Late Sept sale for Brooklands Jerseys
The Brooklands Jerseys Stud’s second annual sale is fast approaching. Set for Monday September 29 at 7pm, the sale will see their top 40 premium yearling Jersey bulls for sale.
Last year’s sake saw prices range from $1,900 to $4,450, with the top-priced bull also being the highest BW yearling sold in New Zealand. The bull sale will be entirely online on Bidr making their superior stock available NZ wide – with an online catalogue available mid-September.
Contract milkers and equity partners Phil Garaway and Oliva Gunn are 75% owners of Brooklands Dairies Ltd, home of the Brooklands Jerseys Stud. The farm is staffed by three additional full-time staff – two farm assistants, an assistant manager, with additional casual farm workers. Brooklands Dairies spans over 300 ha, and is 5 minutes from Winton in central Southland.
The operation milks 730 Jersey and crossbred cows and rears 70 bull calves along with 300 replacement heifer calves, additionally growing crops of swedes and fodder beet for winter feed. Phil and Olivia began contract milking on Brooklands Dairies in 2008, and have slowly built their ownership equity over time, initially buying 10% of Brooklands Dairies Ltd in 2010, increasing their stake to 25% in 2015, and increasing it again to 75% in 2024 when the Dobson family sold their share.
During this period Phil and Oliva have pivoted on the farm by purchasing new pedigree Jersey cattle from the Ashvale Jersey Stud in 2023 with another 100 cows in 2024. Phil comments “it was an opportunity that was unparalleled – to buy these superior cows”. The Ashvale stud is known as New Zealand’s most elite Jersey dairy stud, producing consistently high BW bulls from a superiror Jersey herd.
Their commercial dairy herd ranked as one of the best in the country with for BW and production exceeding 500kgMS per cow and 1700kg per hectare. The stud has consistently achieved the highest prices for Jersey bulls in the country for over 25 years.
Phil comments. “The Dobson’s Ashvale Stud had a tight selection criteria on their herd. What you end up with is a really uniform herd. We’re taking that and doubling down on that again improving the genetics and uniformity”.
Brooklands Dairies run 750 Jersey cows, with 600 of those being pedigree Jerseys calving. Their goal is to have the herd made up of 95% high-pedigree Jersey cows within the next two years. Phil says, “What we’re looking for is perfomance – kilograms of milk solids per kilogram of live weight”.
He adds, “Our best cows are now achieving 135 to 140% milksolids to liveweight. Ashvale Stud has been breeding quality cows for more than 70 years. We’re taking over the work they’ve done and taking it to the next level”. Brooklands Jerseys have a strong focus on genomics. Phil explains, “We’re using genomics to select the best young females with the best traits to mate with breeding companies’ best young bulls. This gives us access to the best genetics available. He adds, “We’re also getting more replacement animals from our best genetics – we can achieve up to 90% heifers using sexed semen”.
Looking ahead Phil says. “For the farm we are trying to consolidate and strengthen our position. We’ve recently purchased 35 ha next door and are developing that for wintering the cows.
With the stud we want to get to the point where we’re 100% pedigree Jerseys and then have more selection pressure on young animals coming into the herd”.
Author: Nicki Woodlock
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