30 | High performing two-year-old shorthorns Richard Loader RURAL PEOPLE » Morton Shorthorns PAEROA egional ransport 2020 td REGIONAL TRANSPORT • LIVESTOCK CARTAGE 021790296 rtlstock@gmail.com !"#$%&'#&($!!#"'&)#"'#*&(+#"'+#"*( ,+-'./0*.12#1*3&&&&4&&&&56&!$7.&"#8%9&!8."#8&&&&4&&&&:;&<=>&<;<5 07 843 7237 www.waikatotractors.co.nz Waikato Tractors Ltd @waikatotractors.ltd PROUDLY SUPPORTING MORTON SHORTHORNS The Morton family have been selling high performing two-year-old shorthorn bulls for the last forty years, and for the last decade those bulls have been auctioned on the family farm in Katikati, near the northern end of the Tauranga harbour. Originally known as Orena Stud, Morton Shorthorns was founded by Ken and Betty Morton in the late ‘60s. These days it is passionately owned and operated by their son, Craig Morton. The Morton’s 80-hectare home farm has been in the family for 160 years and Craig is the fourth generation to be the caretaker of that land. Craig’s great-grandfather had milking shorthorns, so it was a logical transition to the beef breed, building the herd up from disbursal sales from Ardmore and Gleneagles studs. “Because we aren’t a big stud we bring in a lot of new bloodlines from Australia,” says Craig. “My father had been going over to Australia since the ‘70s, and for the last twenty years I’ve been bringing semen back from across the Tasman. We imported Sprys Shorthorn’s embryos in the late ‘90s. Sprys Prophet Muriel is well known in the shorthorn breed as one of our best female lines.” Craig says buyers of Morton Shorthorn bulls can expect animals with a quiet temperament that are structurally correct with either high IMF or EMA traits. “They also have a decent set of testicles on them. We don’t do semen testing but we guarantee all our bulls. If a bull doesn’t perform, we will replace it, and that’s what it’s all about. You’re selling on your name and you have to stand up to it.” Morton Shorthorn’s annual on-farm bull sale is held in May and last year nine of the ten bulls on offer sold, achieving an average price of $5500. “One of our regular buyers bought three bulls last year and paid a top price of $8700 for one, $7500 for another and $4500 for the other, so we were pretty pleased with the overall result. This year’s sale will be held on Thursday the 23rd of May and it is likely that there will be a dozen of our top bulls on offer. The sale will appeal to commercial beef farmers, many of whom come from Gisborne. Many of the farmers who attend the auction have been working with us for the last eighteen years. I also send bulls to a dairy farm, buy the calves back and rear those.” Craig acknowledges that what he likes about the on-farm auction is the ability to get the buyers on farm on the day, giving everyone the same opportunity of buying a bull. “They just have to work out which one they want. Quite often what I think is the best bull on the day doesn’t make the top money. You have to be open minded, talk to the buyers and find out what they are looking for and you try to help them get to where they want to go. The stud breeder needs to be in synch with his clients.” The Morton’s 80-hectare home farm has been in the family for 160 years. Phone Earl Mathers 022 427 1618 madmathers@hotmail.com MATHERS CONTRACTING Agricutural Contractor for all your digger, hay & silage requirements Proud to support Morton Shorthorns
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