28 | Top quality cattle, multi-trait performance Russell Fredric Breeding and growing top quality cattle is highly dependent on the resilience and strong maternal traits of cows, Fossil Creek Angus co-owner Jane Smith says. Jane and her husband Blair farm 1500 hectares which includes an 1100 hectare hill block where Fossil Creek Angus stud’s cattle are run in the Kakanui Range, North Otago. Fossil Creek Angus needs cows that can eat poor quality feed and turn it into quality protein while being efficient all year round, including being selfOur team delivers trusted processes, innovative advice and real-time software support, including Xero, Figured and Farm Focus. Let’s Talk. sufficient all winter, while producing a “cracking” calf in the spring is essential, Jane says. “We get fairly harsh winters here and run all our stud cows in one big mob out the back of the farm for those three months, which reflects the type of conditions that our bull clients operate in. The cow is literally the mothership of any operation, but we also need to make sure they are tough, resilient, and efficient, so a cow size that isn’t too big is essential too.” Fossil Creek Angus’ annual on-farm bull sale on Tuesday June 9 is an exciting time for Blair and Jane as they believe the bulls being offered are the most even yet in terms of multi-trait performance. Bull Open Days Tuesday 12th May 1-4pm Thursday 28th May 1-4pm Blair and Jane Smith: 027 432 4154 newhavenfarms@netspeed.net.nz Annual R2 Bull Auction - Tuesday 9th June @2pm 80 Powerful Angus Bulls with a rock solid guarantee Prior to the sale they are hosting bull open days on Tuesday May 12 and Thursday May 28 May 1 to 4pm. The 80 bulls being offered have been selected from 180 bull calves born in 2024, with emphasis first and foremost on strong maternal traits such as calving ease, growth, fertility and milking ability, coupled with carcass weights, rib and rump fat and intramuscular fat. “This means our buyers have a large group of multi-trait strength bulls available to them to select from, which gives them a heap of options at our sale.” “And it’s a pretty well-known fact that bull buying south of the Waitaki River tends to be a cheaper exercise than further north; perhaps it’s our Scottish Presbyterian approach to spending money down here.” “As stud owners we think this is actually a positive as it keeps our bull sale prices low in relative terms and effectively means that bull buyers are getting very good value for their money when they go to Otago/Southland bull sales.” Headline herd sires include Fossil Creek Rip R18, Te Mania Rustler R300, Tehama Testament, Stokman Solution and Fossil Creek Sketcher. Fossil Creek naturally mates just over 250 cows, while about 100 are bred by artificial insemination. Natural mating is a priority, particularly for the first and second calving heifers – rising two yearolds and rising three year-olds, Blair says. “It is important to know for their first mating that they cycle early, get in calf early and can carry a good calf through to their second mating and then still get in calf naturally within the first two cycles again.” All Fossil Creek bulls for sale on June 9 will come with a set of ‘E Star’ indexes alongside the standard industry EBVs to make the bull section process easier for buyers, Jane says. “They are underpinned by a full structural assessment, semen testing, docility assessment, HD50K Genomic DNA-driven data and also of course the Fossil Creek ‘rock solid’ three year guarantee for structure and fertility so that your buying decision is a very safe one.” MEAT & WOOL » Fossil Creek Angus Ltd Fossil Creek stud calves are born and bred in the hills of North Otago.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=