New Zealand Guernsey Association New Zealand Guernsey Association Country report 2016. Country Report 2016

Our Association 15 Members Majority of larger herds are in the North Island Majority of Numbers in Commercial Milk Production Market Nesh Cheese Making Market Our association is just a small one in regards to numbers. we may be small but the passion for the breed is defiantly still very strong. We have 15 People in our association and there are about 10 Herds. Our largest is bout200 cows And numbers go down from there including small herds which are milked for the main purpose of cheese making. Every member and their plan for the animal are important, we believe that the differences are what makes the association strong and we can all benefit from sharing ideas. Majority of the cows in New Zealand are being milked for commercial milk production, even though the nesh cheese market seems to be growing stronger and stronger as more people attend Saturday markets and prefer to purchase speciality items direct from the producers. Possibly restrictions around regulations on selling raw milk and tough steps to become certified to produce items for retails sale are hindering stronger growth in this area. Costs of becoming regulated do hinder the general farmer taking up direct selling to the public. New Zealand 2016

A couple of photos from the kelsie herd at this years NZ Dairy week A couple of photos from the kelsie herd at this years NZ Dairy week. This always take place in January and Ken and Leslie attend with their animals. New Zealand 2016

Photos from my own herd from last season. New Zealand 2016

History Public Field Days Attendance at the National Field Days Annual Meetings Involvement in the World Federation Social Media It is easy to become head down and bums up when your on the farm, days roll into each other and you forget what you are striving for. Our Association tries to get the conversation about the breed continuing through public field days. These have been great in the past to get the group together and to try and get other breeders involved. The Association attended the National Field days for 25 years from 1984. This was fantastic as it meant we dealt with people one on one and where able to showcase the cow. Sadly due to rising costs we were unable to continue with this. The Money was then focused towards upgrading the website and putting time into an area that is fast becoming peoples first point of contact. The website now generates at least one or two inquires a month. Social media is new for us in the last 12 months. Organising the conference has forced us to become more in touch with that field. We think the people who are involved in that area do benefit from seeing the large community that is available to us in regards to the Guernsey cow online. It is great to see growth happening overseas and we are able to share our highs and lows also. Possibly social media has made farming a little less for our small association across the other side of the world. New Zealand 2016

Moving Forward Struggles: Privacy laws Difficulties with importing genetics Minority Breed Looking towards the future there are a few things that do hold us up. We know the seamen is coming into New Zealand and being sold through. So there are farmers out there that are not in the association who are using the genetics in their herd. Unfortunately due to privacy laws we are unable to get hold of the information around who is purchasing it. We do also have difficulties around the figures and the structure they come into New Zealand. Figures coming into NZ around the breed worth and production of a sire is not recognised on our system. This does limit the desire for new farmers coming into the industry to use the genetics. Limiting further growth. The Guernsey breed is a minority breed and this can turn some farmers away. Relying on a popular breed in times of difficulties like we are having here in New Zealand now is the safe option. But as an association it is our mission to change farmers perspectives and promote our breed for the future. New Zealand 2016

Conference 2016 As an association we would just like to thank you for coming to the conference. The chance to being to host it and work as a team to organise it has made us all get to know each other a lot better. With the loss of Jim we will have a large hole to fill but im sure thanks to his passion and the World Associations support we can grow a great breed base here in New Zealand