42 | RURAL PEOPLE » Rosemount Charolais Dairy farmers prepare for first bull sale The Rosemount Charolais Stud operation breeds Charolais bulls focussed on tailing off dairy cows. Taranaki sharemilkers Kurt and Katie-Rose Parry are members of Charolais Breeders NZ. Kim Newth Kurt and Katie-Rose Parry, who are sharemilking 1200 cows in Taranaki, are first and foremost dairy farmers but in recent years have also stepped up their profile as Charolais breeders. The couple founded their Rosemount Charolais stud in 2018. Today, they have 120 registered breeding cows and are looking forward to their first on-farm sale of 30 Charolais yearling bulls this September. “It is like the last piece of the puzzle for us – from here on, our bull sale will be an annual fixture. We breed bulls that we would be happy to use ourselves over our own cattle. We aim to push our bulls towards the dairy market. In our breeding programme we’re looking for short gestation, calving ease, lower birth weight but also sound structure and good growth rates. We’re also heading down the homozygous polled route as that is now becoming much more common due to animal welfare considerations.” They first started using Charolais semen over Friesian cows to tail off and that soon became their personal preference. Their stud operation breeds Charolais bulls focussed on tailing off dairy cows. “In our AB programme, for the first three or four weeks we breed Friesian replacements. Everything else is Charolais over Friesian to create a beef calf that’s quite desirable for sale. It’s adding value to the beef calf supply chain and eliminating bobby calves.” Kurt and Katie are members of Charolais Breeders NZ, which has a strong focus on improving and promoting the breed. “We think the breed is going from strength to strength as people start to recognise the benefits of Charolais as a terminal sire. We’re putting animals on the ground that are going to finish to their carcass weights quicker while requiring less environmental resources.” An influential sire for the stud was Silverstream Evolution, rated by Canterbury’s Silverstream Charolais Stud as possibly the best bull they ever bred. A polled bull with great bone, constitution and structure, he had real x-factor and the quality of his progeny has been exceptional. “We loved the look of the Evolution cattle – they tick all the boxes on what we want our female herd to look like. We did embryo work early on with Evolution and bred a lot of progeny from straws purchased from Silverstream. We also bought one of his sons, Silverstream Minister, who we used heavily while trying to improve our females. Structure, soundness and temperament are our priorities in our females and we’ve got a good bunch of cows here. It makes breeding decisions easy when you’re working towards a goal if you have a better animal to start with.” Kurt and Katie run Rosemount Charolais from a 90-hectare effective dry stock property they own at Meremere, out of Hawera. Separate to that, their sharemilking operation of 1200 dairy cows is run on three dairy farms, totalling a 440-hectare effective platform. The couple are very much a team, working together on their dairy and stud businesses. Having had a fantastic summer and autumn, they are in a great position for feed. “The golden run will have to end some time, but the stock are looking really good and the feed levels are fantastic.” Calving starts at the beginning of September and the couple’s on farm sale will be on 26th September. 027 2880980 • Semen Collection • Fertility Testing • Disease Testing ViaBull Ltd NZ Farmers Livestock and Livestock Specialist Grant Hobbs, are proud to be associated with Rosemount Charolais at the 1st Annual Charolais Bull Sale. 26 1 year bulls will be put up for auction. NZ Farmers Livestock and Grant Hobbs wish Kurt and Katie-Rose Parry a successful 1st sale. Selling on farm, Meremere Road, Hawera Tuesday 26th September 2023 at 12 Noon Contact Grant Hobbs 027 4777 406 www.taranaki-vets.co.nz Clinics - Stratford · · Manaia Hawera Patea · · Waverley Proud to support Rosemount Charolais
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