Glanton Jerseys
After a lifetime of dairy farming, retirement is finally calling for Jersey breed stalwarts Rob & Alison Thwaites and their famed Glanton herd at Hawera. The farm and herd are both sold, and when visited in mid-May only the heifers are still on farm, on their way to their new home shortly.
Rob & Alison are still firmly ensconced in their home though, having retained the house and two hectares of land following the farm sale to their neighbour. Their plan is to stay here for at least the next two years while they plan their next move. They have purchased a 30-hectare coastal block further up the road that shares a boundary with a block owned by daughter Mylie and partner Matt. Here they will build their new home.
The herd has mainly been sold from the paddock. The calves, in-calf heifers and two-year-olds have gone to once-a-day farmers Matthew & Emma Darke (Rockland Jerseys) at Piopio. While the pick of the three-year-old & over cows went to the Cartwright Family (Tawa Grove) at Inglewood, breeders of the famed bull Tawa Grove Maunga (CRV). Son and son-in-law Tom Cartwright and Craig Wellington (Longbridge Jerseys) farm separately and welcome the addition of the Glanton cows to their herds. The balance of the herd was sold recently via Link Livestock to Suzy Riddington (Kaahu Jerseys, Atiamuri). Those cows had just arrived at their new farm when Rob & Alison were interviewed, and Suzy was extremely happy with her purchase.
Rob found he was not as emotional as many may have thought when the cows finally left the farm. Having turned 70 he is now ready to slow down a bit, and the farm and herd sale has been well planned over the last couple of years. They already had good relationships with both the Darke and Cartwright families, having sold empties to Matthew & Emma for a few years. They kept back two of the best two-year-olds for the Cartwrights too, including the dam of the top priced calf at the recent Jersey Pride Sale. She had been passed in at $15,500 at the 2023 Jersey Pride Sale, and her yearling heifer, Glanton FC Bane, sold for $16,900 in 2024.
Their best cow this season was Glanton Triple Baxter, winner of the Mitchell Challenge Trophy (Top BW Cow Award) for the 2022/23 season. Sadly though, Baxter was lost a couple of months ago, never recovering from an infection after slipping on the concrete. Alison bemoans that the best cows are often the ones lost early. The dam of famed sire, Glanton SS Bastille SJ3, also died of bloat during the winter as a three-year-old.
Having both milked 170 cows twice a day each season until the age of 70, Rob comments that their recently started ‘winter holiday’ will just keep going! They have always milked on this farm, and it has always been a Jersey farm, although now it will be a crossbred farm.
It is well known that Rob is the son of famed breeder Jim Thwaites, whose memory is kept alive in the J T Thwaites Sire of the Season Award made by JerseyNZ. Jim was the breeder of Glanton Red Dante, named Sire of the Century by JerseyNZ in 2002; was named Dairy Person of the Year in 1997 and was also awarded an MBE for services to the dairy industry. Rob & Alison purchased his father’s herd, and Alison also comes from a dairy farming family with her parents, Margaret and Don Brown, having bred industry bulls including Royals Green Elmo, used extensively in NZ and Australia. Her brother, Murray, had a crossbred herd and 15-20 years ago had the top BW herd in NZ; while her other brother, Geoff, has the Royals Green Stud in Northern Victoria. With some sons still coming through awaiting proofs, there is still time for Rob & Alison to have their names engraved on the prestigious J T Thwaites trophy.
Their farming and breeding philosophy solely revolved around profit. While to many this may seem one-dimensional, Rob and Alison believe initially it was influenced by high debt, high interest rates, four children and wanting an above-average standard of living. Always convinced that pasture-based farming and NZ Jersey genetics are world class, Rob has never been tempted to milk another breed. The easy-care Jersey breed was vital to them with no staff and having to adapt milkings systems around their busy growing family.
Their four children and support of their activities meant that farming worked around their family but also provided them with some amazing opportunities. After each afternoon milking, Alison would come home to help the children with their homework and music practice. The children all excelled at High School, both academically and in multiple sports. Rob and Alison enjoyed being active sideline participants with each endeavour.
Alison had followed a childhood dream, purchasing and learning to play the piano accordian once she left home as a young adult. From the age of four, each of her children then also started lessons, often travelling to Auckland for competitions. At the age of 9, Mylie started lessons once a week on a Sunday in Wellington. One by one all four children benefitted from these lessons, and for 13 years Rob and Alison would milk early on Sunday morning before driving the family to Wellington for lessons, returning to milk the cows late on Sunday evening. Daughters Mylie and Hilary were both escorted by Rob to World Championships in Denmark and Hungary/Slovakia, both finishing in the top 10 and the highest placed contestants outside eastern Europe. All four children won multiple NZ and Australian titles.
Mylie went on to attend the Tchaikovsky Institute in Ukraine completing a performance-based Music degree, with all her study completed in Russian. After 10 years in the Ukraine, she returned home to Taranaki and is currently a process operator at the Kapuni Urea plant. Mylie, partner Matt and son Jim (2y), will shortly be moving into their new home.
Hilary works as a pilot, and she and husband Nick spent several years flying for Emirates, recently returning to New Zealand after the birth of their son Hendrik (16m). They are now flying Australia & Pacific routes for Air New Zealand.
Christopher is an electrician who broke his back playing AFL in Australia three years ago. Having a successful world-first operation involving titanium vertebrae, Christopher is once again mobile and has returned to live in New Plymouth with his partner Beth. Chris has a daughter, Maddison (10y).
Campbell completed a communication degree, initially working in radio. He is now a builder and lives in New Plymouth with his wife Anitra and their daughter Rory (8m).
Rob’s proudest achievement as a Jersey breeder was breeding JerseyNZ inaugural Hall of Fame recipient Glanton Mans Blanche. Just halfway through her two-year-old lactation, Rob and Alison already knew that she was the cow of a lifetime, and contacted Malcolm Ellis at LIC. When Malcolm walked through the mob containing her among her female relatives, within seconds he identified her as the equal of any cow in New Zealand. Rob and Alison are extremely grateful to Malcolm for his input into her breeding programme with around 25 bulls taken by LIC from that cow family alone, along with several bulls from other cow families. Over the years since, Rob and Alison have built close relationships with Malcolm Ellis and his successors at LIC Livestock Selection, Casey Inverarity and Danie Swart. For the last 15 seasons, the highest producers on the farm have been Blanche and her desendants.
Blanche and her family are the epitome of Rob & Alison’s philosophy of breeding for profit and reliance on pasture-based New Zealand genetics. The two traits that Rob has been the most conscious of during his breeding career have been capacity and temperament. Capacity doesn’t always mean that a cow will be the best producer, but it is a good indication and they will look great. Knowing that they would be milking the herd themselves on a long-term basis, temperament has been vital. They are proud that all the bulls bred to date for the industry have been well above average in both traits.
They have been very strong supporters of the across-breeds evaluation system, believing that it showcases Jerseys to New Zealand farmers. The Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) list is an important tool for dairy farmers, highlighting the Jersey breed with more than 50% of the bulls currently on the list being Jersey.
Without a doubt, Rob believes that Okura LT Integrity is the best bull that he has ever used. The best of his daughters around the country are his idea of the perfect Jersey cow. Integrity has had a significant impact on the Glanton herd, and his daughters everywhere are easy to spot being capacious with great teat placement.
Rob and Alison have been long-time supporters of JerseyNZ. All two- and four-year-olds in the herd have been TOP inspected annually, and of course the herd is fully registered. JerseyNZ’s Jersey Future programme with LIC has now been supported with three bulls to date, two of which (Baxter & Burton) have been marketed in LIC Premier Sires teams. They have also supported the flagship Jersey Pride Sale in recent years, with one desendant of Blanche selling as a calf for $14,200 (Glanton Triple Bardot ET, 2019) and another heifer sold at Jersey Pride for $23,600 with the proceeds donated to Jersey Advantage, an organisation also supported by the Thwaites family. In the recent 2024 sale Glanton FC Bane topped the sale at $16,900 creating a new record for a heifer calf sale in New Zealand, dropping her herdmate Bardot into second place.
JerseyNZ’s wider programmes with the focus of income diversification also gain support from Rob. Link Livestock and the investment in Jerseyland Farms generate income to support the Association’s activities and the JerseyNZ collaboration with Jersey Advantage. At the recent Annual Conference, Rob was quick to acknowledge the success of the Jersey Future programme as unbeaten internationally in terms of proven bulls as a percentage of the entire programme. A regular attendee at industry meetings, and a great supporter of Fonterra and farmer co-operatives, Rob always supports in a positive fashion, acknowledging success.
Rob also acknowledges those fellow breeders who have supported him and his breeding goals over the years. Bruce Cutforth along with Luke & Lyna Beehre (Okura) have supported him with breeding advice. He has had a more than 40-year association with Mark Townshend and believes his knowledge of the dairy industry and the Jersey cow is second to none. He has always respected Mark’s advice. Rob has really enjoyed a long-time association with the Hawera Jersey Club, and comments that with Cliff Shearer (Glenbrook) involved there is never a dull moment. Likewise he has observed the rise of local breeders Tony & Lesley Landers (Glenui), going from ‘zero to hero’ in a 30-year period and now having one of the elite herds in New Zealand supplying Jersey bulls to the industry. He has greatly admired the development of this herd that had never seen an AB straw before Tony took over, proving to the industry what can be achieved.
One of Rob’s annual highlights has been taking part in Nigel Juby’s Ove-Achievers genetics trips, and the association via these trips with bull breeders from other breeds. While not all visits are dairy related, they are all very interesting and Rob ensures that there is Jersey content in every tour schedule.
In 2023, Rob and Alison were acknowledged by Jersey NZ when they were awarded a Distinguished Members Award, nominated by the Hawera Jersey Club.
So what does retirement hold for Rob and Alison?
The next couple of years will see them build a new home and develop their new coastal block that also has a lake and stream. A three-bedroom home is being planned in conjunction with a local award-winning architect, and will make the most of the 360 degree ocean and mountain views that the property enjoys. There will be stock on the land at some point, but Rob is unsure at this stage what will pan out. What is sure is that Rob has no intention of disappearing as a breeder, he will be around at Jersey events for a long time to come yet.
Written by Pam Goodin