Page 26 - 2020 NZ Hereford Magazine

CHARWELL POLLED HEREFORDS,

WHAKATANE, BAY OF PLENTY

OWNERS: PETER AND PENNY DAVIES.
SIZE: 800ha plus 200ha leased.
TYPOGRAPHY: Steep to rolling to hay country.
ALTITUDE: Up to 400m above sea level.
RAINFALL: 1800-2500mm.

STOCK NUMBERS:
SHEEP
• 2500 breeding ewes plus replacement hoggets.
CATTLE
• 300 cows plus replacement heifers and sale bulls.

PETER AND WIFE PENNY own Charwell Polled Herefords, which yards on its own, watch its behaviour, and write a scorecard.
celebrated its centenary in September with the sale of 104 bulls If it rushes round the yard, hangs its head or looks nervous it
on the Taharoto stud farm at Manawahe, near Lake Rotoma. doesn’t score well, but if it is relatively calm and composed, the
“I admire other cattle breeds, but I grew up with Herefords. score is higher. Anything that exhibits aggression, no matter
They are in my blood. I like the way they look and their docile how good its other attributes, gets a one-way trip on a truck.
temperament. “I like an animal that presents herself or himself well; a bull
“My father, Tom, was a Hereford breeder and a judge. When that will look you in the eye and has a presence that commands
I was a child, we did the rounds of the shows and my father respect – but does not show aggression.
would tell me to look at the animals and point out anything I “My father said it can take decades to build your reputation
thought didn’t look right,” says Peter, who was judging cattle by as a breeder and five minutes to lose it. I’ve always worked to
the time he was 15. maintain our reputation and integrity.”
“We lived in a pretty remote part of the South Island and had Stored away in the Davies home are Hereford stud books
to make seven river crossings to get to town. Mother used to dating back to 1919. Today, as he always has, Peter meticulously
put a sack over the radiator of the truck to keep the water out records, initially by hand, the details of all his stud animals, many
when we crossed the rivers.” with links back to the original Koanui and Maungahina bloodlines.
Today Peter and Penny live in a far less remote area, near He is proud of Charwell Stud’s history, which began in
Whakatane, where they run 300 cows on 800ha, plus 200ha of 1918 when J H Gross of Ngaio Downs on the Kaikoura Coast
leased land, overlooking Lake Rotoma. The land is uneven and purchased five horned, registered Herefords from the McKenzie
steep in places and with 150ha of hay country. family’s Maungahina Stud at Masterton. The names of the Gross
“Our cattle are run as a commercial enterprise, being fed stud animals all began with the prefix Ngaio.
grass and hay only. The property is of light soil type, mostly
pumice and ash. It runs up to 400 metres above sea level THIS PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM: Temperament and bulls that
and we experience quite long, cold winters. Consequently, present themselves well are important to Hereford breeder Peter
Davies; traits clearly illustrated in these young pedigree bulls;
the sale bulls shift and grow on well in other environments.” Taharoto – home to the Charwell Polled Herefords, is on the shores
Peter believes the uneven contour of the farm also improves the of Lake Rotoma.
performance of his animals.
“Climbing hills helps build fitness and muscle. We are
focused on breeding structurally sound, fertile animals, with
quiet temperaments, clean shoulders and good neck extension,
important for ease of calving, which is a priority for us.”
Ease of calving, Peter says, doesn’t necessarily mean calves
have to be of low birth weight.
“So long as it’s easy to calve, it makes more sense to have
a cow calve a 48kg calf, that reaches say 300kg at weaning
because it could be worth $150 to $250 more, than a lighter
birth weight animal.
“I try to tell my dairy farmer clients that when they are buying
bulls, but for those who will not retain the progeny, ease of
calving is paramount.”
Ease of calving is also important to Peter; “I’m too old to be
walking round the farm helping cows calve.”
Temperament is also high on Peter’s list. “I will never sell an
animal I would not buy myself. At weaning I put each bull in the
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