Page 14 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

CATTLE FOR HILL COUNTRY since purchased a semen share in Monymusk Gallant back.

Matariki has a great balance of country for the cows, which all “They were highlights in our breeding programme. When
winter on the hills with the sheep rotating through them. you get a few kicks like that it’s cool. Stud work is great fun, but
“It’s low-cost wintering. The cows come in in spring to be TB it takes a lot of time and you can’t treat it as a hobby – it’s got
tested and we put them behind a wire set to calve,” James says. to pay its way.”
Calves are tagged and weighed before cows are split into James is a proud member of the Hereford Prime (HP) board
10 different lots with the bull, which goes out on November 20, and softness and eating quality are high on his list of priorities.
single sire mating on the easy hill country. The bull comes out “I believe that’s what we’re breeding our cattle for, to hit the right
after Christmas and the cows head back out to the hills. specs in the marketplace for good quality New Zealand beef. To
For the heifers, cycling earlier, 90% are mated using AI. me, that’s the ultimate thing in the breeding programme, producing
The past few years they have used homebred bulls, which is the tastiest meal for people that’s consistent and good quality.
working well. Calving ease is a big consideration and anything “A big thank you must go to the HP board for their top work
that has trouble will be culled. with the Hereford Prime Brand.”
There’s a big emphasis on commercial conditions and cows
must be able to handle the hills.
They keep about 80 bulls on for the two-year-old sale and PICKING UP THE PIECES
sell about 50 annually. Anything that doesn’t make the 80 is sold The Murrays consider they got off lightly in the earthquake,
into the dairy industry as yearlings. They sell about 100 yearling compared with many farmers in the area.
bulls into the dairy industry and 20 to the beef industry, privately. “We were pretty lucky really. The limestone country got
“We put as many heifers as we can to the bull, if they are up smoked and we got away lightly compared with other people
to weight (about 350 to 400kg) and then cull hard after that first in the valley,” James says.
calf. There’s power in numbers,” Jack says. “The earthquake hit just south of the Clarence and virtually
They are unapologetically fussy about what enters the herd, followed the limestone seam up the valley. The whole riverbed
and type is very important. The Murrays strive to breed cattle and south side of the Clarence have come up eight metres.
that will add to a farmer’s bottom line. “It’s interesting, having no traffic up and down the road –
“The breeding objective is a moderately framed cattle beast we can use the road as a lane. Getting stock out of here is
that’s made to walk the hill country. We’re trying to breed cattle really hard; it used to be four hours to Ashburton, now it’s 12
that suit our environment and climate.” hours. We are at the end of the road and the road is closed at
Important factors are moderate frame, structure and longevity. the Clarence River, just south of us.”
“You’ve got to have good fat covers and it’s got to be productive Murray Hamilton at the Kaikoura airfield has been flying
– good milk, got to have a calf every year, and a good calf. people up the valley since the quake, proving to be a real
“We’re always trying to improve our cow herd and our lifeline for those wanting to get in and out.
clients’ cow herds. It’s a meat breed, so EMA, good shape and Over a year on from the earthquake, the Murrays still have
eating quality, plenty of fat – that’s where the taste comes from – internal fences and tracks that are damaged. “We are just
and good carcase weight (are important) at the end of the day.” ticking away, we’ve got a dozer in to clear the tracks, and
In terms of EBVs, Jack says they target moderate birth weight, putting fences back up,” Sam says.
calving ease and try to keep the 200-day and 400-day weights as There were three houses on the property, but one was
high as possible, while aiming for a moderate mature cow weight written off in the earthquake so both Sam and Jack and their
EBV delivering a smaller, robust type of cow that suits their country. respective partners are currently sharing one house.
They aim for continuous improvement, injecting new To make matters worse, they were hit with two cyclones
genetics regularly, buying several bulls each year and using AI. just after the earthquake, the first one alone dumping 180ml
Again, they are fussy on type and structure. on the farm. “That tested things. It’s an interesting old time but
“We kept a good bull about 10 years ago, Matariki Holy you’ve just got to look forward and go ahead, you can’t look
Smoke. He has been influential in our herd, around the country back,” James says.
and in Australia. He was named in the top 10 influential sires in “If someone had told me a year ago that the road would
Australia and has over 1000 registered progeny in New Zealand be closed for 13 months I would have said they were
and Australia. dreaming.”
“We have a lot of Holy Smoke cows in our herd and they’re
the perfect frame we’re after, able to hold their condition over
winter and produce bloody awesome calves…it has given us
confidence in what we are doing and really put us on the map,
which was pretty cool.”
Another influential bull for the Murrays has been Koanui
Bullseye, who has left a top quality line of cows.
Highlights for the Murrays were in 2016 selling a bull jointly to
the Glenbrae Stud and Rock-End Stud for $40,000 and selling
Matariki Dunstan – the bull that sired Monymusk Gallant, who
sold for $71,000 in 2013 – to Chris Douglas. The Murrays have
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