52 | MEAT & WOOL » Kakahu Angus Charolais growing quickly and easily The 185ha unit milks 450 cows and complements the 1470ha drystock farm, which includes Charolais and Angus studs. Karen Phelps Charolais has gone “gangbusters” in the dairy industry, says Tom Hargreaves from Kakahu. “Dairy farmers like Charolais because the calves are colour marked and they are great once they hit the ground, growing quickly and easily,” he explains. “As long as the Charolais genetics used have low birth weight, low gestation length and calving ease it’s a great breed to put over dairy cows.” Kakahu has a strong stance on aligning itself with reputable companies and currently has four Charolais bulls with LIC and is about to send another four. Tom says that LIC sold around 5000 Charolais straws per annum five years ago and today this number has grown to approximately 130,000. Tom is anticipating that Charolais genetics sold to the dairy industry could one day rival Hereford. It was four years ago that Geraldine based Kakahu expanded into the dairy industry with the purchase of a dairy farm located next door. The 185ha unit milks 450 cows and complements the 1470ha drystock farm, which includes Charolais and Angus studs. The purpose of purchasing the dairy farm was to enhance Kakahu’s genetic programme, says Tom. Embryo work is a focus, with around 120 embryo transfers completed annually, and the aim is to produce a high value calf to give value add to the dairy cow. “We put embryos into our better end dairy cows and use sexed semen for the replacement heifers. Then all the other cows have an Angus or Charolais bull put over them and their calves are put into a beef-fattening unit to go into the high value market with Alliance. We also put an embryo into the beef cross heifers to get a calf from them before they head off to the works creating additional value. We are sitting at about a 96% hit rate for that high value meat for those cattle at 18-24 months old where the national average is around 38%. So our cattle are really hitting those premiums and the dairy farm is becoming a really viable part of our operation. We also get a milk cheque of course, which is very handy,” he adds with a smile. Tom says no bobby calves is also the way the industry in general is heading. This will mean potentially another 1.5m extra calves on the ground just from Fonterra farmers 39 George St, Timaru 7910 | PO Box 125, Timaru 7940 | Email: hcmail@hcpartners.co.nz Phone: 03 687 9222 | Website: www.hcpartners.co.nz Partners: Paul Wolffenbu�el | Craig Copland | Nick Krivan | Kalpesh Hari | Mark Evans Consultants: John Stark | Duncan Brand Are proud to provide accountancy, tax and business advice services for Kakahu Angus Proud to support Kakahu Angus Phone - 03 685 4880 Mobile - 027 280 4831 Rd 17, Fairlie 7987 03 688 7517 www.timarucanam.co.nz
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