18 | Building for the future in rural Waikato Limehills Belter 200483. Matariki Night Rider. Kim Newth RURAL PEOPLE » John and Mary Allen Owned by John and Mary Allen, Mahuta Polled Hereford Stud is a very well-established, well-run stud breeding operation at Glen Murray, south of the Bombay Hills. More than 40 years after founding the stud, John remains as focussed as ever on building the breeding programme for ongoing success. Mahuta is known for breeding sound, functional cattle that will thrive under commercial conditions and maximise profits from beef for their owners. Yearling bulls, bred for heifer mating, are sold annually with the next Mahuta sale coming up on 13 September. “We will be presenting another nice line-up of bulls for people to choose from,” says John. “The first 45 will all be really good bulls. Calving ease is a priority for us and it’s what distinguishes us from most of the other major players. We also focus on above average growth and superior carcass quality.” At their last sale, Mahuta sold 66 of 69 bulls presented, achieving an average of $3720 and with the top price being $23,500 for Mahuta Skywalker 2034, purchased by the Chesterman family, who own Koanui Polled Herefords. “That really set us on the map and we’re very grateful to them for that. We have had two really good sales in a row and that increases our confidence in the quality and consistency of what we are doing here.” Top bull breeders like John are always looking ahead and planning for the future. Mahuta has recently acquired two outstanding herd sires, both set to make a big impact in coming years. One is Limehills Throne 220672, purchased at the end of May. This bull has great presence and his figures are outstanding, with top attributes for calving ease, growth and fertility. John has previously purchased other influential sires from Gray and Robyn Pannett’s Central Otago stud. “I’m an admirer of their breeding programme. We’re looking for bulls with good carcass traits, with a lot of meat and intramuscular fat (IMF). We’re wanting to breed cattle that produce top quality beef. Limehills’ have the best IMF in the country.” High IMF means superior marbling, vital for tenderness, juiciness, flavour and colour. As well as being in the top 1% for IMF, Limehills Throne’s indexes for prime beef and beef-heifer mating are in the top 1% for Australasia. Another new addition at Mahuta is Matariki Performer P24, purchased from the Kaikoura stud on 18 June. This is another very upstanding bull, accompanied with high calving ease, fertility and superior meat, fats and IMF attributes. “He’s also in the top one per cent on IMF and is very well structured. He’s a real showpiece of a bull and will be mated to our yearling heifers for the first time in October.” This year, John also purchased a package of semen from Koanui Lips T147. Koanui Polled Herefords rate this impeccably structured bull as one of the most exciting they have ever bred. He is in the top 5% of the breed for both Hereford Prime and Beef Heifer Indexes and top 10% of the breed for Dairy Beef Index. “I think he’s a bull that can take us forward in correctness of structure and he will add growth and meat as well.”
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