Page 72 - Hereford Magazine 2021

Ezicalve bulls equal

marketable calves

Rob Bassett with his sons Lachie and Campbell, and some of the beef-cross calves on their Wairarapa dairy farm.

he Ezicalve brand lives up to expectations for 450kg, so we feel the yearlings are a fraction on the small side
Wairarapa dairy farmer Rob Bassett, who buys so we like a little more of the maturity of the two-year-olds.”
Riverton Herefords Ezicalve bulls for his heifers and Rob says Dave turns out exceptional heifers.
has a no-bobby policy. “They always come back about that 550kg liveweight; our
T “We’ve had great success, with no calving cows in the herd are about 600kg liveweight. We do that so we
problems and a very marketable calf at the end of it.” can keep full control of our supplements at home – we grow
Bassett’s farm, Manukorihi, is in the Matarawa district 80ha of barley a year for our in-shed feeding and cut our own
between Carterton and Greytown, in the rain shadow of the grass silage – then we’re setting ourselves up for wintering our
Tararua Range. cows because they all have to come off the milking platform.”
“We’re dead flat on the banks of the Waiohine River, on The heifers are on a May-to-May liveweight gain contract and
heavy silt soils in a very productive area,” Rob says. The farm return to the Wairarapa farm in calf to the Cranstones’ Hereford
has a 120ha runoff in two blocks and milks 450 pedigree bulls. Andrew Pike, who has been working on the farm for 28
Friesian cows on a 100ha milking platform. years, is the chief calf rearer, rearing 80 dairy heifer replacement
“We target between 550 and 600kg of milk solids per cow calves along with 150 Hereford Friesian-cross calves through
and chase the per hectare production, targeting between 2300 to 100 to 120kg. These beef calves are sent to the Feilding dairy
and 2400kg (of milk solids) a hectare.” beef weaner fairs, where in November 2020 the Hereford bull
About 80 heifers are sent to graze at Dave Newman’s calves averaged $590 and heifers $540.
property, via the Whanganui Vets Scheme, just a few “We’re usually targeting between $5.50 and $6 a kilo live
kilometres from the Cranstones at Fordell. Rob buys Ezicalve weight. Because we’re a pedigree Friesian herd our calves are
bulls at Cranstones’ Riverton bull sale every year and the bulls very distinctive, and because they have such a clean white face
are moved to Newman’s just before mating. For 2020, that was with the Hereford bulls, they really do command a premium
five two-year-olds bought for an average price of $3175 each. through the saleyards.”
“We always look at the negative side of the birth weight Replacement heifers go to Hereford bulls before being
and we’re pretty fussy about what we buy; something with a followed up with Friesian artificial insemination (AI) the
smooth shoulder and with a bit of length to the neck and just following year once in the milking herd.
a bit narrower in the top of the head for calving ease, basically “We also follow up the milking herd with the Hereford bulls.
because they are going over our heifers. We’ve had no issues at We AI for six weeks then run the Hereford bull to tail up for
all. When we see something we want, we’re prepared to pay for another four weeks.”
it because it can have a huge impact on us at calving time.” A second group of cows is calved in December.
Rob says he buys two-year-old bulls because his pedigree “Because we’re on such heavy soils and have centre pivots
heifers are too big for yearlings. and k-line irrigation on about 85ha, we can grow a lot of grass
“Our heifers now going to the bull are between 430 and between December and March, so we increase our stocking

70 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2021