58 | The easily identifiable black-faced Suftex progeny are particularly popular. Wairarapa Texel Developments (top photo and left). RURAL PEOPLE » Turihaua Angus / Wairarapa Texel Developments Texels a good bet Virginia Wright When Texels were released commercially in New Zealand for the first time in 1989 Stewart Cowan had not long returned from a year in Australia. He’d been taking a break after 25 years of farming and come back to the position of stock manager on the historic Brancepeth Station in the Wairarapa, working with the owner Ed Beetham. “We bought half a dozen ewes. Ed bought five and I bought one. It was my last $500 in the bank and I thought lucky strike,” says Stewart with a laugh. “I personally saw the meat aspect of the Texel. We’d had no new meat breeds in the country for many, many years, and they most definitely have the ability to add increased meat yield and muscling without excessive fat cover, so I thought it was worth a go,” explains Stewart. For the next few years along with managing the existing Romney flock they took the one stud sire they had bought along with the six ewes and proceeded to breed a Texel flock. “We mated 220 ewes to the purebred Texel sire and started the grading up process through successive generations to get a purebred flock, although theoretically the half-bred ewe for the commercial side of the business is what we saw as having the greatest value because of the hybrid vigour along with the increased meat yield, and constitution,” says Stewart. In 1996 Stewart left the stock manager position and became self-employed. He bought the stud from Ed Beetham, which by that stage comprised around 150 animals, and changed the name to Pukeoru. He was confident that he could breed a ram that he could sell, and which would improve the carcass yield and kill-out weight on the hook of the country’s terminal stock. Stewart farmed the stud on various lease blocks alongside commercial trade stock until 2005. In 2006 Stewart was approached by Derek Clark- • from page 56 Owing success to its versatility, he says Angus are a maternal animal, and forage better in hill country without supplementary feed, a bonus is the high-quality meat. “Our cattle have good temperaments, making them easy to manage. They’re renowned for being stockier and stronger son and Roger Smailes with the idea of combining his Pukeoru Stud with their Wairarapa Texel Developments Stud which was Stud Flock 10 in the book. All Pukeoru stock was pooled and integrated under the name Wairarapa Texel Developments. They had been part of the SIL performance recording scheme since 1990 and Stewart’s animals followed suit. When Derek and Roger retired in 2013 Stewart kept the name, along with his third share of the business. “It’s a well-established name with a very good genetic background and we ended up with 150 purebred Texel ewes and supporting young stock,” says Stewart. In 2016 Stewart entered into a 50/50 partnership with Andy Phillips on his 550 hectares at Motumatai, about 20 minutes east of Masterton. “We purchased the entire Fairlea Texel Stud from Hugh and Helen Winder at Fielding to widen our female genetic base and be able to cull aggressively to achieve the traits we were after,” says Stewart. Current ewe numbers sit at 520 mixed aged ewes and 160 ewe hoggets. The partnership has thrived as Andy and Stewart continue to pursue their shared goal of breeding a better carcassed sheep which is exactly what most of their clients are after. The Texel has always been seen as a terminal breed but they’re now gaining a reputation for their half-breed ewe progeny. “The constitution appears to be very good in them, and as a breed they’re a fairly tough sheep, extremely resilient, with that hybrid vigour as a real bonus,” says Stewart. In 2020 Stewart and Andy mated a third of their Texel ewes to a Suffolk ram and began their Suftex operation. The easily identifiable black-faced Suftex progeny are particularly popular. Last year they sold 60 Suftex rams alongside the 100 purebred Texels and this year will have 80 Suftex and 90 Texels available . Stewart’s instinct about what the Texel breed could bring to the National flock is proving sound in more ways than one, and that first $500 was money well spent. Senior Agribusiness Manager Gisborne Agribusiness Manager Gisborne and we breed a moderately framed animal, which is early maturing and thrives in a grass-fed environment.” Concise performance recording helps with breeding the next successful generation of Angus. BreedPlan officially measures and analyses this data for all traits. Proud to support Turihaua Angus Your one-stop-shop for genetic testing, tags, animal management software and much more. 0800 248 247 pbbnz.com ALLAN’S SHEARING SERVICES Proudly supportingWairarapa Texel Developments 06 379 7329 allanshearing@outlook.com
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