Motivated by what we saw as
a significant gap in the herd improvement industry,

black and white photo of some cows in a field

We launched Wingman in July 2024 off the back of a need for someone prepared to offer 100% independent advice to farmers about their herd improvement strategy.  

Fuelled by our frustration and experiences with improving our own herd, helping farmers create effective and tailored strategies to their unique situation was paramount we felt, and deserved to see the light of day.  Little by little, and with the help of our amazing ‘early adopting’ Wingman farmers, we began to build a business.

Wingman is justifiably proud to be truly customer-led, not just customer focused.  In fact, our hero product (the Wingman Warrant of Fitness) was developed out of conversations with some of our early adopting Wingman farmers.  It wasn’t even a ‘thing’ when we launched in July 2024!  We’re comfortable not having all the answers, and operating out of the ‘don’t know/don’t know’ square. 

So if you’re looking for someone to sell you BW or a bull team, then you better head to another website.  But, if you’re looking for someone to be a part of your business, and go all-in with you and your herd, then maybe you’ve found what you’re looking for.  

Peak cow numbers occurred in 2014.

During a growth phase in the NZ dairy industry, there was an emphasis on increasing the quantity rather than the quality of dairy cows.

Businesses focused on delivering products at scale and volume. They also tended to implement one-size-fits-most solutions that catered to the majority of farmers' needs.

Source: Stats NZ Agricultural Production Survey

A customised team based on minimums excludes bulls who won't drive your herd forward.

Trait Value

Source: Wingman Bull Selection Example

0.5 = Minimum Value

black and white photo of a man holding a phone on a farm looking at some herd management analytics

How we do it.

  • Trawling through your herd data and identifying your freaks.

    Looking at both herd-level and individual traits and selecting bulls to either optimise or correct these.

    Identifying current state and desired future state of your herd.

  • Working out where the opportunities lie to improve your herd by either not mating your poorer cows to a quality bull, or simply selling them to buy better ones!

    This can be done across multiple age groups - calves, in-calf heifers, mixed age cows.

  • What extra value can we create in your farm business by being more strategic about stock sales e.g. export heifers, yearling AB, dairy beef.

  • Helping you to work out a 2-3 year plan to exit out of your herd successfully, taking into account age structure, likely rejection rate, herd marketability, desirable/undesirable traits etc.

black and white photo of a man in a herd of cows on a farm looking at his phone

Farmers’ leading the way.

  • “Wingman can add and the finer details I knew weren’t in my tool kit.”

    Cole Townsend

  • “Trusting you on this one - I'm not happy about the status quo.”

    Wynn Brown

  • "Wingman confirmed we are on the right track with our breeding decisions for our farm system."

    Mark Wilson

  • "The impact an independent perspective can provide to your herd delivers excellent return on investment."

    Rhys Roberts, Align Farms

  • "We have really enjoyed Wingman's independent perspective by not selling one particular product"

    Tom and Briana Hoskin

Experience Wingman with Andrew Macky.

Join us as we take Andrew (@onceadayfarmer) through an end-to-end herd improvement plan including his Wingman Warrant of Fitness, matching the WoF up against actual cows in the paddock, and a discussion about how to effect a step-change in his herd’s udders with a slightly unconventional strategy! 

It's going to be an awesome ride; we hope you enjoy it.       

Herd Improvement for the Sharefarmer.

We collaborated with the at the Sharefarming Consultants to support sharemilkers (future and current) know where to start when it comes to building and developing their herd.

So many sharemilkers get trapped in a breed rut that keeps them from taking opportunities, many others get stuck buying budget herds that hold them back. We wanted to take some of the mystery out of it.

Your Wingman Team