20 | RURAL PEOPLE » Koanui Polled Herefords Koanui celebrates 50th at June bull sale Lot 64, the top priced heifer sold for $12,500 to Fermoy Herefords in Gore. Kim Newth Koanui is one of New Zealand’s leading studs and has the largest registered Polled Hereford herd in the country. Five decades of breeding success was recently celebrated at Koanui’s 50th Anniversary Bull Sale, held on-farm in the Maraetotara Valley, southeast of Havelock North. Koanui Polled Herefords in Hawkes Bay was founded in 1972 by Fred Chesterman and his wife, the late Annette Chesterman. Fred and Annette’s son Chris and his wife Jennifer lead the Koanui team today. The whole family, including Chris and Jen’s four adult children (Hugh, Glen, Gerard and Allie), all came together to lend a hand on sale day. “We rely on everyone to help out with running the sale,” says Chris. “One of our kids [Allie] is away at university and the other three are working, but they all came home for sale day.” Presented at this 50th Anniversary sale were 54 rising two-year-old bulls along with an anniversary special ‘Gold Heifer Sale’ of 10 rising two-year-old heifers (pregnancy tested in calf). Chris says there was an excellent turn-out, including online participation via Bidr. “The loyal support we get from our clients is humbling. We support the product we sell and people appreciate that. Our top priced bull went to a Southland operator with an elite herd and a very smart breeding programme.” That top price bull – Koanui Marvel RO49, in the top 10% of the breed for Beef Heifer and Dairy Beef Indexes – fetched $23,000. The average bull sale price was $9600 with 41 out of 54 sold. “We were very pleased with the line-up of bulls. Behind that is a lot of selection. We want to present top bulls that represent our brand. Our programme is very much about having balanced performance across most traits. While we didn’t sell as many stud bulls compared to previous years, it was a very strong commercial sale.” Chris says changing land use is having a marked impact on bull sales as more farms convert to forestry. “We sold at least eight bulls to clients last year who are no longer in the industry because of trees.” Nevertheless, Chris is pleased with how the sale went and notes that the Gold Heifer Sale went very well too, achieving a top price of $12,500 and an average of $6100. “Offering those 10 heifers was a rst for us and we did that in celebration of our 50th Anniversary. We don’t usually sell them because our young females represent the future of the Koanui herd - it really was a unique golden opportunity!” It still leaves more than 800 registered females to calve this year. Chris will be following the performance of the sale heifers with interest. • to page 24 Given their great pedigrees, he says he would de nitely consider buying a bull from any of them in future. Chris’ parents started out with 200ha in the Maraetotara Valley. Today Koanui’s operation spans 2000ha, including land in the Manawatu and Wairarapa. The expansion has been a deliberate strategy to ensure greater resilience against droughts in the Hawkes Bay. Koanui regularly imports genetics from North America and Australia. The interest in stud development is one Chris shares with Jen, who has a background in bovine genetics from Breedplan International in Australia. Koanui bulls are sought after for breeding into the beef and dairy operations “We sold at least eight bulls to clients last year who are no longer in the industry because of trees.” The Koanui team with the 50th anniversary cake at the 2022 sale: Jennifer, Fred, Allie, Gerard, Hugh, Chris and Glen Chesterman. Supporting Koanui Polled Herefords & New Zealand’s Food and Fibre sector
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=