Compared with the size of some dairy herds today, which can be upwards of 2000 cows, herds in the mid-50s were much smaller. "Most weren't any bigger than 100 to 120 cows. My own father would have only had about 90 cows."
Visiting so many smaller farms, with three other trainees, meant that young Mr Shaw only had the chance to inseminate one or two cows at each farm.
"Today they go to a school in a freezing works in Morrinsville, and there get to inseminate 100 to 120 cows over five days," says Mr Shaw. "When I trained I never had 120 cows to practise on."
Mr Shaw's 40-plus years at CRV Ambreed, as both a technician and sales consultant, has been a busy but rewarding role: "I've got a passion for genetics, and for animals."
CRV Ambreed national AI manager Cara O'Connor says Mr Shaw is an institution in the AI industry who is happy to share his knowledge and skills with others.
In 2014, Mr Shaw retired from his role as one of CRV Ambreed's top-ranking sales consultants.
"I remember my first year I sold only 275 straws, and by my last year of working there I was selling 30,000," says Mr Shaw. "When the news came out that I was going to retire, I heard it was the talk of the LIC sales consultants' meeting."
He says the secret to his success was building strong relationships with farming clients. "I was on the phone at night and I spoke to clients or visited them at least five times a year. Even now I keep in touch with a lot of former clients, and go and visit them."
He has seen many changes to the industry over the years. "Health and safety standards are stricter now," says Mr Shaw, who once badly injured his knee on the job, thanks to a kick from a cow. "It probably wouldn't happen nowadays, as there is a bar behind the cow's back legs."
The tools of the trade have evolved. "We had rubber gloves and you'd use soap to get a lather on them, as a lubricant. Today it's entirely different. You have plastic gloves, obstetric lubricant and you use thin, stainless steel pistolettes. The old plastic pipettes we used to use were half as big again. I look back and think, how did I impregnate cows with them? It was a lot more difficult then."
Mr Shaw says frozen semen has become more widely available and gives farmers more choice about herd genetics.
Farmers are becoming more strategic about improving their herd through genetics. "Today, there is more focus on Breeding Worth (BW) and the more 'thinking' farmers — who want to see improvement in udders and production — can choose sires from several cow genetics companies," he says. "I think animal evaluation could take more interest in educating farmers on the value of TOP [Traits Other than Production]. BW isn't everything.
I tend to focus on New Zealand Merit Index, where the traits are part of the index."
Mr Shaw says more women are joining the profession as AI technicians.
"Women often make good technicians. They tend to have an empathy with animals, and often have smaller hands and wrists, which makes it more comfortable for the cow."
He has advice for others who want to work as an AI technician.
"You don't want to be in a rush; just be quiet, calm and get the job done. If you are thinking about wanting to do AB, you need good hand skills — like a mechanic or someone who is good with woodwork; and you need to be gentle with the cows."
CRV Ambreed has a team of 200 trained and certified AI technicians working across the country. Collectively, they inseminate around 500,000 cows a year. CRV Ambreed also offers AI Training Schools throughout New Zealand.
Mr Shaw is still an AI technician, currently inseminating cows on four Waikato farms. When he's not doing AI, Mr Shaw is kept busy working as a TOP (Traits Other than Production) inspector, sire-proving heifers and inspecting older cows for Jersey NZ members, as well as consulting for several local farming clients.
In 1996 Mr Shaw and his wife Lynne were made a lifetime member of Jersey NZ, an honour that he says "meant a lot".
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