56 | Mastered the art of cattle breeding Steer calves at weaning. Karen Phelps In the steep hills of the Taieri Gorge, Lambhill Station has mastered the art of cattle breeding in one of the country’s most challenging farming environments. The 4,550-hectare property, managed by Chris Thomson and his family for the past 20 years, has developed a successful approach that complements its wider business. “Our aim with cattle is to focus on the maternal side - a moderate sized cow that can climb a hill, survive a tough winter, produce a good saleable calf and get back in calf again,” says Chris Thomson who runs the station alongside his wife Lucy. The cattle side of the farm forms an important part of Lambhill’s overall mix, which includes 10,400 ewes and 840 cows including 188 in-calf R2 heifers. The property also winters over 500 mixedsex calves annually. “Cattle are important as far as cleaning up pastures go. Our main surplus of feed is around December and January and having that number of cows enables us to use them to clean up pastures and developed hill country that’s got away,” explains Chris. “They fit in well as there is less labour involved as opposed to sheep and we have a fair amount of wintering country for cows.” The station sells approximately 250 steer calves in March or April with the remainder of steers and heifer calves kept through winter for sale at 12 months old in November. Chris says this helps manage the property’s seasonal feed challenges, with a grass growing season sometimes limited MEAT & WOOL » Lambhill-Hindon to just three to four months, with no grass growth from mid-May to mid-September. “The hardest thing is making sure that cows are heading into winter in good condition to survive without any supplements. That’s why we run Angus cattle and why I buy the types of bulls that I do that have good maternal values. Angus know how to climb a hill, forage and are quick to put weight back on when the feed is put in front of them in the spring and get back in calf. We wean all the calves and lambs early - calves by 20th February and lambs by 20th December. This helps with better weight management of ewes and cows during the potentially dry months of January and February and into the autumn. We sell most of our stock as store here, so it’s about getting it to as good a weight as we can prior to sale date. It’s important to have good relationships with finishers.” The harsh environment at Lambhill, with altitudes ranging from 180m to 700m above sea level and frequent winter snowfalls, has shaped the station’s breeding philosophy. Most of its bulls come from Fossil Creek Angus in North Otago or Stern Angus in South Canterbury. “They both breed the type of cattle I want for this property - moderate sized cows, good fertility, good fats, good easy doing type cattle. Their blood lines have a good reputation with the finishers as well that buy our store stock,” says Chris. Currently achieving a 90% calving rate, Lambhill aims to increase this to the mid-90s while maintaining its focus on producing cattle that perform well in challenging conditions and meet the needs of finishers. PO BOX 128, BALCLUTHA 9240 PHONE 03-417 8485 • PHONE 0800-101 333 • FAX 03 417 8488 PHONE (03) 444-4737 RD3 Ranfurly 9397 Phone Robert 021 090 45608, James 03 614 7080 or Donald 021 187 8186 963 Cleland Road, Pleasant Point www.sternangus.co.nz Winter Sale, 19th June 2025 - 1pm EwanAllanHondaMosgiel Pleased to support Lambhill-Hindon 119 Dukes Road North, Mosgiel 03 486 1222 | 027 250 7512
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