| 41 Benatrade Angus some hardy stock Benatrade 21-22 (top). 2 year old Benatrade heifer and calf (below). Virginia Wright The farm where Dave and Juli Marshall have brought up four children while running their Benatrade Angus Stud is not for the fainthearted. Living on the southern edge of the South Island they’re New Zealand’s most southern Angus stud and look out their kitchen window across Foveaux Strait to Stewart Island. They choose the genetics for their stud accordingly and anyone buying a Benatrade bull knows they’re getting an animal that can withstand both sustained heat and endless rain as well as anything in between. That’s because they’re extremely picky with their genetics. They will AI 120 cows this year and will be using all New Zealand bred sires. One of Benatrade’s big things is calving 2 yr old heifers and having live calves on the ground. This year Benatrade achieved 53 live calves on the ground from the 55 stud heifers they mated. The average calving out of heifers in New Zealand generally tracks around 82% and Dave puts the Benatrade average of 95% down to them having maintained a specific focus on ease of calving for such a long time, and long time is exactly what he means. While the Benatrade stud was first registered by Dave and Juli Marshall 1994, they can date the pedigree of some of their cows back to the founding herd purchased by Dave’s grandfather in 1938. “The most profitable cattle beast on the ground is a live one,” says Dave. “So we concentrate on cows that have a high calving ease in order to do what we want to do which is breed bulls which have good calving ease.” To avoid the heavy birth weight that might adversely affect ease of calving Benatrade always select bulls that are under the breed average EBV (Estimated Breeding Value) of 4.3 for birthweight, which is between 36 and 38kgs. They pair that trait with a focus on animals with an above breed average for their 200 day weight, and they weigh everything at 200, 400 and 600 days. The results speak for themselves. “I was talking to one of our bull buyers this year, and he had 120 male calves with an average weaning weight of 260kgs. That on a hill country block is pretty exceptional, and it all adds up when you’re being paid dollars per kilo for a weaned calf,” says Dave. Another key trait for the Marshalls is fertility and for the last 15 years they’ve not used a bull with below average testicle size. “High fertility is usually governed by testicle size. What that means is a breed average EBV of 1.8, which in a raw measurement means we won’t use a bull under 40cm in testicle size,” explains Dave. For Dave and Juli it’s not all about the bulls either, they never lose sight of the fact that 50% of the genetics come from the cow. The strength that comes with having bred a herd that is comfortable with anything their southern environment can throw at them gives them a bit of leeway as they shop around for the genetics they want to introduce. They always select for fertility, calving ease, and 200 day weight, but right now they’re also chasing above breed average genetics for IMF (Intra-MusMEAT & WOOL » Benatrade Angus cular Fat) which doesn’t necessarily combine with high growth rates. Knowing there’s a bonus to be had for cattle that qualify with a high IMF, which could bring up to $500 more per animal at the works if they achieve the right grade, they figure it’s worth the effort. One way or another bulls are a big part of life for all the Marshalls. Juli and Dave’s daughter Natalie did a PhD exploring consumer eating preferences when it comes to what makes a good steak. She was pleased to confirm that having plenty of IMF was a desirable trait. Her twin Ben has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, but that doesn’t stop him and another of her brothers Travis, who has a global development delay and an unspecific genetic disorder, from being involved in the day to day running of the stud. Her third and youngest brother Wade is a professional bull rider doing the rodeo circuit in the States and Canada when he’s not working on cattle ranches or coming home to help out when he’s needed. Fair to say that the Benatrade Angus Stud is a family-run business in the true sense of the word. Proud to provide advice and accounting service to Benatrade Angus For friendly, personalised accounting and business advisory services Phone 03 218 7111 www.businessadvisors.co.nz 299 North Road, Invercargill Phone - 03 215 9237 vsi@vetservices.co.nz www.vetservices.co.nz Waikiwi Vet Services Ltd
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