So it’s no real surprise to see that she’s ended up making a living out of it, and loving every minute.
Initially set on being a vet, Kylie, now 25, lasted four days at Unitec in Auckland after completing the seventh form at Morrinsville College, before deciding to go farming.
“I hated it,” she said.
“I’d worked on a farm over summer and really enjoyed it, so being stuck in a classroom was a big change.
“I transferred back to Waikato Uni so I could work out what I wanted to do, and I passed all my papers but decided, ‘nah, I’m gonna be a farmer,’ and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Six years later, Kylie’s managing a 340-cow farm near Te Aroha and exceeding production targets. She will step up to contract milker next season – her sixth on the farm, with a “bloody good boss”, a great crossbred herd and an awesome support crew of other farmers, friends and advisors around.
“When I started, my boss said he wanted to get 2kg milksolids per cow on the docket; we got that in the third year, and almost 2.5 this spring just gone.
“We had the same sort of ideas around where we wanted things to go and how you should do things with cows, and it’s going really great. We’re both on the same page when it comes to protecting the cow’s fertility as a way to really push that production early on in the season.”
Also an AB technician for LIC, Kylie enjoys getting out and sharing her passion with other farmers, and is often asked how their farm is going – and she’s more than happy to tell them.
She said it’s the numbers that seem to catch their attention, like the increased production levels, conception and non-return rates, and also the farm’s tight calving, and how they manage it.
“Last year, we had 80% of the herd calved in the first three weeks. Some people think that’s totally crazy and assume that we induced a lot, but that’s not the case. It’s about getting cows in-calf quickly at mating time and that’s an all-year round focus for us.
“Calving was really busy but we had the grass to cope with it and once your first calf hits the ground you might as well get it over and done with, and it means we get the bulk of their production done before Christmas.
“We hit 1000kg/ha at the end of December and peaked at 2.5kg for each cow. That’s all money in the bank, no-one can take that away from you, then summer can come and whatever happens.”
Kylie said the herd had always had a good track record when it came to getting in-calf, but it paid to be proactive when it came to their ongoing reproduction and the things that could impact on each cow’s ability to get in-calf. Feeding is a big focus, all year round, and drying off at the right time to preserve cow condition, early CIDRs, and then 10 weeks of AB, with short gestation from 4.5 weeks instead of service bulls to tail off, which the farm identified as more cost effective and successful.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s to be a proactive farmer, and you will be a lot better off – keeping on top of feed levels, looking after the heifers and making sure they are reaching their targets and at mating with things like tail paint at the right time, pre-mating heats, and CIDRs early so you can get the best results.
“Being proactive puts you in a much better position and in more control than reactive. It allows you to take the time to make decisions based on real facts and figures, so you don’t do anything hasty and you have the time to think about it, from all angles, and bounce ideas of others if you need to.”
As someone who enjoys sharing her story, and learning from others, Kylie also works closely with LIC’s reproduction solutions team to host regular events for local farmers, and with Anexa InCalf Advisor Katrina Roberts.
“It’s really good to have the support system around you, especially people who can help you make sense of all the facts and figures, so you can see where the opportunities are for improvement, and also to get reassurance that you are on the right track.
“Katrina has a heap of knowledge and she’s been brilliant. We sat down with her the first time a couple of years ago and we worked out we weren’t feeding the cows enough in the springtime but we’ve sorted that now, so they hit the ground running after calving and last spring we could see the production line was miles above previous years.”
She’s also signed up to LIC’s Six Week Challenge and will be sharing her story with other farmers taking part in the free programme which is designed to help apply a year-round approach to herd reproduction and get more cows in-calf quicker at mating time.
“I’ve had some great people support me along my way so far, so if I can help other farmers by sharing what I know, and the success we’ve had as a result then that’s great,” she said.
“It might sound like a lot of work, but through my job as an AB tech I can see that there is so much potential out there for a lot of farmers, particularly from improved reproduction and a tighter calving pattern.
“We’ve still got room for improvement, and I’d love to get that empty rate down but that’s all part of farming. It’s the truth.”
Wierburn Farm
340 cows
98ha (effective)
80% six week in-calf rate
12% empties.
