Page 71 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

“The beef market was attractive and I thought there was an calves were good and the heifers had them okay. I felt more
opportunity with having a straight Friesian herd to get higher confident in going out and buying heifer bulls this year.”
value out of the calves than what we were getting with the With the successful trial behind him, Joe purchased five
bobbies,” Joe says. yearling bulls at the Ardo sale last year. “I made sure they were
Changing bull breed was not a decision taken lightly, but a Ezicalve and targeted those ones, low birth weight bulls, with
big deciding factor was the problems they were having with the the idea of putting them across my heifers.”
somewhat temperamental Jerseys. Aside from calving ease, he also looks for good structure
“I got sick and tired of it, they’re so disruptive and it seemed and soundness.
like it was getting worse every season. In some cases I didn’t like And temperament has not been an issue with the Herefords.
the bulls being there with people milking, for safety reasons. I got “The bulls were all nice to handle, everyone who worked with
sick of that and it was a big factor towards the end of the season. them was happy, they just came through the shed nice and
I decided to change something because it was a reoccurring easy, no issues. They are nice calm animals and everyone at the
issue every year – that got me thinking about the Herefords.” shed felt comfortable.”
Joe had a neighbour who was using the Ardo bulls over his Because they were so quiet, Joe wintered the bulls and will
cows and heifers. “He always had good things to say and was take them through another season – something he wouldn’t
getting good results at the sale with his calves. It helped being consider doing with the Jerseys. “I fed them balage through
able to talk to someone using them, to make the decision.” winter and they stayed nice and settled.”
Aside from the temperament issues, Joe was keen to utilise The plan is to purchase five or six yearling bulls each year
his cows and get away from the bobby calves. “It didn’t seem and carry them through for two, possibly three, seasons.
like it would be any more work than what we were already “They are a bigger investment, but by carrying them through
doing, but would produce a higher value calf at the end of it. for two or three seasons that helps with the cost. Also, the
“I did have some reservations about Ezicalve and how easy calves are higher value and sell well at the sale, giving a bit of
it really was, I knew the Jersey bulls were safe from that point extra income at that time of year.
of view and to change breed was a big step. I wanted to be “I’m enjoying producing a higher value calf rather than
confident that (calving ease) wouldn’t be a problem.” having to put bobby calves on the truck at four days old as a
He decided to do a trial and at the start of mating put two low value product. It’s more satisfying getting a better product
Hereford bulls over 20 heifers. “The results were good, the out of your cows, for no more work either.”

TEMPERAMENT A WINNER

Dannevirke dairy farmers Richard and Christine Barnes finish
all their own beef cattle and enjoy having Herefords around,
because of their easy-going nature.
The couple own a 122ha property under the Ruahine Ranges,
milking 325 cows, and their daughter Kelly and her partner Zane
manage the farm. They have a 69ha run-off nearby and recently
purchased an additional 26ha across the road from the run-off.
Richard and Christine live on 8ha over the other side of
Dannevirke and lease the neighbouring 55ha, it’s here that the
calves are raised from about 10 days old.
Cows and heifers are initially mated to AI and then a Hereford
bull is put across them. “We use Ezicalve bulls across the heifers
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