Grampians

We have had a wonderful season here in North Canterbury. It grew all summer and has been mild to date heading into Winter. We feel for others around the country who have not been so fortunate enduring flooding in the north and extended dry in the south. We hope things are on the improve for those effected.

As some of you will know we made the move to Angus Australia this year. This was out of necessity to continue receiving breeding values on our screened cattle. In change there are normally some advantages. In this case we are now working with a very professional society who pay attention to detail and are very thorough. This aligns with our breeding program.

This year’s group of sale bulls have built on the previous ones in number and depth of quality. We have always stuck to our knitting when it comes to our focus. To breed a cow that is productive in a hill country system. The type of animal is very important to us; along with performance data, type indicators predict, maturity, constitution, soundness, longevity, temperament, calving ease and productivity. We know big mature animals struggle in feed shortages so early maturity and the correct growth curve is a must. Growth in general has been increasing dramatically for years. It always begs the question though; how much is enough and at what cost does it come maternally? The cow is meant to contribute to overall profitability of a farming system and to do so needs to be low maintenance, to be able to be used as a tool and produce a reasonable product in the meantime. It is a real challenge to balance these objectives and what makes the whole job so addictive!

We would like to extend a huge thankyou to all the people who came to support our sale last year. It was a massive thrill and we are hugely grateful. We look forward to catching up sale day if not before and please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to help. We are proud to call the Grampians home and as a family put our heart and soul into the land and what we run on it. We are only too happy to show you the property and the cow herd if that is of interest,