Page 18 - NZ Hereford Magazine 2023

Grassmere has invested $38,000 in Limehills Elite 598.

"The performance we’re getting is improving quite markedly; if
you can get those cattle gone in quick time, before the second
winter, they’re efficient cattle.”
To achieve that, the Jeffries use their own bulls as well as
buying bulls from other like-minded New Zealand studs. They
also bring in semen from Australia, the US, and Canada, giving
them access to a much wider gene pool.
The outstanding sire bull, Monymusk Gallant, is long gone,
but his genetics are still present in the Grassmere cow herd,
as well as on farms throughout New Zealand. He was bought
in 2013 by a syndicate of buyers, including Grassmere, for
$71,000. In 2022, Grassmere invested $38,000 in Limehills Chris says his cows have what it takes to survive and thrive in
Elite 598, a bull Chris hopes will be as influential as Gallant in tough conditions.
improving the breed. Time will tell.
Elite was bred by Limehills in Roxburgh, Central Otago.
It was his high end, well-balanced set of figures that first
attracted Chris’s attention.
“His numbers were extremely good but when I looked at the
bull by himself in the pen – he’s quite a young bull, quite a
late born calf – he didn’t stamp any authority, but he looked to
have a lot of potential. He was structurally very good, looked
sound, and he was probably the bull I liked most on type in
the sale, so it will be interesting to see whether his offspring
cut the mustard in a couple of years’ time.”
Since arriving at Benmore, the young bull has thrived.
“He’s gone from just a tidy bull – maybe because he was a
month younger than the others in the pens – but he’s absolutely
flying since he got here and he’s pretty impressive now.” Grassmere's 2022 bull sale.
Chris has high hopes but won’t know if he’s right until he
sees the offspring. That’s a waiting game he’s well used to. It head in a single direction too fast because I think that’s where
can be frustrating, but rewarding as well. things that are more valuable can fall off if you try to go too
“I’m trying to keep a balanced setup here, not trying to quick. I’d rather go quietly – that’s just the way I do it.”

16 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2023