Breed mix works for Greens

The Greens bought the farm in 2001 and began with black-and-white breeds before moving on to the reds.

"For me it's weird to see just a black-and-white herd," Mr Green said.

He said the family chose reds when they began searching for a hardier breed "so we don't have to do the night shift".

When herd nutritionist Bruce Hamilton recommended looking at red breeds, the Greens decided to buy a long-established Aussie Reds herd of 300 registered cows from Meningie.

The family milk 700 cows, half of which are Aussie Reds and the remainder crossbreeds.

The decision is paying off, with the Greens' herd receiving the 2015 SA Genetic Improvement Award for breeds other than Holstein.

The award recognises SA herds with high genetic merit, based on ranking in the Balanced Performance Index through the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme.

The index has a balance of production, type and health traits, selected to deliver maximum profit.

Apart from the accolades, the Greens are enjoying higher milk quality.

"Our components have increased, cell counts have decreased and the longevity has definitely increased," Mr Green said.

"We've got a lot of 12 or 13-year-olds, but they're still milking with no issues so we don't need to cull."

Mr Green said the herd averages 617 kilograms of milk solids during the 323 days milking.

He has also sold some Aussie Red and Aussie Red-cross heifers locally and said buyers had given positive feedback on fat and protein levels.

Mr Green said it was the search for production type and health traits that led them towards cross-breeding.

Apart from the registered Aussie Red herd, the Greens run New Zealand Friesians, Swedish Red crosses, and French breed Montbeliarde-crosses.

"With using multiple breeds and multiple sires, it can get a little confusing at mating time," Mr Green said.

The family have also carried on the Aussie Red stud, under the Waikato Farms prefix.

Mr Green said the stud had some 60 years of genetics, which encouraged them to keep it going.

He described dealing with a registered herd as a "learning curve".

"I'm getting used to it," Mr Green said.

He said there were some benefits from having the stud, with heifers sold as yearlings to the Phillipines and the bulls exported.

He said this side could help balance out the milk price.

The stud has bulls on several artificial insemination company lists - there were 10 in the past two or three years.

"From elite dams you get elite sires," Mr Green said.

These bulls are being marketed in Australia and New Zealand.

The Greens are also involved in trials to get a reference for genomics. They herd test about six times a year and take bull tail hairs for DNA.