Four white feet, a white tip to the tail and a white forehead are attributes which have qualified 36 Bay of Plenty friesian heifers for a trip to China.

The young stock belonging to Andrew and Jackie Siemelink of Maketu go into quarantine on May 1 but until then will continue to graze on Pukekauri Farm, under the management of Rick Burke.

This heifer exceeds the target weight for those being selected for shipment to Japan.

In late-March, with help from his son and farm manager Luther Siemelink, and Rick, Andrew selected stock to go to China from the farm's replacement heifers. Body markings and weight are the main criteria.

'They have to have the classic Friesian markings and be at least 180kg. Most were over that. Rick's done a good job of looking after them for us,” says Andrew.

Once ear-tagged, the heifers were returned to the herd to continue to be managed as normal until May. As part of the quarantine process, Andrew expects they'll be conditioned to the kind of hard food they'll receive during shipment.

Arrangements for the sale and shipment of the heifers were made through a New Zealand stock agent – and Andrew says the returns make it worthwhile.

'It's better money than we'd normally get; and it's worth doing especially as predictions are that the dairy payout will drop and prices for heifers come back, so we could buy replacements for less than we will sell these for.”

Andrew says he has no concerns about animal welfare for the heifers, nor about sending good New Zealand blood lines to China.

'There were concerns in the past about live shipments but standards have improved, and as far as sending our animals over there goes, I have no concerns,” says Andrew.

'What New Zealand is sending is only a fraction of what is going out of Australia.”
The heifers not selected for shipment will return to the Siemelink farm in-calf next season.

Andrew Siemelink selecting calves from his replacement herd for export to Japan.

Classic friesian markings are what Chinese buyers want in a heifer.

Luther Siemelink records which calves will be kept on the family farm, and which are bound for China.