24 | RURAL PEOPLE » Maranui Herefords Superior sires with dynamic pedigree Bernadette Cooney A stone’s throw from the white sands of Waihi Beach in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, is a Hereford & Angus cattle stud with a sharp eye on what makes superior sires with dynamic pedigree. Maranui Hereford & Angus is a generational farm owned and managed by Graeme and Rachel Brown. Graeme’s grandfather first bought the farm in the 1950’s and his parents began breeding Herefords in 1975. Bull sales were mostly private treaty up until the purchase of an extra 100-acre block in 2019 which enabled a scaling up to on-farm annual bull sales. The first of which was held in 2020. Catering to commercial beef and dairy farmers, Maranui stud has an edge in providing sires for dairy farms that surround them. Providing easy calving, low birth weight and steady growth herds. “That said, we also get commercial beef buyers and we’ve had a couple of registered beef buyers buy from us too,” she says. Last year’s bull sales were a total dispersal of the 30 yearling bulls on offer, with their Herefords averaging $2347 and Angus $2675. They’re aiming to increase the number of yearlings on offer at this year’s sale to 40 head. Assisting them in this goal is their exciting new two-year-old sire, Koanui Milton S420. Bought from Koanui Polled Herefords in Havelock North for $42,000 – this nuggety beef bull is bound to add value. Koanui Milton was purchased for his fantastic carcase structure, markings and mane and cruisy temperament. Along with the fact he ranked in the top 15 percent of 10 vital EBVs and the top five percent of all performance indexes. Two days after his purchase Milton went for semen collection at Tararua Breeding Centre in Fielding. “Soon after which an Australian Hereford breeder purchased 500 semen straws from him and took full Australian rights. That helped pay for the bull a little bit.” “We’re excited about first calves from him, having had him out early in September with 50 of our mixed age mating cows,” says Rachel. Pivotal in choice of bull to buy was their teenage son Luke age 17. He closely studies the genetics and the data to make sure its an optimal choice for the farm. Additional recent purchases include dairy merit sire Mahuta Sniper 222014 and Angus yearling sire Twin Oaks Tank T059, selected for easy calving, low birth weights, strong EBV’s and pedigree. 2024 will be the third year they’ve had Angus Proud to support Maranui Herefords Servicing production animal clients in the Waihi and Coromandel area Introducing new sire power KOANUI MILTON S420 10 EBV’S in top 15% & all indexes in top 5% ANNUAL YEARLING BULL SALE Thursday, 5th September 2024 @ 12.30pm 282 Trig Road North, Waihi 3681 ENQUIRIES AND INSPECTIONS WELCOME | Graeme Brown 021 037 2350 | maranui.stud@xtra.co.nz | @MaranuiHerefords in the annual sale but expect to see more in the future. “We’re hoping to have 12 to 14 Angus yearling bulls and 26 Herefords for sale this year.” “We’ve got a lot of very nice bull calves on the cows so we’re confident we’ll have some great selections for this year’s September sale,” says Rachel. The 200-ha farm is a combination of flat and hill country currently in bountiful pasture since the rains gave way to the warmth of summer sun. Maranui Hereford & Angus is owned and managed by Graeme and Rachel Brown.
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