| 45 Angus cattle the answer for Westfield James Dickson of Westfield Angus in a paddock of yearling bulls. Anthony Cox, Grant Dickson and James Dickson of Westfield Angus in a paddock of yearling bulls. Kelly Deeks MEAT & WOOL » Westfield Angus An emerging Angus stud in Western Southland, Westfield Angus, is committed to competing with the rapidly growing meat substitute market, by bringing to Kiwi plates what plant-based alternatives will never be able to - beautiful 100% grass fed New Zealand Angus cuts. Grant, Janene, and their son James Dickson of Westfield Farms near Otautau are dairy farmers who had initially turned to Angus bulls as a way to reduce and hopefully eliminate the need for bobby calves to be part of their operation, as well as a means of self-containing their operation during the M Bovis outbreak. When James saw a herd of Angus cattle running around a tussock block on a visit to Mount Hamilton Station near Te Anau, it just took one look for him to decide he could take things a bit further. “Angus cattle are a lot easier finishing and fattening than the friesian bulls we were using,” James says. “They had to be fed really well and always were harder to get finished prior to that second winter, especially after doing a dairy service. We bought some well-bred Angus bulls from Sudeley, Meadowslea, and Te Mania that are breeding very well for us.” The Dicksons need about 50 bulls a year to service their dairy property. “Once we started using Angus cattle, we decided we wanted animals with records and breeding values as a lot of the time, numbers don’t lie.” They began purchasing stud cattle from Angus studs around the country including Matauri, Stern, Meadowslea, and Merchiston and after a few years of breeding their own bulls, began to see some real progress in their programme and are now starting to sell recorded bulls through Jamie Shepherd and the team at Rural Livestock. “We understand this is a long game and can take 5-10 years before we really start cranking into it, but we are happy with the traction that we are starting to make.” James believes the market is looking for animals with good intramuscular fat, and good meat yield. “With all the synthetic meat that’s coming through, they might be able to replicate a patty or sausage, but the one thing they are never going to be able to replicate is a good quality Angus steak.” He says the synthetic meat industry is his competition, just as alternative milk options have been competing with the family dairy operation for many years. “They are going to be the competition for us, especially if they believe they can do it cheaper, and more environmentally friendly.” The Dicksons are upping their environment game with pine tree planting to offset emissions, riparian plantings, and running a low stocking rate through the winter. They try to make sure all bulls and fattened cattle aren’t taken through a second winter, killing everything at 18 months. Three years into their journey with Westfield Angus, things are progressing nicely for the Dicksons. They now have 110 stud recorded cattle and 80 commercial cows, their next goal is to hit 200 recorded stud cows. NZ Owned & Operated. Est 1988 Jamie Shepherd – 027 473 0800 Anthony Cox – 027 208 3071 www.rurallivestock.co.nz Rural Livestock are proud to have an associa�on with Wes�ield Angus Complete Silage, Baling, Cultivation, Effluent, Spraying & Excavator Contracting Service Phone: 03 225 8488 Rabco Ag Ltd E-mail: admin@rabco.nz Web: www.rabbitt.co.nz
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