28 | Kakahu bulls the result of careful breeding Kakahu Farm has already bred Charolais with the dual focus of calving ease and rapid growth. Virginia Wright RURAL PEOPLE » Kakahu Angus Kakahu Farm in South Canterbury has been in the Hargreaves family for at least 100 years and four generations. They make good use of their combination of 1400 hectares of sheep and beef, and an additional 200 hectares of dairy next door, as they focus their breeding expertise on the growing dairy beef market. The Kakahu Angus Stud was established by Tom’s grandfather in 1954; the Kakahu Charolais Stud by Tom Hargreaves and his father in 2006, and by 2027 Tom intends to be selling straws from his newly developed Changus bulls. As with their Angus and Charolais these bulls are the result of careful breeding orchestrated to capture the key traits that the Hargreaves know the dairy industry needs to capitalise on an international shortage of beef that New Zealand could be part of meeting. Kakahu Farm has already bred Charolais with the dual focus of calving ease and rapid growth once they hit the ground, knowing that’s what dairy farmers wanting to move beyond the bobby calf market are looking for. “It’s a big thing for us. Five years ago we sold a couple of thousand straws, to this year I think we’ll probably push over 150,000 straws,” says Tom. “The quality of beef is good and the dairy sector is realising the opportunity presented to value add in their dairy cows creating a half beef animal that can meet international demand. America’s already doing it and the world’s closely following. We’ve got Charolais genetics in Ireland and Tasmania, and we’ve got Angus genetics going to Ireland this year. It’s about putting decent Charolais genetics, or Angus genetics or any decent genetics over dairy cows to produce a beef X calf which farmers can then sell on to finishers who sell them on to procurement companies.” Kakahu have spent 20 years breeding Charolais to enhance the twin traits of calving ease and rapid growth rather than sacrificing one for the other. Even the calving-ease Charolais still present a bigger calf than the Angus bred for the same thing which can make dairy farmers nervous, but at the same time they’re attracted to Charolais because their progeny are colour-marked, explains Tom. “Any calf born of a Charolais sire will be grey, cream or white, or if it’s a Kiwi-X Jersey mother it’ll be an orangey colour so they know instantly that it’s a beef-cross calf rather than a replacement which is not necessarily the case with an Angus sire as their calves come out black.” Understanding this the Hargreaves have further tuned their breeding to focus on producing bulls that are homozygous for white pigmentation which will produce that pale coloured hide that makes dairy farmers’ lives easier. “So essentially we’re creating a white Angus. Crossing the Angus and Charolais over multiple generations, so Changus over Changus, you end up finding certain animals that come out with the homozygous white coat gene. They’re effectively half Angus and half Charolais with all those Angus qualities that we know and love and dairy farmers want, including the calving ease and carcass qualities, together with the white coat.” It sounds easy but there’s a lot more genetic selection that goes with that focus to ensure that other traits aren’t being sacrificed along the way whether it’s temperament, structure, data or carcass quality. “We’re effectively developing a new pedigree line, or a new breed which, is really exciting, with Partners: Paul Wolffenbu�el | Jasveen Singh | Nick Krivan | Kalpesh Hari | Mark Evans HC Partners LP are proud to support Kakahu Angus 39 George Street, Timaru 7910 | PO Box 125, Timaru 7940 Email: hcmail@hcpartners.co.nz | Phone: 03 687 9222 | Website: www.hcpartners.co.nz PROUDLY SUPPORTING KAKAHU ANGUS YOU NEED THE BEST. TO LOOK AFTER THE BEST. When it comes to the transport of stud livestock you can’t go past Downlands Deer and Studstock. During the past 40 years, we have pioneered the way in studstock transportation with purpose built trucks, calm expert livestock handlers, efficient nationwide transport routing and now with visual tracking from pick up to delivery. Talk to Downlands Deer and Studstock today to ensure your livestock arrives in the best condition possible. Proud to support Kakahu Angus Phone - 03 685 4880 Mobile - 027 280 4831 Rd 17, Fairlie 7987 sires and the dams that are both heavily proven. We’re working closely with semen retailers and there’ll be some product available next year for the Changus and it should be widely available in 2027,” says Tom. In an industry already looking to move away from bobby calves for ethical reasons there’s now an opportunity for farmers to get up to $100 or $120 dollars for a 4-day old calf rather than $20 as a bobby. On a wider scale it’s an economic opportunity which according to Rabobank could add a $1.2 billion dollar beef boost to New Zealand’s dairy industry.
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