Page 118 - NZ Herefords Magazine 2019 Edition

Industry Focus

Heifer mating adds to bottom line

WORDS REBECCA HARPER

HEIFER MATING HAS BEEN A POLICY at Mt Peel, near Gore, A bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) programme has become an
since the Evans family purchased the property 18 years ago. important part of their cattle animal health policy in the past
The farm comprises 2800 hectares, split into two blocks, in three years, after battling with the disease.
the Otamita Valley, 20km west of Gore. “The BVD vaccination programme has been key in the past
Logan and Nicole Evans and their three children, as well as few years. The heifers get two shots before they go to the bull
Logan’s parents, live on Mt Peel, and everyone is actively involved the first time.”
in the business, though Logan and Nicole act as farm managers. In terms of other animal health, they have a limited drench policy.
The farm is predominantly rolling hill county, with 35% of it Heifers are drenched as calves at weaning in mid- to late-March,
cultivated and the balance open tussock country. and again when they come off a brassica crop after winter in mid-
The family runs 8500 breeding ewes, moving towards a October. They are only drenched again when they wean their first
Romdale sire from Turanganui Romneys in the Wairarapa in calf as an R2 heifer, and that’s the last drench they get in their life.
recent years, and finish all lambs. “If the cows are a bit light then we have given a drench, but
They have 620 mixed age breeding cows and 140 R2 in- that’s rare. We don’t do anything else animal health-wise – our
calf heifers, all an Angus Hereford cross. They breed their own cattle are not pin cushions,” Logan says.
replacements and all progeny is finished, with the aim of killing His other consideration for successful heifer mating is having
them at 18 months at 280kg carcass weight. a good, fit team of bulls to get the job done.
“We’ve done heifer mating since we came here. It’s financial As far as feeding goes, Logan aims to feed the heifers as
at the end of the day – our heifers are big enough to handle it, well as he can the whole way through.
as long as we grow them out properly, and we get an extra 120 “Up until calving, through winter, they’re behind the ewes
calves. That makes your beef operation a lot more profitable, cruising around some of the easier hill blocks. We’re not pushing
rather than waiting until they’re three-year-olds,” Logan says. them, they’re just maintained through winter and then we set
The goal is to grow the heifers out as well as they can and stock them in a couple of paddocks for calving.”
pick the best to go to the bull. “I used to have in my head 300kg Logan doesn’t calve his heifers behind a wire due to the
(as a target) and I think it would be better than that now, but it’s sheer number. “One hundred and forty heifers can make a lot of
all just done on eye appraisal.” mess behind a wire. So we set stock them and shed them off
The crossbred heifers are put to an Angus bull and, after as they calve, every couple of days.”
that, cows go to a Hereford bull. They source their Hereford Calving ease is a big consideration, especially as they
bulls from Limehills Polled Herefords in Roxburgh and Matariki currently have to assist about 10% of heifers, a number Logan
Herefords in the Clarence Valley. and Nicole are keen to reduce.
“I’ve gone back to Hereford, they’ve got a bit more frame, “Nicole is often the one who checks them and keeps the
that’s one reason, and the other reason is they are a lot better records. We’re recording what we see when we have to assist –
to work with, particularly as far as dogs go. I’ve got one mob how it presented, what happened, if it lived – because we want
of cows, crossbred with a straight white face, and they’re my to get that number down.”
favourite mob – they’re just more appealing.” With keeping their own replacements, calving ease is now a
When selecting sires, Logan looks for a good moderate bull. trait Logan is looking more closely at when buying bulls for the
“They’ve got to have meat on them. We don’t really take a cows, as well as heifers.
huge amount of notice of EBVs; we look at them to eliminate
extremes, but a good moderate bull is what we’re heading for.” BELOW: Heifers with calves at foot on Logan Evan’s Southland farm.

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