| 37 Irish Moiled Angus Cross Heifer. “We finish the progeny of our own cows, but also trade another 100 head of cattle each year and finish those. I try to buy back progeny from our bull clients.” RURAL PEOPLE » Takapoto Angus to as Beacon Hill; and a third property called Raffles in Leamington just out of Cambridge. Takapoto Estate is the home of the Takapoto Angus stud, and encompasses 220 hectares of beautiful Waikato rolling countryside, of which 130 hectares is effective. Combined with Beacon Hill, the farm enjoys four kilometres of lake frontage. Takapoto’s non-effective portion includes a private parkland with large mown areas, significant native plantings and deciduous trees. Effectively the whole lake frontage is parklands. There is also quite a large horse arena complex, called Takapoto Estate Show Jumping. The Takapoto Classic event currently underway has attracted 450 horses to the event this year and is now second in size to the Horse of the Year competition. Beacon Hill is a 290-hectare effective lease property that is contoured from river terraces up to rolling steeper hills at the base of Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari. Recently purchased, Raffles provides another 80 hectares and development has just started for horses and cattle. Replacement and finishing heifers are also run on that property, which is becoming an important part of the overall farming operation. Sam and his small team currently look after 220 predominantly Angus breeding cows, which is the core of the business. “The breeding cows move between Takapoto Estate and Beacon Hill, to get the balance right depending on feed,” says Sam. “We finish the progeny of our own cows, but also trade another 100 head of cattle each year and finish those. I try to buy back progeny from our bull clients. As a sideline, we have begun breeding Irish Moiled cattle, which is a dual-purpose animal. This year I bought in thirty Red Devon cows, specifically for breeding with Irish Moiled bulls. Irish Moiled is a red and white animal, and when crossed with Angus they come out black and white, so that’s why we brought in the Red Devons. We’ve crossed them with an Angus and have the only progeny in New Zealand.” Five hundred dairy heifers are also grazed under contract at Beacon Hills. Fifty Red deer and onehundred ewes are also farmed on Takapoto Estate for breeding. “The sheep are quite important because they graze some of the areas that we have planting in, that we can’t put cattle in.” The annual Takapoto Angus yearling bull sale is held on-farm on the last Friday in September, which this year falls on the 29th, with 45-50 bulls likely to be on offer. With dairy farming predominant in the region, 50% of Takapoto Angus bulls will be sold into the dairy industry. “Those guys are usually targeting low birth weight, short gestation bulls. But we also have beef clients who are more interested in carcass traits, growth, and maternal attributes. We breed for both, and it works quite well.” EXPERT RIPARIAN PLANTING & WEED SPRAYING SERVICES IN WAIKATO Whether you want to get rid of weeds or restore a streamside, Cambrilea can help. We provide contract weed spraying services for farms, public land or conservation areas in the Waikato and surrounding regions such as Auckland. On top of that, you can also call on us for your stream restoration project, as we provide full riparian planting services. 07 827 6868 or 021 833 221 charlie@cambrilea.co.nz www.cambrileaweedspraying.co.nz 24 years weedspraying Experience Cambrilea Riparian Planting 2017 - Before Cambrilea Riparian Planting 2022 - After Prespray/Supply & Plant all from our own Cambridge-based nursery Handgun/Spot Spraying targeted method uses 10% chemicals vs. Blanket Spraying Our mix provides bee feed 10 months of the year and qualifies for Carbon Credits Your Farm Animal Health Professionals Proud to provide a full range of veterinary services for Takapoto Angus Mon-Wed 8am - 7pm Thurs-Fri 8am - 5pm Sat 9am - 12.30pm Sun 9am - 12pm Empire Street 24 Hour Service 827 7099 or 0800 226 838 www.cambridgevets.co.nz
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