Page 31 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

Industry Focus

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HEREFORD PRIME
BEE F
New Zealand
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Herefords

carve out a place at

Five Star

Beef feedlot

ABOVE: Herefords are carving out a place at the Five Star Beef
feedlot, near Ashburton. WORDS / PHOTOGRAPHS NATALIE CAMPBELL

INCREASING MARKET DEMAND FOR NEW ZEALAND beef He says there has always been a component of Herefords in
means Herefords are finding a place in the country’s only the feedlot but now there are ‘mid-term’ programme customers
commercial feedlot. who will specifically take the breed. He also says the Hereford
Demand for New Zealand grain-fed beef is growing alongside cross cattle do well on the feedlot and staff like working with
increasing market orders for grass-fed beef, and that means Herefords because of their placid nature.
Herefords are carving out a place in the Angus dominated Five At the time of writing, a line of 180 pure Herefords had been
Star Beef feedlot. sourced from Southland from Glenaray Station and combined
Five Star Beef feedlot, near Ashburton, is New Zealand’s with other Hereford mobs to fill a pen.
only commercial feedlot, and this change in the business Those animals were put into a mid-term feeding regime and
genetic landscape allows them to supply more beef to both will be sold under the Wakanui label domestically and some will
export and domestic markets. head offshore.
Livestock procurement manager for Five Star Beef, Michael Feeding regimes are closely monitored at Five Star Beef with
Coote, says he’s seen an increase in demand for New Zealand’s a strict structure in place.
grain-fed beef, alongside growing demand for the country’s Feeding out begins at 5.30am with pens fed twice a day.
grass-fed beef. Michael says the aim is to have feed in the bunks available 23
“It is a market that’s growing,” he says. hours a day. The feedlot is manned 24/7 and the feed levels are
The feedlot is taking on larger numbers of pure Herefords, this checked twice during the night.
past year up to 2000 pure bred Herefords have joined the several Feed rations are a blend of grains, maize, silage and
thousand Hereford Angus cross cattle to be finished in the system. molasses, which is mixed and loaded into trucks that deliver
Numbers being finished at Five Star Beef are lifting across rationed amounts to each pen of cattle specific to the market
the board. Michael says the feedlot can hold 20,000 head at one outlet. All the rations are monitored and adjusted accordingly
time and they are on target to meet 2017’s targeted throughput. depending on consumption and weight gain and the length of
Since Herefords have become more common on the feedlot, feed regime that particular pen is on.
Michael says they have learnt that they need to be taken to 20kg There are several different feeding regimes in place at the
heavier to reach adequate marbling scores, a trait synonymous feedlot. These include: long-fed regime, 240 days; medium-fed,
with feedlot beef. 125 days; and short-term, 75 days.
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