| 21 nzdairy Quality beef from traditional dairy herds Bernadette Cooney Jersey beef is gaining popularity as a quality grass-fed beef and raising beef stock can be a profitable sideline for the dairy industry says Whangarei Heads farmer Murray Jagger. Operating 320 ha of Jersey-Angus cross cattle alongside their 230-ha dairy platform, Manaia View Farms is proof that quality beef can be produced from traditional dairy herds. “It’s a common misconception that if you use Jersey for beef, then the fats are going to be yellow and that’s not quite true. Straight Jerseys yes, but when you cross them with good high growth rate Angus bulls they are just as good, if not better than other beef crosses,” Murray says. The Jaggers have farmed in the district since the 1850’s. “My grandfather and his brother used to have a cream run up the Whangarei harbour, by boat, picking up from the wharves, all the milk cans and taking them into town for processing.” Having grown up the family farm, Murray went on to study agriculture at Massey University where he met his wife, Helen. The farm had the opportunity to grade up in the early 1990’s under the Jersey Recovery Scheme and today produces around 200,000kg MS per year, herd production from 650 Jersey cows. Today, the herd genetics BW rank in the top five percent. Their AI genetics are sourced from Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) and heifer mating bulls are sourced from Chris Biddle of Te Atarangi Angus stud. Bulls are selected for calving ease and high growth rates. They aim to grow animals out at two and a half years of age. “We focus on 600-day growth, so we are looking for carcass yield for the Angus-Jersey cross cattle,” Murray says. “We rear all of our Angus Jersey cross cattle through, and we finish them ourselves.” “We AI the Jersey for replacements for the first five weeks and then we shift to AI short gestation Angus and carry that through until just before Christmas.” Murray says. “And the heifers the same. The top 100 heifers get mated to AI Jersey and then the Angus go across with high EBV Angus Bulls.” DAIRY PEOPLE » Manaia View Farms All the Jersey Angus cross cattle calves are kept and reared to finishing. Whangarei Heads farmers Murray and Helen Jagger. All the Jersey Angus cross cattle calves are kept and reared to finishing. Carcass weights range from between 260 to 290kgs for early finishers and between 300 to 330kgs for late group finishers. Finishing his own calves added to the meat production value chain and helped mitigate the bobby calf challenge Murray says. “One of the pressures that is coming on the industry is that all animals must go into the value chain. So, we elect to carry our high genetic value calves through, so we have minimal calves on the bobby truck.” Murray is also currently chairman of Northport Ltd, Marsden Maritime Holdings and North Tugz Ltd. And he is a chartered fellow with the NZ Institute of Directors as well as deputy chief fire officer for FENZ Whangarei Heads and a former director of LIC New Zealand. Servicing the Whangarei area for 55 years Proudly supporting Manaia View Farms Business Advisors & Chartered Accountants Proudly Supporting Manaia View Farms Ltd www.yhpj.co.nz (09) 470 0400 NOW OFFERING Commercial Property Management Services! • Lime / Fertiliser • Muck / Waste Spreading • Spreadmark Certified / GPS PETER McQUINN GROUNDSPREAD NORTHLAND Phone Peter - Mobile: 0274 931 394
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