38 | OPENDAY TUESDAY3RD NOVEMBER 1pm-3pmat SH3, Mahoenui Tuesday 17th November 2026 ONFARMSALE 12 noon Raupuha Studs ideal for the hill country Ray likes Simmentals for their growth rate. Russell Fredric Mangaohae Station is an extensive sheep and cattle farm covering 1024 hectares west of Te Kuiti. Half the property is owned by Ray Harre who leases the balance from a limestone company which does not have any active quarries on it. Ray describes 300 hectares as easy hill country and most of the balance steeper contour with limestone cliffs and rocky paddocks, while just 14ha can be cultivated or mowed, for around 800 hectares effective. The station supports around 3000 Romdale breeding ewes, 350 Wiltshire Texels, 120 Charolais/ Suftex, and 800 hoggets which are mated. “About 1200 of those [Romdale] ewes go to the terminal sire ram and the rest go to the Romdale. We usually kill between 2100 and 2500 lambs off their mother each year at weaning which go to the works, so quite a high rate go off at weaning,” Ray says. Mangaohae’s long-term lambing averages 150%. “I’m getting great results; the ewes [pregnancy] scan in the mid-190’s pretty much every year; even in a drought year they did 189% last year so the fertility’s really high.” “For the country they are on, the lambing percentage is probably one of the highest in the area. It’s at probably the top end of hill country.” “I’d like to get a little bit higher survival, but it all depends on the weather you get in the spring here. Our rainfall can be up to 3000mm a year. We can get some real bad storms at lambing time.” Ray sources his Romdale genetics from Russell Profitt’s Raupuha Studs and finds them ideal for the hill country which they handle well due to having a better constitution than Romneys and a better temperament than Perendale’s, he says. “The Romdale will stay fat even when you don’t feed it a lot, and then when the grass comes they produce a really good lamb. RURAL PEOPLE » Raymond Harre - Mangaohae I try and buy the best rams Russell’s got – the highest growth rate and the high eczema tolerance.” The station’s Simmental cattle comprises 85 stud breeding cows, 140 cross cows, 120 heifer weaner calves, 300 weaner steers, 200 to 250 beef steers which are bought in autumn, and about 30 weaner bull calves which are the best of the progeny from the stud cows. “There’s usually about 800 cattle wintered. I’ve had Simmental cows for quite a few years, but over the last three years I’ve built up a little stud herd. “I bought cows from the Waikite Landcorp stud that sold last autumn. I bought 30 in-calf cows and 28 yearling heifers. Most of the other cows have come from Kerrah Simmentals and then there’s a handful of Glenanthony Simmentals – about a dozen cattle that were bought from a dispersal in New Plymouth that were Glenanthony-bred – that’s what all the stud cows are.” Ray likes Simmental for their growth rate, but his maternal herd also has an exceptional not-in-calf rate of just 3% and, because he is focused on breeding low to medium birth weight calves, they are easy calving. At one time the bulls he was buying had feet issues, but he had a good old stud bull with good feet so he decided to breed his own from this which led to the Simmental stud being started. “All my weaners are run in mobs of 145 so they can be mixed with other breeds, and when they are sold they are always weighing out heavier so every kilo they put on extra is all money you make.” Most of the station’s steers are sold as yearlings at 14 months. The top 50 steers sold early January this year averaged 520 kilograms “so the growth rates are exceptional”. “When you start feeding cattle properly and seeing the growth rates every kilo’s a lot of money now.” “New Zealand Farmers Livestock are proud to be associated with Raymond Harre (Mangaohae Station) and are pleased to contribute added value to his business model.” Brett Wallbank 027 488 1299 Vaughan Rogers 027 452 1568 Warick Smith 027 257 6513 Richard Bevege 027 453 9824 Sam Brooks 027 454 5336 John Grainger 027 314 9929 Please contact our King Country team for all your livestock needs...
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