Twin cows pass 100t yield milestone together
Twin Holstein cows have reached the remarkable milestone of each producing 100t of milk within 12 weeks of each other.
The 10-year-old cows, owned and bred by BM Coombes & Sons at Newgrove Farm, Wedmore, Somerset, reached the 100t mark at the end of their eighth lactations this autumn. Larkmore RGK Quality and Larkmore Spild Quality, both by RGK Spild and out of Larkmore Sweet Quality, have notched up a lifetime yield of 101,139 litres and 102,291 litres respectively so far.
“It’s quite extraordinary – I’ve never heard of twins yielding 100t before and I’m sure it won’t happen again in my lifetime,” said farmer Barry Coombes. He milks 190 pedigree Holsteins and eight Ayrshires at Newgrove Farm, averaging 10,329 litres on twice-a-day milking. The cows calve year-round, with the high-yielding group housed and low yielders grazed during the day. The farm has been placed in Wiseman Dairies’ top 10 producers for the past two years.
“Being housed on sand takes the pressure off the cows’ feet,” said Mr Coombes. “The twins’ longevity is really down to having the right bull on the right cow; we always use a lot of bulls, so just struck lucky – they’re not very big cows, being quite short-legged.”
Simon Gee, marketing executive at Holstein UK, said it was a phenomenal feat for any cow to yield 100t in her lifetime. “But for twins to do it is unique – I’ve never heard of it happening before,” he added. “It is real tribute to their genetics and their management.”
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