Page 87 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2018

explains. “Ethically and politically, cutting things off animals before to manage the workload round the holiday period.
that are not dead isn’t going to be acceptable in the premium That relatively late calving date, combined with the station’s
markets New Zealand should be supplying.” calf sale at Temuka being the first of autumn, means the calves
All bulls, except for two-year-olds bought that year, are are some of the youngest offered at the traditional weaner sales.
blockie tested prior to mating to ensure they’re still up to the The sale has a loyal following with many repeat buyers and
job. Ken’s adamant it’s necessary because they typically find 15 Ken makes a point of going to visit some every summer to see
to 20% are not up to scratch. how their calves have “shifted” over winter and spring.
“They’ve got to be sound and athletic. Our cows are mated “If we’ve sold 800 I try to look at 300 to 400 the following
in mobs of up to 500. We don’t like buying slabby bulls.” January-February. If a buyer has bought from two or three
This year 24 bulls went up the Dobson Valley with one mob of properties it’s always good to see how ours compare. We’re
cows, Herefords and Angus mixed two-thirds/one-third respectively. getting an increasing amount of information back from buyers
Longevity is a key trait they look for on the maternal side. these days: 70% of them are individually weighing now.”
“We start to cull for age at about 10 years.” Based on that feedback they are looking to “put a bit more on
They’re also looking for a modest mature cow weight. the back end” of their calves but overall Ken says he’s reasonably
“You don’t have to have a big cow to produce a good calf. We happy with where their herd’s at and he doesn’t anticipate having
made the mistake of getting too big-framed cows some years to make sweeping changes to where he’s been buying his
ago. They wouldn’t get through the winter with any condition and bulls, which has mainly been from the Okawa, Orari Gorge and
were too skinny to rear a good calf in spring, not to mention they Benmore studs.
need to be given more feed in their first three years because “It’s better to buy a cheaper bull from a top stud than the top
they’re bigger. That’s hard to do if there’s no feed around.” bull from a mediocre stud.”
Their rule of thumb is a cow should wean a calf that’s half
her bodyweight. Again, that’s harder to do for a bigger animal.
Non-calvers get one second chance in their lifetime – and a OPPOSITE PAGE, CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: Ken Wigley and wife
second tag to indicate they’re on notice – provided they have no Jane have farmed Glen Lyon and Huxley Gorge stations since the
other faults and are not first calvers, in which case they’re culled. 1980s; Next generation: Johnny Wigley’s been back on the stations
Most calves are born late October or preferably early for just over a year; Cattle that can be spotted easily are a distinct
advantage - anything with a black face can hide in the scrub too
November, to coincide with the spring pasture flush. easily; Looking over Lake Ohau to the Hopkins and (right) Dobson
“We get pretty long winters with snow three or four times Valleys from the entrance to Glen Lyon Station.
down to the valley floor.” THIS PAGE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Mixed breeds: Hereford and Angus
Ideally, from a pasture growth and calving date point of view, bulls are mixed and put to mobs of up to 500 cows; A cow and calf
bulls would go out on Christmas Day but they’re put out a week on Glen Lyon Station in mid-December.

HISTORIC CALF SALE “Buyers like our calves because of their quiet nature,” he
The Glen Lyon and Huxley Gorge sale marks the start of the beef points out.
calf sale season at Temuka saleyards on the South Canterbury All calves are yarded the night before the sale at Temuka
Plain. The saleyards are about 200km from the homestead but and drafted into lines on the morning of the sale, which starts
even in the late 1990s the calves were still walked to the sale. at noon and concludes with the Wigleys putting on a spread for
“It was a bit hard on the younger calves or any with softer buyers, agents, and all involved. This year’s sale is Wednesday
feet because there were some long days, up to 15 miles per 28 March.
day. There wasn’t a lot of grazing going on,” Ken recalls.
These days the job’s done by truck but thanks to their
breeding, the calves are still quiet come sale time despite the “BUYERS LIKE OUR CALVES BECAUSE OF
reduced handling. THEIR QUIET NATURE.”

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