Business Rural North Winter 2021

38 | Genetic gains at Manahau rewarding Karen Phelps RURAL NORTH » Manahau Station “Their progeny also goes ahead fast when they get the food. They have good meat and wool yield and every year I’ve noticed improvements in the Manahau flock from using these genetics.” Pest control at Manahau Station. Farm manager Brendon Low says improvements in the Manahau flock stem from using proven genetics from Snowdon and Mt Guardian. S eeing the genetics on Manahau Station im- prove year on year has been hugely rewarding for farm manager Brendon Low. Since he started on the station three and half years ago there have been some significant genetic gains. Located on the East Coast, not far from Martin- borough, Manahau Station spans 3472ha of coastal hill country making for a challenging environment for the cattle and sheep. This makes genetics one of the key tools the farm uses to ensure a good result. The animals must be tough and able to survive anything the weather throws at them. The farm winters approximately 10,000 stock units comprising around 5000 perendale ewes and 450 in-calf heifers and mixed age cows. Brendon has spent his 20 year career manag- ing coastal properties so arrived at the farm with a great deal of this particular experience, which has allowed him to make fast gains for the farm own- ers. When he arrived he virtually culled all the rams and bulls and started the genetics from scratch. He’s used rams from Snowdon and Mt Guardian, which he says are well-proven genetics. “I like the characteristics of their animals. They are hardy rams and I consider them to be the top Perendale breeders in the country.” Brendon selects for smaller rams that he thinks handle hill country better as they have better forag- ing ability, which works well when the farm has dry conditions. “Their progeny also goes ahead fast when they get the food. They have good meat and wool yield and every year I’ve noticed improvements in the Manahau flock from using these genetics.” For example, wool has gone from 38.5 microns to 33.5 and even 27.9 for lamb wool. Brendon keeps his eye on the wool still believing it is only a matter of time before it comes back to being a desirable product, particularly as the public’s awareness of synthetic fibres grows. Lambing percentages have risen from 80% scanning to 140%. This year he is targeting 145-150%. He is also noticing incremen- tal improvements in the meat yield. Manahau Station is a store farm so Brendon sells the male lambs as store and keeps the ewe lambs, selecting till he gets the best of the bunch. Any that don’t make the cut are finished to around 20kgs on the hook. He has changed from a straight suffolk to a suftex for his terminals and this year has tried a suftex-beltex cross hoping to benefit from the good meat yields the beltex breed brings. The cattle side of the operation has also ben- efited from his focus on genetics. The herd was a “licorice allsorts” when he came onto the farm and Brendon is targeting a Hereford cross with a white face that can be easily spotted in the scrubby landscape of the farm. It will also result in a more uniform product to present to market. When he first arrived the heifers scanned about 75 % and mixed age cows at about 80%. Not quite four years later they are now scanning at 100% in heifers and 92 % in mixed age cows so improve- ment has been rapid. Dry is the biggest challenge the farm faces. Care- ful management and making timely decisions is important. Crops are grown on the farm along with baleage. The farm is also supported by a 160ha block located around one hour’s drive away used for replacement heifers and ewe lambs. Two tooths are sent from the block to Manahau at 65kgs for the ram (tupping) and pending on season the aim is to get the ewes at the coast to 65kg plus as well. An additional 50ha of crop is grown on this block, mainly rape, plantain and kale. Brendon didn’t have good luck with his kale crop this season though – it was washed out by a deluge of rain not long after planting, replanted then more rain turned the land to mud. In a strategic management decision he used what he could then quickly put it into oats. Manahau Station is run with the help of two shepherds and a part timer on the finishing block. Brendon plans to keep driving the farm’s genetic gains, starting with the basics as he has been, then culling harder to focus more on meat yield. “It’s really rewarding to see the gains being made. We’re starting to get there.”