Tighter margins, tougher environmental rules, and the constant push to do more with less are some of the pressures often felt in the dairy industry. Dean Keightley from Southridge Trust is proving there’s a smarter way to farm if you're willing to challenge the status quo.
On his family-run dairy farm near Huntly, Dean’s flipped the script on traditional methods by taking a precision-first approach. With 300 milking cows, he’s dialled in on breeding and feeding strategies that are paying off big time.
Dean’s secret? A pasture-based, high-input feeding system that combines old-school Kiwi farming with a lot of modern tweaks. By growing 40% of the farm in Maize and balancing it with targeted minerals and feeds, he’s built a nutrition plan that gives his herd everything they need to perform.
Dean is taking proactive steps to elevate herd health by partnering with expert nutritionists to refine mineral protocols. By ensuring optimal mineral levels, both cows and calves receive essential support for stronger immunity and overall vitality during this critical period. It’s a strategic approach aimed at producing consistently high-quality milk and maintaining herd health, season after season.
Dean has another unconventional approach that helps his peak performance, by aiming to breed heifers at just 10 months old — a strategy that challenges traditional practices can yield impressive results. If they don’t conceive at this early stage, they get another chance at the standard breeding time (14-15 months) to calve as 2-year-olds. By focusing on nutrition and management, he ensures that heifers are fully grown by two years, capable of producing milk at levels comparable to mature cows, with some reaching 2.5 to 2.7 kilos of milk per day.
When it comes to breeding, Dean’s not leaving anything to chance. He’s working closely with Sharon Kooter from Samen NZ to select genetics that fit their intensive setup – medium-sized cows with rock-solid health traits. By using sexed semen from breeds including Holstein Friesian, Montbelliard and VikingRed, he’s crafting a herd that’s both resilient and productive.
Dean’s Comment:
“Cow 33 is August 2022 born, she calved in March 2023 at 19 months old and produced 690 kgms in 305 days. She has calved again 50 days ago and producing 2.6 at first test so has had 2 calves and won't be 3 until August”.
Dean’s Comment:
“Cow 80 calved at 20 months old in November and produced over 400 solids to date already and has still 8 more months to go”
Dean’s Comment:
“Second calver as heifer she produced 754kgms in 305 days and calved in first week this year to sexed semen, she had a spilt sample at herd test but is doing currently 2.8-2.9 milk solids per day”
Dean’s ideal cow is a 600 kilo liveweight performer that peaks at 2 to 3 kilos of milk solids, stays healthy, and milks consistently. She’s efficient, well-fed, and genetically built to thrive.
When it comes to udders, Dean explains, “It’s important. One of the main reasons we use overseas genetics is for udder quality. It doesn’t matter how good a cow is if her udders aren’t up to standard. Strong udders are essential in our high performance system.”
Dean is after a cow that delivers both quality and quantity without breaking a sweat.
What really sets Dean apart, though, is his hands-on approach. He and his family know every cow in the herd. They catch issues early, adapt quickly, and maintain that personal touch you just don’t get with corporate farming.
The goal? To breed 600-kilo cows that consistently produce 700-800 milk solids. And with Sharon’s guidance, Dean’s on track to hit those numbers, some of Dean's young stock have even made it into the Samen NZ Breeding Guide, representing sires such as NEUTRINO and MAHARI Pp.
Dean’s showing that with the right mix of genetics, nutrition, and good old-fashioned hard work, dairy farming can be profitable and sustainable. And Samen NZ? They’re right there in the trenches, backing farmers like Dean with cutting-edge genetics and game-changing advice.
