The naturally bred Slick US Holstein line is designed for a free stall barn system. It has its origins in Senepol genetics imported from prime rate range and castle nugent. The semen was mated to Paul Bardoul’s Holstein herd, in Waikato, New Zealand in 2008. From 2011, we were strongly encouraged by the milk production of the F1s and continued with a series of forward matings, to what has today delivered a significant milking herd of true to type and purebred Holsteins. This gives us confidence that even in a predominantly cooler climate, they are solid milking animals with no downside.

In the Waikato summer we do experience some periods of moderate heat stress. In those periods we see the Slick animals out grazing while the others cluster under trees, and we have rumen boluses that prove they are definitely running cooler than the non-Slicks. The boluses also tell us they are drinking less water, and respiratory rates are much reduced when observed in the rotary platform. All farming indicators align with the published science.

In 2012 we were the first in the world to deliver naturally bred dairy type homozygous Slick bulls for the purpose of export, from one of the highest health status countries in the world. We have named our breed lines the Kiwipole™, which stands for naturally bred animals, with proven dam performance. Our 250 cow breeding nucleus of very different bloodlines allows us to work with you to customize a solution for your farm system, milk payout schedules, dairy beef payment schedules, and levels of farm heat stress.