A great proponent of estimated breeding values (EBVs) Haugh showed how well they could work in a commercial breeding herd by incrementally increasing the efficiency and productivity of his cows. Haugh’s focus was on producing steers with superior-quality carcase characteristics for the Five Star Beef feedlot from cows that were able to survive and reproduce off marginal hill country.
He saw EBVs as a measurement of production potential and he strongly believed beef cows had to perform to stay competitive. He didn’t believe the industry as a whole could sustain poor-performing cow herds.
Haugh put a lot of time into selecting genetics and performance recording his commercial cows but for him it was a labour of love. PGG Wrightson genetics agent Kevin Ryan described the breeding cows on The Sisters as being by far the best commercial Angus herd in New Zealand.
Haugh used artificial insemination on 90-100 cows every year and regarded AI as a great way to make genetic progress in commercial herds.
His knowledge and understanding of beef genetics was respected and valued by many in the beef industry but particularly by the Wilding family from Te Mania Angus Stud.
Haugh worked as a genetics advisor for Te Mania for 15 years and Tim Wilding said his knowledge of pedigrees and understanding of the influence of EBVs was second to none. He related well to farmers and stud breeders alike but always advised from the point of view of the commercial breeder.
Jamie Gordon, ANZCO Food’s general manager agriculture had a long association with Haugh.
“To say Lindsay Haugh was ahead of his time would be an understatement. Twenty three years ago when most people wondered what EBVs were, Lindsay was actively using them to improve the performance of The Sisters’ Angus herd.”
Gordon said Haugh’s passion for cattle genetics had him using AI and single-sire mating to such an extent that he was ahead of most stud breeders. In 1992 The Sisters began supplying Five Star Beef and in 1993 the first progeny test was undertaken comparing two sires.
During the ensuing 12 years Haugh progeny tested more than 30 sires for maternal, growth and carcase traits. This was an enormous undertaking and outside of Breedplan would have been one of the longest-standing objective cattle breeding programmes. The information was used to select heifer replacements and as a result The Sisters’ herd was considered one of the best commercial herds in NZ.
Haugh was born and bred on a farm near Wanaka. He started both his farming career and his family there but at the age of 40 sold the farm at Maungawera and the family moved north to The Sisters.
He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather and will be remembered as a big man with a big smile and a generous spirit.
Haugh is survived by his wife Mavis and their three children.
