Page 125 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

Our Breeders

JOSH McCORMICK

ROCK-END HEREFORDS
ARIA

Hi I’m Josh, I work as part of a family run sheep and beef operation
near Aria in the King Country. I was educated at Lindisfarne
College before moving on to study commerce and agriculture at
Lincoln University, heading back home in late 2012.
Growing up on a Hereford stud established a strong interest
in the breed, and since returning home, I have been able to
be more active around NZ Hereford events (Beef Expo, field
days etc) and have sat on the South Auckland Hereford club
committee for the past two years. In 2015 I was fortunate to
attend the youth tech tour to the East Coast/Hawke’s Bay.
To be honest I’m not 100% sure what to expect from Beef
Week Australia but I am looking forward to seeing a show of
the scale of Beef Week in operation. This, I think, will give us a
reasonable snapshot of Australian genetics and will certainly be
a spectacle.
Beef Week attracts people from all over the globe so it will
be interesting to hear/see what they are doing, from which I’m
sure there will be some parts that will be able to be integrated
back into some part of our farming system.

NICK FRANCE
OKAWA POLLED HEREFORDS
ASHBURTON

My name is Nick France and I farm at Mt Somers, Mid-
Canterbury, with my wife Penny and our four children: Blaise,
Sylvie, Jack and Violet. We moved to Okawa in 2011 and
purchased the Okawa Hereford Stud off Penny’s parents in
2013. Both Penny and I did the Hawke’s Bay Technical Tour
following the Gisborne Herd Tour. Mark Robinson (Duncraigen)
informs me I’m the world’s oldest ambassador, but I take it as a
compliment to be invited on a youth tour.
I am really looking forward to seeing the whole spectacle
of the Aussie Beef Week. Although things might be a little
overinflated versus our approach, it will be great to see the
overall display and pageantry. It will also be great to look at
the associated industry products, innovations, cattlemen and
stockman gear.
As far as what I hope to take away from the trip… I’ll be
watching and listening to the judging approaches/comments
with interest. I’ll be building a bigger picture of the various Aussie
prefixes/sires and building on the knowledge from a trip with New
Zealand breeders last year. Throughout the trip I will be looking for
new ideas, technologies and practices that can be implemented
at home on Okawa. I hope to catch up with some Australian
breeders and make a few new mates along the way.

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