52 | RURAL PEOPLE » Sean and Jodi Brosnahan: Resurgam Angus East Cape breeders producing top class ‘traditional’ Angus BayVets Clinic Phone: 07 304 9184 40 Bridge Street, Edgecumbe. Proud to be associated with Sean Brosnahan & Resurgam Angus Reaching for excellence in the beef industry can sometimes involve reaching back to nd what you’re looking for. This certainly holds true for East Cape breeders Sean and Jodi Brosnahan, of Resurgam Angus. Their Pure NZ Angus breeding programme is all about preserving the special qualities of the original cattle that arrived from Scotland in the late 1800s. “Those breeders knew what they were doing back then with regards to producing a high- quality meat product,” says Sean. “The imported genetics that came into New Zealand later on meant the animals became a lot bigger and needed higher maintenance. We’re not so much turning back the clock but reviving a tradition that still makes so much sense today. We’re seeking out ef ciency in converting grass to beef so we want a moderate animal that’s smaller, wider and deeper and built to walk up and down the hills.” Add to that, also, an animal that hooks out really well and delivers the goods from pasture to plate. Up the rugged Waikura Valley, where the couple run their natural, grass-fed sheep and beef operation, there is little in the way of good at nishing country. Instead, Resurgam supplies premium heifers for nishing to Cambridge farmer Tom and Carrie Andrew, who operate a boutique butchery business called Wholly Cow in Cambridge. It is a match made in heaven, with Resurgam heifers proving quick and easy to nish – and Wholly Cows’ customers are loving the end result. Sean and Jodi know their Pure NZ Angus beef is a stand-out, having previously topped the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards as supreme winner in 2017. “We provide a consistent animal that cuts really well, and that is driven by what we do and how we farm; we reject any animal that’s not t for purpose. Tom takes 100 heifers a season and also bought 1200 lambs from us last year.” Around 8000 stock units – including three hardy sheep breeds, Perendale, Kirkdale (Perendale-Texel cross) and Southdown – are run by Sean and Jodi across an 1100ha effective area, made up of three lease blocks. “There’s also quite a lot of manuka here, so manuka honey and oil is big in this valley too.” Ian Walsh, who founded the Falkirk Scienti c Foundation that developed Falkirk Index New Zealand, is a core part of the breeding equation for Resurgam, helping the stud to select t-for-purpose stock for the East Cape environment and providing that independent eye when needed. The results are obvious in rising weaning weights and improved lambing percentages. Kim Newth Stud stock are regularly ranked and assessed using the Falkirk Index. Rams and bulls are sold for breeding with Falkirk Certi cation. In effect, Ian provides a kind of warrant of tness for stock at drafting time, identifying the animals that are losing condition or failing in other respects so they can be dropped out. “We’re really focussed on forward planning, not just for the coming season but also the next one ahead.” Sean’s interest in the Angus breed goes back to his experience of working as a stock agent for AFFCO. Back in 1996, when he bought his rst six heifers, they went to his parents small farm in Ohope, as he had no land of his own then. “Mum and dad [John and Ria Brosnahan] have been really awesome and are still part of the business; Mum still owns cows in the programme.” By 2009, Sean had acquired a good-sized lease block – Waitangihia Station – up the Waikura Valley. Sean and Jodi enjoy sharing their remote farm lifestyle with their four children – Alex 14, Holly 12, Xavier 10, and Zac, 9. It is an adventurous and full life for the family. “Alex is doing correspondence school. He bought himself a horse and saddle and he’s training three dogs and doing a day’s work experience on a Waikura station up the road. We’re all quite big on developing people up this valley!” Sean Brosnahan and family. Sean and Jodi Brosnahan’s Pure NZ Angus breeding programme is all about preserving the special qualities of the original cattle that arrived from Scotland in the late 1800s..
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