They have always bred a commercial herd that suits their family farm at Capel in the south-west corner of Western Australia and continue to enjoy the success that comes from sticking to a consistent, well-researched breeding strategy.
Their West and Haggerty herd is in the top 5 per cent in Australia for the Balanced Performance Index (BPI) and their production figures continue to improve and impress.
Regularly turning to DataGene’s Good Bulls Guide, using genomic testing and herd recording data, Mark and Dorothy have stuck to their guns and made real genetic progress.
“I guess we’re picky, but once you’ve got your breeding goal in mind, you’ve got to stick to it,” Dorothy says.
Dorothy and Mark, their daughter Lisa and her husband Jason and seven staff milk 900-1000 Holsteins in a herd topping 2000 including dry stock.
The family enterprise expanded 19 years ago with a 12,000ha wheat and sheep property to secure grain and fodder, and son John and his family run sheep, providing more diversification.
They thrive on using data and technology, not only for breeding but for production, with DeLaval milking robots introduced earlier this year.
In June, they hosted the 2026 Western Dairy Innovation Day, following the theme `Future Farming Systems’ showcasing their new robotic dairy, cow behaviour and technology integration.
They breed for a medium-sized Holstein, with good bone, good capacity, feet and legs, increasing production and components, and temperament is a high priority. “If you can’t milk them because they’re cranky, it doesn’t matter how good of a producer they are,” Dorothy says.
The herd calves in four even blocks across the year to maintain a flat, fresh milk supply, which suits their processor’s needs.
Good Bulls App
Using the Good Bulls App is one of the keys to their success.
“When we’re looking, we put in our parameters and see what comes up and most of them tend to be in the Good Bulls App,” Dorothy said. “It’s very helpful. We use the filtering tool where you can put in everything you want and see what comes out. That narrows your search parameters and is a big saving time wise.”
Bulls used in the past two years are amongst the top BPI bulls available and above average for fat and protein, temperament, feet and legs, matching with the breeding objectives.
The herd’s genetic progress report shows that 89 per cent of cows born in 2023 were bred from Good Bulls, a simple strategy to improve the genetic merit of a herd over time, which is reflected in the graph.
Genomic testing
Every female is genomically tested at birth. “That gives us such a suite of tools for selection to cull the bottom, choose the beef-on-dairy mothers and select the best cows and heifers for sexed semen,” Dorothy said.
“The results have been visible and quite rapid.”
Dorothy and Mark have been great supporters of the Australian genetic evaluation system, contributing information to the system through herd test and using DataGene tools and information to build this great herd over decades.
At the Western Dairy Innovation Day, DataGene CEO Dr Emily Piper said the West and Haggerty success wasn’t by chance.
“It didn't happen because they got lucky with one bull; it happened because they consistently applied a breeding strategy over many years. Small genetic improvements compound over time,” Dr Piper said.
“Three things stand out: use of the Good Bulls Guide, genomic testing and female selection, and keeping good herd recording and reproductive data.
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