JT Thwaites Sire of the Season 2023

Ellison Integrity Kaka – Roger and Glenys Ellison

A Waikato-bred Jersey bull has won a prestigious national award for siring daughters in the New Zealand milking herd that are production machines with great health and efficiency.
 
CRV bull Ellison Integrity Kaka is the 2023 winner of the Jersey NZ J T Thwaites Sire of the Season. Manawaru dairy farmers Roger and Glenys Ellison bred Kaka and say they are surprised by his win over some of New Zealand’s more established and well-known Jersey studs.
 
“We’re really humbled and excited to have won the award. We never thought we could produce a bull of this calibre when considered against the more established and well-known Jersey studs and breeders,” says Roger.
 
Kaka is the result of a mating agreement between the Ellison’s and CRV and comes from a family of very strong cows in the Ellison’s herd. Okura Manz Kea (Kaka’s dam) was purchased by the Ellisons as a 3-year-old and has been a top performer in their herd, consistently getting in calf and producing bull calves year after year.
 
“We try to breed efficient cows that work well on our farm and that are little fuss. We focus on traits more than pure index and most important to us are protein, fat, liveweight, fertility and udder conformation,” says Roger.
 
CRV Regional Breeding Manager Georgie Smith says the JT Thwaites Sire of the Season award recognises sires who have the potential to significantly influence the quality of cows within dairy herds across New Zealand. She says Kaka will leave daughters who are production machines with excellent capacity, strong udders, and fantastic shed traits.
 
“Kaka offers excellent CRV Health and Efficiency scores at 6% and 8% respectively. We all agree, he is a great sire. He offers breeders the full package from production with both protein and fat through to good conformation and udder traits,” says Georgie.
 
“The Ellison’s success is recognition of the continued development and quality of their herd. To win the JT Thwaites Sire of the Season is an impressive accolade and puts them in esteemed Jersey breeding company.”
 
CRV is a leader in helping farmers breed healthy and efficient animals and Kaka is an excellent example of the standard the company is setting, says Georgie.
 
“Sires like Kaka with strong CRV Health and CRV Efficiency scores can be certain to breed cows that will become top performers in the herd in the future.”

Release is courtesy of CRV