Ayrshire - New Zealand

Ayrshire New Zealand Profile

The New Zealand Ayrshire Association (Inc), known as Ayrshire New Zealand, is an Incorporated Society representing approx 380 Ayrshire breeders in New Zealand. The offices of Ayrshire New Zealand are located in Hamilton (central North Island) at the site of Livestock Improvement Corporation. The office is staffed Monday to Friday and members and visitors are always welcome to call at the office.
The Association is divided into 9 wards geographically, each ward represented by a Director. The Board of Directors is headed by the President, Vice-President and Treasurer. Ayrshire New Zealand is also the parent body to 16 Ayrshire clubs nationwide. An annual Meeting is held each year in June at varying locations. All members are invited to attend.

Breed Improvement Plan

Statement of Purpose
To develop, promote and maintain the Ayrshire cow as the most efficient producer of milk products in the New Zealand dairy industry.
Five Point Plan

To increase the average Breeding and Production Worth per annum in comparison to the national Herd.

To increase the number of Ayrshire semen doses in the National Herd to 100,000 by the year 2008.

To increase active membership of the New Zealand Ayrshire Association.

To constantly maintain an aggressive promotion and advertising policy.

To always portray a professional image.

Board of Directors

Gordon Glentworth Taranaki President

Brian Hutchings Northland Vice-President

Paul Duffy Southland

Peter McFall Auckland/Thames Valley

Bruce Baggott Rangiora

Peter Addison Waikato

Stewart Riley Nelson / West Coast

Margaret Graham Manawatu / Wairarapa

Diarmid Somerville Bay of Plenty

Ayrshire New Zealand is staffed by Office Manager Pam Allison pallison@ayrshire.org.nz. Office hours are 9.00 am - 4.00 pm Monday - Friday.

Ace Ayrshires

In June 2001, Ayrshire New Zealand took on a 50/50 sharemilking contract on the Ace Farm near Stratford. In addition to the animals from the Ayrshire Open Nucleus Herd, the Association has purchased and leased animals to make up a total herd of 230 cows.

The benefits of this enterprise are:

a further opportunity to increase the rate of genetic gain of the breed.

a place to farm all nucleus animals together

an opportunity to increase stock numbers, increasing the Association's assets.

Helping ensure the Association's future by bringing in income not derived from members, securing the long term viability of the Association.

In it's first season, the herd beat the previous best record for this farm, a feat repeated in the 2003/04 season.

Brief History of Ayrshires in New Zealand

The Ayrshire breed originated in Scotland prior to 1800 when different strains of native cattle were crossed with other breeds. Most of these first cattle were black, but the browns and mottled colours started to appear by 1775. The improvement of the native stock began about 1750 with the crossing of such cattle as Teeswater. Early breeders carefully crossed and selected various strains of cattle to develop what we now know as the Ayrshire, an efficient grazer noted for her vigour and efficiency of milk production. She is especially noted for the quality and shape of her udder, and the high quality, easily digestible milk she produces.
The first Ayrshire arrived in New Zealand in 1848, and in 1998 Ayrshire New Zealand celebrated 150 years since the first landing at Otago. This first Ayrshire was a bull named 'Rob Roy' who was loaded onto the immigrant ship 'Philip Lainge' in Glasgow arriving in Otago in April 1848 carrying the main body of the first Scottish settlers to New Zealand and founding the settlement of Dunedin. The first cow arrived the following year.
Ayrshire New Zealand was founded in 1909 in Palmerston North. The first Herd Book (a record of all registered pedigree Ayrshires by year) was published in 1910 and the first magazine in 1937. In the year 2002 we will publish the 86th volume of the Herd Book.

Dairy Farming in New Zealand

Over 90% of the New Zealand dairy industry is based on seasonal totally grass fed production. Whole herds are calved in spring and dried off at the beginning of winter. New Zealand's herds average around 230 days in milk.
The average herd size in 1998 was 220 cows with herds of over 500 becoming common and an increasing number of farms milking over 1000 cows. As a result cows can have intensive grazing competition as well as long distances to walk each milking to and from the dairy. Because of these factors the average production yields of New Zealand dairy cows are generally lower than in countries where the feeding of meal and concentrates as well as year round milking is the normal practice.
For New Zealand dairy farmers the production yields are offset by lower farm input costs, the main focus being the grazing of sufficient, good quality grass. Farm profit is often measured by EFS (Effective Farm Surplus), the dollar profit per hectare after farm costs have been paid. Milk payments are by a system of A + B - C per kilogram, fat + protein less a per litre deduction for volume to reflect cartage and manufacturing costs related to the handling of bulk milk.
The ideal dairy cow for this scenario has a 12-month calving interval, strong constitution, is a good forager, has good legs and a well-attached udder. The Ayrshire has these attributes and is performing well on many New Zealand farms. We must strive for continual improvement in production as well as other traits. We are a minority breed of 108,000 Ayrshire and Ayrshire cross in a dairy population of over 3 million, and the 3rd largest of 6 dairy breeds represented in New Zealand so the potential for growth is enormous but we must perform to achieve our potential.
A major benefit for New Zealand Ayrshires is having the highest percentage of cows 10 years of age and over of total cows herd-tested among the three major breeds. This is likely to advantage the breed with the adjustments to the Animal Evaluation system to place more emphasis on survivability, increasing the relevance to farmers and the dairy industry of TOP (Traits Other than Production) assessments of dairy cows carried out by the three main dairy breed societies in New Zealand across all 6 breeds.

Publications

The New Zealand Ayrshire Bulletin
Bi-annual magazine published 1 April and 1 September each year containing news on Association events and items of interest to Ayrshire enthusiasts. The Bulletin is provided to all members as part of their membership subscription. Subscriptions are also available at $NZ11.25 per annum in New Zealand and $NZ$22.50 per annum for overseas subscribers.
Ayrwaves
Newsletter of the New Zealand Ayrshire Association published 5 times annually free to all Association members.
Herd Book
Published annually, contains registrations of both male and female cattle, full pedigree and Ayrshire Registry cattle. The Herd Book is provided free to members and can be purchased by non-members for $NZ18.00.
Production Register
Published annually at the completion of each season, contains details of Production, TOP Classification and Sire Proof Register for the preceding season. The Production Register is available to members and non-members for $NZ18.00.