Thursday, March 28, 2024

NI collaboration for easier heifer calving

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Two cattle farming families from opposite ends of the North Island have worked together over the past seven months to expand the breeding of easy-calving Angus with low birth weights (LBW) and good growth rates and conformation.
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The Davie-Martins and the McFadzeans look over Puketi Angus yearling bulls at Ararua, Northland.

Two cattle farming families from opposite ends of the North Island have worked together over the past seven months to expand the breeding of easy-calving Angus with low birth weights (LBW) and good growth rates and conformation. Hugh Stringleman reports.

The McFadzean Cattle Company of Wairarapa and Puketi Angus of Northland, owned by Craig and Don Davie-Martin, have traded over 100 recorded females, plus some bulls and semen.

The objective is to quickly build up the McFadzean Ezee-Calve Angus herd for stud principal Johnie McFadzean and his brothers Lachie and Corey.

These are bred for commercial dairy and beef cattle farmers for use over heifers, to reduce calving difficulties without sacrificing growth rates and conformation in the calves.

Earlier this year Johnie purchased 20 cows from Meadowslea Genetics in the South Island to get the new venture started.

By good fortune John McFadzean was alerted to possible sale of 20 or more easy-calving heifers in Northland.

Andrew Jennings of PGG Wrightson and John travelled north to inspect the heifers and since then McFadzeans have made several trips to Northland to build the relationship and purchase cattle.

Puketi Angus has been focused on the production of LBW, easy-calving bulls for 15 years and during 2021 needed to sell some females because a farm lease had come to an end.

Craig and Don told of the long process of building the easy-calving, LBW herd.

“The Davie-Martins said they didn’t want us to have to go through what they went through over 20 years of building up the LBW, easy-calving herd with good growth rates,” John said.

“They offered us pick-for-pick in the elite cow herd of capital stock with valuations by Bruce Orr, stud stock agent with Carrfields Livestock.

“We will forever be grateful for the opportunity Craig and Don have given us to start this venture with easy-calving stud cows.

“We were amazed when we saw what they have achieved with easy-calving cattle with good growth rates and conformation.”

John has crossbred Simmental and Angus cattle since 1978 and for the past four years the family has offered two types of yearling bulls – Meat Makers and Super Angus – offering 30 to 40 selected sale bulls from their combined herds of 1500 cows.

The first sale of Ezee-Calving Angus yearling bulls will be in September 2022.

John and Helen’s three sons, Johnie, Lachie and Corey, and their partners and children are all in the Wairarapa family business, now with three big properties, Glenbrae, Glenburn and Val Dor.

“I was always keen to specialise in LBW and easy-calving, but that would have to be with a separate herd of proven, registered cows, not mixed up with the Meat Makers and Super Angus,” he said.

“Lower birth weights on their own are readily obtainable through breed selection, but combining those with superior growth rates and good conformation is the harder part.

“Craig has pursued that objective for years, with considerable success, and he has generously included us in the outcome.”

The Davie-Martins have two properties in lower Northland.

The home farm 462ha at Waiotira is running 330 dairy cows and 250 recorded Angus.

A second farm of 118ha at Ararua runs all the young cattle.

Craig went to the United States on the Summitcrest scholarship through the Angus Association in 2007, where he developed a passion for cattle genetics.

On his return, Puketi Angus was formed alongside the family dairy farming business.

“The US experience showed me the importance of finding your target audience and a specific market,” Craig said.

“My boss over there said, ‘You may not like our cows, but you need to have a direction of travel’.

“Back home, our dairy herd had 40% dystocia in the heifers, with 10% heifer deaths, and the Friesian cows had about 10% dystocia. Both were the direct result of the wrong Angus bulls being used.

“I put those experiences and the figures together, knowing there had to be better genetics for easy calving in dairy heifers and there would be a market.”

The Roseview easy-calving herd in Waikato was purchased as a foundation and the growth rate and carcase conformation emphasis has been followed since.

In 2018, Puketi paid $27,000 for Real Deal from Stockman Angus and he has become the number one bull in NZ Angus for calving ease direct (CED) and is a trait leader for birth weight and gestation.

Now four years old, Real Deal is over 1200kg and his sons and daughters are leaving their mark.

Puketi has been selling up to 120 yearling bulls annually by private treaty, although that will be down in numbers next year because of the reduction in the cow herd from 300 to 220 through the sales to the McFadzeans.

“The synergies between us and the McFadzeans will continue, with Johnie purchasing bulls and semen this past year, and we are very keen to see the easy-calving genetics expand in Wairarapa,” he said.

Craig believes that the McFadzeans will succeed with the Ezee-Calve Angus because of their dedication, stockmanship, business size and reputation.

“We are proud to help them establish what we believe will soon become the premier heifer mating programme in the lower North Island,” he said.

“Every female selected was below the breed average for birth weight and the average CED was in the top 15% of the breed.”

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