Our two programs have been pursuing very similar selection goals and with the recent increased emphasis on beef quality in New Zealand and with the increasingly global marketplace, our selection goals are essentially the same today. As such, it was an easy decision to combine our genetic predictions into a single analysis. It is no surprise that the animal rankings stayed very much the same as what had been predicted in both separate analyses. While Rissington and Leachman have somewhat distinct environments, the birth weights, weight per day of age through 400 day, and mature cow weights are very similar as are ultrasound comparisons. This exciting development allows our cattle to be truly compared on a global scale. Annually we host a group of customers on a trip to the US to the Leachman Spring Bull Sale in March. This enables us to see first-hand the latest genetics and developments and keep abreast of market developments. Leachman Cattle of Colorado is based in Fort Collins, Colorado and has co-operator breeders throughout the US, selling over 2,000 bulls annually.
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Leachman Cattle of Colorado
One of our key partners and friends in the business is the Leachman family whom we have been working closely with for 30 years.
GrowSafe Systems
In 2018 we partnered with GrowSafe Systems and invested in their technology to capture information on individual animal feed intake on our bulls.
This is a first in New Zealand and an exciting development for us and our customers and partners. With over 70% of production costs being feed we understand the necessity to measure.
Zoetis
Zoetis is a global animal health company. They discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, which are complemented by biodevices, genetic tests and precision livestock farming. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals in more than 100 countries. Zoetis has one of the broadest portfolios of animal genetics products and support services in the industry. Their advanced genetic solutions are tailored to provide accurate genetic predictions that can help livestock producers across species and regions increase the economic returns on their breeding programs.
We have been a long time customer of Zoetis but now working together with the USA and NZ/Aus based team as part of the Leachman global partners group. As a group we collectively contributed our data of more than 1.2 million animals as the primary data source in the development of the Zoetis Inherit Select product. This enables our NZ customers to generate the same breeding values and $Profit(r) indexes to rank their heifer replacements and cows on future profitability just as we have do in our seedstock herd – all through a simple DNA test. After more nearly 50 years of performance recoding our beef cattle and a 30 year partnership with Leachman it is a huge milestone to be part of this collaboration allowing customers to directly benefit in the selection of their females and not just the bull or semen they purchase from us. See Inherit Select to learn more about the information and other benefits.
Kakahu
Located south of Geraldine, South Island in NZ the property is 1200 hectares ranging from river flats to steeper hills. 250 hectares are irrigated. Kakahu has an Angus and Charolais stud. The Angus stud was started in 1954 by KH Hargreaves, Gerald’s father, and now we run 550 cows with around 100 of these at Clayton Station. The Charolais Stud was started in 2006 by Gerald and Tom, and now has 80 cows. They have two cattle sales a year, selling 100 Angus bulls and 20 Charolais bulls in June, and 60 Angus yearlings in October plus they sell approximately 200 Kakahu bred commercial heifers for sale throughout the Spring.
We have known and respected the Hargreaves family for there commitment to breeding great cattle with great data which lead them to join us on the Leachman global analysis in 2020 and in turn opening their customers, like ours, to the ability to leverage that information through the Inherit Select product from Zoetis.
Paringa Livestock
Tom & Olivia Lawson run Paringa Livestock at Yea in Victoria, Australia, breeding Angus, Charolais & Stabilizer bulls.
They are also part of Leachman global analysis which has allowed us to share genetics across the Tasman for mutual benefit. Lawsons have a proud history in cattle breeding not too dissimilar to our own so it’s no coincidence that we have been working closely with them for over 10 years now.
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Animal Breeding Services
ABS are specialists in reproductive technologies.
We have worked together since the 90’s refining synchronized AI in beef cows & heifers with great success. Since 2010 we have also been heavily involved in developing our customised bull breeding with them, utilising TVR (trans-vaginal recovery), IVP (in vitro production), and sexed semen technologies to rapidly accelerate our genetic gain. ABS have a very experienced group of staff that are world class at what they do, which is why we have been working closely together for over 20 years.
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