24 | MEAT & WOOL » Orari Gorge Station Over 70 years of breeding behind them Orari Gorge Herefords is run from Orari Gorge Station, a generational family farm in the South Canterbury foothills. Russell Fredric Reflecting on the impressive quality of Orari Gorge Herefords cattle, Robert Peacock is like many other breeders who are seeing the results of decades of genetic gains. “We tend to be reasonably happy with where we are, but we’re also pretty excited about where we’re going.” Orari Gorge Herefords is run from Orari Gorge Station, a generational family farm in the South Canterbury foothills. The Hereford stud has more than 70 years of breeding behind it and holds an annual sale of rising two year-old bulls each June. The station winters 25,000 stock units comprising 9,000 breeding ewes, 700 recorded Hereford cows and 2,000 English Red hinds. In these figures is three sheep studs. Robert’s main objectives for the Hereford stud is to breed structurally sound cattle with good conformation, constitution and high fertility. Its heifers are run with the commercial heifers from weaning through to their first calving at two years-old. Much of this time is spent on the hill to keep them fit for calving in a mob of about 200 which creates a lot of selection pressure. Orari Gorge Herefords has taken full advantage of DNA technology, including using the GeneSeek Genomic (GGP) Profiler bovine 100k test. This provides accurate information, including on relevant production and recessive traits and measures the rate of genetic gain through increased breeding value accuracy, delivering more accurate evaluation of genetic merit and genome-wide selection. While growth rates are important, there are often trade-offs and the need to aim for a balance of traits, and it is a lot easier to increase production than it is to increase profit, Robert says. “Growth I think is something we do have to be careful of. It’s very easy to measure and it’s easy to say, ‘I’ve got the biggest bull’, but if you’ve got the biggest bull then you’ve probably got the biggest cows. “I’m looking for a balanced bull. I sometimes say that marbling is the most important trait after you’ve got all the other traits sorted out, but there’s no point having marbling and growth if they’re not getting in calf.” Robert notes that when a steer is killed and processed, 65% of the grass consumed to produce the steer was actually eaten by the mother. “The cow is the key; the moderate-framed cow, good body condition score, good fertility.” In addition to taking advantage of DNA technology, Orari Gorge Herefords scans for eye muscle (EMA), fat covers and marbling (IMF). Breeding values are calculated in Australia by Breedplan which holds all recorded New Zealand and Australian Herefords in its database which, because of its size, provides the most accurate data possible. For this year’s annual sale being held at the station in June and live-streamed on BIDR, the stud will be offering about 30 fully recorded rising twoyear old bulls with genetics in the top bracket for growth, fertility and carcass quality. “The indexes give the dollar return expected from the progeny of these bulls, with the catalogue average in the top 15% of Herefords across Australia and New Zealand. Most are in the top 10%, and some are in the top 1% of the breed.” “Every calf born at Orari Gorge has been DNA sire verified for over 20 years which means our pedigrees are 100% accurate and our EBV’s can be trusted.” Robert and Alex Peacock Tel 03 692 2893 Email robert@orarigorge.co.nz Graham and Rosa Peacock Tel 03 692 2853 Email rosa@orarigorge.co.nz ORARI GORGE HEREFORDS Formerly known as Nithdale Herefords Established 1947 BALANCED TRAITS = MAXIMUM PROFITABILITY SOME OF THE BEST MARBLING IN THE COUNTRY 61th ANNUAL BULL SALE ORARI GORGE STATION TRIPP SETTLEMENT ROAD, GERALDINE, SOUTH CANTERBURY 7991, NEW ZEALAND The main objectives of the herd have always been to focus on breeding highly fertile, functional, structurally-sound cattle with good conformation to meet today’s market. Runningmore than 100 bulls in one management mobwith regular weighing,muscle scanning, body condition scoring and DNA testing our WHOLE herd ensures highly accurate data. We have nearly 700 fully recorded cows wintered on steep, high tussock country over 3000ft from weaning to calving. Snow is a frequent problem, challenging the Hereford longevity, constitution and soundness. As early adopters of BREEDPLAN EBV analysis, we have over 30 years of records to show strong genetic progress to benefit all our clients from lowland to high country. CALVING YEAR Orari Gorge Breed Average CARCASE IMF (%) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0 E B V Orari Gorge Breed Average HEREFORD PRIME ($) 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 CALVING YEAR 170 160 150 140 130 120 110 100 90 80 I N D E X ($) WEDNESDAY JUNE 4th 2025 at 1.00PM ORARI GORGE STATION, GERALDINE PROUDLY SUPPORTING ORARI GORGE STATION
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