| 75 RURAL SERVICES » Zac Grant Livestock Zac Grant is passionate about breeding The 57-hectare beef farm currently runs 110 mixed-age cattle. Zac Grant has always had a fascination with breeding. Even as a child, growing up on his grandparents’ dairy farm in Waipu, he bred dogs and chooks, but by 16 he was already working full time on the farm and breeding livestock. He reared beef calves to purchase his own dairy cows and to capitalise on these good cows he started doing embryo transfer work when he was 17 years old. “It wasn’t a big thing back then but I purchased a cow at a clearing sale and got a voucher for IVF as part of the deal. That was my introduction.” His enthusiasm for breeding has shaped both his dairy and beef operations today. Zac built up his dairy herd over the years, eventually moving into sharemilking in 2015 on that same family farm. In 2020 he began leasing the farm and also purchased his own beef property across the hill in Taipuha. The 57-hectare beef farm currently runs 110 mixed-age cattle and Zac is actively looking to expand by acquiring additional land in the near future. His goal is to grow the breeding herd to around 400 cows, comprising Charolais and Black Herefords, producing primarily bulls for sale and sending some to the works. “When I was buying in calves, I always had a fascination with Charolais and exotic Simmentals,” explains Zac. “I could see they were better bang for buck than Herefords because of the colour marking scheme, which helps sell a better line of weaners and ensures good growth.” His first purebred Charolais came from the Moonlight Stud dispersal sale in 2019, where he purchased five in-calf heifers. Today he runs a stud of 64. Zac recently sold his Speckle Park stud of 15 cows to focus more on Charolais and Black Herefords. His breeding strategy is similar for both breeds. For Charolais, he aims for shorter gestation, easy calving, rapid growth and homozygous polled cattle for ease of management. Temperament is critical; any animals that are not quiet are culled. With the Black Herefords, the focus is on producing high-value calves for dairy farmers, combining homozygous black white faces with growth, calving ease, and shorter gestation. His dairy farm spans 100 hectares, 85 hectares effective, milking a herd of around 220 Friesian and Fleckvieh cows. “Fleckvieh is starting to get more popular. It’s basically a milking Simmental, so you get both milk and meat production.” Zac runs the day-to-day farm operations, employing one full-time staff member and his wife, Elise, an accountant, handles administration and also works off-farm. Web: www.tesltd.solutions Facebook: facebook.com/thompsonelectricalsolutionsltd Services: Electrical Automation Motor Control PLC - HMI Programing Machine Safety Automated Calf Feeders Phone: 027 721 5694 Web: www.thompsonindustrial.nz Facebook: facebook.com/p/Thompson-Industrial-61552416500327 SALES, SERVICE & REPAIRS • Airless Spraying Equipment • Nail Guns / Fencing Staplers ( Pneumatic and gas ) • Water Blasters ( Electric and Engine Driven ) • Steam Cleaners • Generators ( Petrol and Diesel ) • Welding Equipment Phone: 09 438 6956 AGRICULTURAL CONTRACTING - NORTHLAND Hay and silage baling, round & square • Mulching and seeding one pass • Cultivation • Triple disc seed drill with fert hopper • From small seed at 1kg to grass seed • 14 Tonne tip trailer • 8m Hedge trimmer 021 1795 462 coastalcontracting.co.nz coastalcontracting2012@gmail.com High quality silage and hay for sale, made to order. Also have limited stock available throughout the year. Transport also available. OTHER SERVICES INCLUDE: “Fleckvieh is starting to get more popular.” Zac aims to continue his “herd building exercise”, mainly using sexed semen from Australia, Canada and USA. The aim is to sell 150 bulls each year within the next five years. At the moment around 30 bulls are sold privately. “Each year it’s growing, and I’ve been using sexed semen to build the female herd quicker,” says Zac. “What I love about breeding is putting bloodlines together, looking at EBVs and seeing the results in the animals.” Karen Phelps
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