BREEDING PHILOSOPHY What sets our bulls apart from the rest is their strength of breeding and the challenging environment in which they are bred. Good stud breeders replicate the conditions of their target market. Matching our farm conditions, both breeding and environmental to the conditions of our customers is something that we at Waikura are constantly striving to achieve. We do this because we believe that our customers want to buy bulls from a breeder who has a similar breeding philosophy and environmental conditions to their own. For example, if as a commercial breeder you are mating your yearlings, you need to buy bulls from a breeder who is doing the same. Similarly, if your cows calve on tough hill country then go to a breeder whose farm is located on tough hill country. At Waikura, our cattle are pushed to the limited on steep hill country, exposed to high stocking rates and are not given any second chances when it comes to fertility, structure or performance. We apply real commercial pressure to our stock, running over 10 stock units per hectare, which is higher than the district average for a farm that ranges in elevation from 800 – 2300 feet. All yearling heifers are mated and only those that get in calf are retained in the stud. We have a policy that any heifer or cow that is assisted at calving for size or shape is culled. Similarly, in our Romney flock we only keep ewe hogget’s that get in lamb. In our breeding programs, we believe that structure and fertility are number one and EBVs are another useful tool. EBVs do work and should be used to your advantage. We have found them to be accurate and a good indication of an animal’s performance, especially at higher levels of accuracy. Good stud breeders have a sound understanding of what they want to achieve and know exactly what they are looking for, therefore, over time a consistent line of cattle are produced. We believe that our cattle are a sound reflection of this. Breeding like animals to like animals create consistent EBVs and these can be confidently depended on. Fertility is important to us, and therefore, we avoid bulls with high birth weights and poor calving ease EBVs in their pedigrees. We are conscious not to select for one trait alone, and analyse our cattle holistically taking into account all the information which is available on the individual and its family. We believe that the greatest limitation of EBVs is centered around breeders not having a goal in mind when deciding on their mating’s. To often good bulls with EBVs that don’t suit the target market or bulls with extreme EBVs are used as a quick fix to a problem. Our herd is always open to visitors and we welcome you to come and see our breeding program in action.
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