Page 82 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

TB, which was detected in the herd in the mid-1980s, abruptly
shut them out of live sales and forced them into direct sale to
slaughter. TB was eventually beaten with the help of a University
of Otago research project that, through a wide-scale trapping
exercise, revealed ferrets as the main TB vector.
“We found that 40% of the ferrets trapped had TB. We kept
up the trapping and got rid of thousands.”
Matakanui Station achieved and has maintained a C10
status since 2009.
Over the past 20 years the breeding herd has been infused
with genetics from Limehills, Monymusk, and Westholm, and in
more recent times Earnscleugh.
Higher birth weight Hereford bulls are mated to the mixed-
age cows. Bulls have to stack up according to a number of
breeding values, and high on the list are 600-day weight, due
to the export beef and Aleph markets supplied; IMF; short
gestation; and calving ease.
Getting a bull that ticks all the boxes is not easy but the mix of
genetics has produced what Andrew says is a well balanced herd.
All yearling heifers are mated to low birth weight Earnscleugh
Angus bulls.
“They’re small so we don’t have calving issues and I like the
hybrid vigour we get in the calves.”

RIGHT: Hereford cattle are an important supporting act at
Matakanui Station.

PIPELINE PLANS lot of time shifting them.”
Andrew and Tracy have been driving irrigation development over the Water comes from a Falls Dam-based irrigation scheme and
past decade. On taking over management of Matakanui Station in streams flowing off the Dunstan Range. The water is stored in
2004 about 150ha was under border dyke and wild flood irrigation. two small dams gravity fed for irrigation.
They had served an important purpose in the pre-spray The grand plan is to build water storage for 500,000m3 and
irrigation era but at a Beef + Lamb New Zealand field day late install seven pivots covering 1000ha.
last year Andrew said both were very inefficient and would be “That’s what we’d like to see but I doubt it will happen during
replaced as soon as possible. my farming lifetime.”
Spray gun irrigation was introduced from 2006, and the first
centre pivot installed in 2015.
Moving from border dyke to spray increased the area
irrigated four-fold.
“I estimate we’ve done half that again by going to pivots.”
He was dubious about the merit of pivots compared with
spray guns but the overwhelming proof was in the increased dry
matter production and quality.
“There’s really no comparison and we don’t have to spend a

CLOCKWISE, RIGHT: Transition snapshot from matagouri scrub to
intensively grazed irrigated pasture; The grand plan, but possibly
not achievable in Andrew’s farming lifetime, is to water 1000ha with
seven pivots.

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