38 | “There are many ways to breed but we wanted to create cattle that are ideal for grazing steep hills and producing quality meat. For us that’s a moderate sized animal that can get around the hills and still have meat on them and their calf.” RURAL PEOPLE » Okaka Angus 4 generations of care at Okaka Angus Ange Davidson FERTILISER, LIVESTOCK, GENERAL CARRIERS, WOOL P: 06 382 5828 M: 021 741 463 | 027 222 3431 E: dispatch@raycoles.co.nz accounts@raycoles.co.nz A: PO Box 21, Mangaweka 4746 After a good summer, Paul Revell of Okaka Angus stud near Taihape says his Two-Year bulls are on target for this year’s bull sale on Thursday 13 June 2024 at Papanui Junction school. “The bulls are a little bit heavier than last year and it’s looking positive. We’re putting up 15 – 20 bulls this year and we hope to have about 45 yearling bulls available in Spring,” says Paul. Paul and his wife Susannah run 90 stud cows, plus a commercial herd of 40 cows and 40 heifers on 540ha effective, largely steep hill country at Papanui Junction, Taihape. They also run 2,5000 Romney ewes including two tooths alongside the Angus stud. The couple started the Okaka Stud six years ago with a goal to meet the needs of hill country farmers with a consistent product that’s optimum for steep hill country. The cows were sourced from the Waitawheta, Meadowslea and Red Oak Studs, as well as other dispersal sales, with a third being New Zealand pure genetics. “I felt we could produce something with bit of a difference here. There are many ways to breed but we wanted to create cattle that are ideal for grazing steep hills and producing quality meat. For us that’s a moderate sized animal that can get around the hills and still have meat on them and their calf,” says Paul. Through the Falkirk Index System (FIS) developed by geneticist Ian Walsh, Paul now has an understanding of the physical type and constitution of an animal that he knows works. “This is a three quarters moderate animal that’s meaty and has the muscling. The FIS also means we’ll record physical and maternal performance of cattle and then back it up with ultrasounding and muscle and fat scanning.” Paul and Susanah calve their commercial cows at the start of October when the grass is just starting to come away. The stud cows calve at the end of August which can be a push but experience shows that if they don’t get their calves on the ground early, then they get behind weight wise. As they are moderate sized hill country cattle, they already look smaller in terms of what people expect as Two- Year old bulls. Okaka Stud’s Two Year bull sale at Papanui junction sold 15 bulls last year. “For me it’s about getting our name out there. It was pretty cool to have a good clearance. There was only one bull left over.” “From a profit point of view, it would be ideal to be selling 10-20 bulls in Spring as well. It’s a competitive market as the cow herd in New Zealand is diminishing with many hill country farms going into pines or bees.” Okaka Angus bull sale is on Thursday 13 June 2024 at Papanui Junction, with an open day on Monday 27 May. Anyone wanting to look pre-sale can make an appointment to visit by calling 06 388 7519. The couple started the Okaka Stud six years ago with a goal to meet the needs of hill country farmers with a consistent product that’s optimum for steep hill country. P & S Revell 06 388 7519 paulandsus@inspire.net Sale Venue: Papanui Junction School Hall, 7471 Turakina Valley Rd, Papanui Junction, Taihape 2-Year Bull Sale 13th June 2024, 1PM Dairy/heifer bulls available in Spring On-farm and online Helmsman auction Yourbid online auction is available, and Paul recommends registering and practising on the sites demonstration lots to get comfortable with the online bidding process. On sale day, go to yourbid.co.nz and click on the Okaka Angus logo.
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