Dairy Master of the Year named

Western Cape Farmer JK Basson, of the farm Swartwater just outside Darling, is the National Dairy Master of the Year.
The Holstein farmer recorded 728 lactations during the assessed year with an average age of first calving at 23 months and an intercalving period of 397 days. An average of 11 377l of milk was produced per lactation per cow with an average butterfat content of 3,69% and protein content of 3,3%.
JK boasts a live-birth rate of 97,4% and a mortality rate of only 0,7% for calves from birth until one year old. The norms for live births and mortality fluctuated around 91% and 8% respectively.
And while most farmers maintain a 112% growth in cows in milk, JK maintains a calving rate of 130%. This means that he can grow his herd much faster and use more intensive selection practices. His milk herd currently consists of 620 cows in milk. JK ascribes his success to an excellent work force, a good breeding strategy incorporating the use of superior genetics, providing animals with high quality feed, using forefront technology to improve dairy management and the use of cow housing. – Glenneis Erasmus