much and create pasture damage.” Ruth, who has an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a genuine passion for the dairy industry, attends church each Sunday and is a keen endurance runner, taking part in the Tough Guy Challenge each autumn. 41


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Articles inside

Getting the genetics right

2min
page 137

From dryoff to payoff

2min
page 136

Connecting farmers with the right staff

2min
page 135

Why should you hire a farm adviser?

5min
pages 132-133

Full stream ahead for Farmers’ Forum

2min
page 129

Beefing up the dairy calf crop at Kintore Farm

8min
pages 122-124

Vets Voice: Prevent toxic nitrate shock

4min
page 126

Cows stand their ground in pugging study

4min
pages 130-131

Beef and dairy need to collaborate

2min
page 125

EVOLVE at SIDE conference, Ashburton

5min
pages 127-128

CO Diary: Wintering practices improve

7min
pages 119-121

Share farmer: Ann & Scott Henderson

9min
pages 116-118

Trainee: Sophie White

2min
page 113

Trainee: Mattes Groenendijk

3min
page 103

Trainee: Sam Smithers

3min
page 93

Share farmer: John Wyatt

9min
pages 88-92

Dairy manager: Diego Raul Gomez Salinas

5min
pages 86-87

Trainee: Sydney Porter

3min
page 85

Dairy manager: Leon McDonald

5min
pages 78-79

Share farmer: Manoj Kumar & Sumit Kamboj

9min
pages 80-84

Share farmer: Sam Howard

9min
pages 72-75

Trainee: Josh Wilkinson

3min
page 67

Trainee: Tayla Flight

3min
pages 58-59

Dairy manager: Mark Rivers

6min
pages 60-61

Dairy manager: Christopher Gerard Vila

6min
pages 42-43

Dairy manager: Hayden Goodall

6min
pages 48-51

Trainee: Dayna Rowe

3min
page 47

Share farmer: Reuben and Deb Connolly

9min
pages 44-46

Share farmer: Rachael Foy

8min
pages 38-40

Trainee: Ruth Connolly

3min
page 41

Dairy manager: Stephanie Walker

5min
pages 36-37

Using KiwiSaver to buy a house isn’t an option for farm workers

13min
pages 14-19

Trainee: Emma Udell

3min
page 35

Market View: Dairy commodity prices soared in March

5min
pages 22-25

Trainee: Bella Wati

3min
page 26

Global Dairy: 3-breed crossbred cattle are improving US herds

3min
pages 20-21

Niall McKenzie boxes on with some inspiration from Rocky

3min
page 13

Anne-Marie Wells champions onfarm discussion groups

2min
page 12

Carla Staples airs her concerns about freshwater legislation

3min
page 11
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