17-year-old Holstein cow calves again!

A seventeen and a half-year-old Holstein cow has calved again after being retired off in a paddock full of bulls.

The Points Boss Iron Marg EX 93-4E who is nicknamed Old Meggsie is currently on her 15^th lactation after calving on the 7^th of August of this year.

Victorian owners and Master Breeders Ian and Karen McKie from The Points Holsteins decided to retire Meggsie, shortly after she had been dried off and placed in the paddock with the farm’s bulls.

When it came to pre-testing time, long standing Holstein Australia members Ian and Karen decided on a whim that they would test her along with the other cows.

Ian McKie says “when it came time for preg-testing, we thought we may as well test her along with the rest of the herd”.

“She’s been around forever and we decided we’d retire her out in the paddock; we thought she’s not going to cycle again so we put her in with the bulls and lo and behold she was pregnant! We couldn’t believe it!” says Karen McKie.

Old Meggsie is a STP Gold awarding-winning cow who often still travels with the herd, has an incredible cell count of 20,000 and is still milking approximately 30 litres a day.

Holstein Australia’s Services Extension Officer Simon Adams says “to have 15 lactations is a damn mighty effort for any cow. There’s not many cows out there that have more than 10 lactations”.

Ian McKie says “financially she’s made a huge contribution to our business, as she would have made approximately $50,000 worth of milk let alone her calves and offspring. She would have milked around 120,000 litres or more in her lifetime”.

Old Meggsie has calved 15 times in 17 years and has 2 daughters along with 6 granddaughters, 2 great granddaughters and 1 great-great granddaughter who are currently milking.

At The Points Holsteins, Ian and Karen have mainly invested their time and effort into services such as registration, ET work, corrective mating and have prioritised type, production and nutritional feeding to achieve their breeding goals.

Karen says “Old Meggsie comes from a line of long lasting cows; she is well balanced and has longevity and that’s the type of cow we always aim to breed”.

Our Services Extension Officer Simon Adams has been working with The Points Holsteins to assist them with their registrations. Simon says “I think it’s a tremendous effort for a cow to calve that many times and is still under 100,000 BMCC. That’s incredible”.