about lawwal
about lawwal
LAWWAL HOLSTEINS
"FARMING FOR THE FUTURE"
Lawwal Holstein’s history initiated in the heart of Punjab, India, here the Bolas’ owned and cultivated their ancestry land, before migrating to New Zealand.
Opportunity to expand and for a better way of life, Baram Singh-Ark travelled to New Zealand in 1912. Later his sons joined him, all enrolled in the workforce; their aim was to save towards land ownership.
Baram Singh-Ark’s granddaughter Mindho Kaur Singh was betrothed to Karamjit Singh Bola and the marriage took place on December 1969, in Morrinsville.
Karamjit Singh, an agriculture farmer from Punjab, India, migrated to New Zealand in 1969. Karamjit and his wife Mindy bought their first herd of 65 jersey cows in May 1972, under the banner K & MK Singh Partnership. The unit proved to be uneconomical to stand-alone so Karamjit worked full time in a local dairy factory and Mindy managed the farm.
They then sold the property in 1978 when an opportunity presented to buy a larger dairy unit (125 acres) in Whitikahu. More stock was purchased and the jersey herd doubled in size.
Artificial Insemination course in 1980 led to AI on the cows and registration of cows with LIC.
ABOUT LAWWAL
The Law Road property of 116 hectares was purchased in 1989 and cow numbers doubled once again. The first year 270 cows were calved and milked through a 22 bale rotary shed. For convenience, two herds were run on either side of the cowshed: Jersey and Holstein Friesian. The K & MK Singh Partnership was resolved and K & MK Singh Farms LTD became the new identity of the business in 1996. At the time there was a full dispersal of the Jersey herd and from here on K & MK Singh Farms Ltd accommodated only Holstein Friesians.
As Aman took control the herd sizes increased, a 50 bale rotary cowshed, with a feed pad was projected and running by 2003.
In 2013 the property running along the farm was purchased, to make a total of approximately 250 hectares of land. The property was re drained and re fenced to fit in with the original home farm.
In 2014 the family debated and had discussions to expand and looked into purchasing more land or trying something different and thinking towards the future.
Aman’s aspirations were to feed our cows to their potential, look after our environment, increase production per cow while utilising the land owned to a higher standard. So they looked into a Free Stall Barn.
Aman travelled to America, Europe and the South Island to view systems and catch all the best ideas to take home to build his own barn, instantly after viewing these systems the decision was made to build a 1000 cow free stall barn adjacent to the existing cowshed.
In early 2015 number of different designs were studied and the one most suited to our climate and goals was chosen. With an emphasis on cow comfort, a final design was selected. Instantly the foundation work was carried out between 2015-2017 and soon followed by the construction of the Free Stall Barn.
April 2018, the project was launched, and cows entered the barn. During this time Lawwal Holsteins was created. Building the Free Stall Barn has been a satisfactory decision and we believe this is where the future of farming is heading.
The 1000 Cow Free Stall Barn stands as the longest building in the Waikato. In 2019 the barn received the Silver Calder Stewart Commercial Project Award.
For more information on the Free Stall Barn, visit Calder Stewards page: