Page 5 - Merchiston Angus Catalogue ebook

FOREWORD & WELCOME

On behalf of the team here at Merchiston I extend a warm welcome once again for you all to attend our annual R2 year bull sale on
June 9th at 2.30pm.
This year’s sale will take on a slightly different format as it will be streamed live as a hybrid sale on the BIDR platform around NZ. If
COVID taught us anything, it is we must adapt with the changing circumstances we find ourselves in, so you may find yourselves
bidding against someone from Southland whom is not actually at the sale.
What a year it has been yet again but at least we have enjoyed freedoms that people in other countries around the world have not.
The drought of 2019/2020 was the worst in my farming career and we are still paying for it now. At weaning through to the winter
months stock performance plunged and this crop of bulls were the recipients of that as we struggled to feed them on anything other
than barley straw and some kibbled maize. Since then, we had a kind winter and quite a wet spring, then a good summer compared
to most. This group of bulls struggled earlier with weight gain but in the last two months have begun to pile on the weight to catch
up to where they should be. By sale day I hope they are somewhere in the ball park! Remember we don’t use a feed wagon, they
survive on grass, hay and or grass Baleage as they should!
In this year’s sires we welcome in Ben Nevis Metamorphic M51 and EF Prime Quarter as new AI sires and further our use of Ascot
Hallmark H147 and Te Mania Powerhouse 14434. This is a great group of Hallmark sons with no fewer than 15 of them, along with
a further three Te Mania 14434 sons. We also see a group of bulls by Merchiston Katoomba N175 whom was sold in 2019 to Owen
Maher as Lot 30.
This year has seen a group of Angus breeders shift the recording of their cattle to Australian Angus. As a life member of Angus NZ
and a former president it saddens me that these breeders felt they had to go to achieve what they want from breeding cattle in NZ.
This position should never have happened under astute and proper management here in NZ. We will remain with Angus NZ as long
as the current management considers all the breeders in NZ, not just what they believe in. There is much water to go under the
bridge yet and as commercial breeders you probably wont notice a great deal of difference.

At Merchiston we have always believed that the cow herd is the key to breeding success, the identification of superior cow families
and superior cows within those families. As we move forward you will see us identify superior cows that we will introduce to the herd
via sons e.g the Jean family from Ben Nevis, the Isobel family from Baldridge Angus, the Dream family from Banquet in Australia
and so forth. When this superior performance is crossed you will all benefit along with us.
As I write this, we are now looking for another satellite herd to perform a similar function to that of Glencorran. If any of you would
be interested in discussing this further, please get in touch with me.
As always, we extend many thanks to Mike, Kate, and Heather at Glencorran for their successful running of the satellite herd at
Rangiwahia. This partnership has got better and stronger over the years with bulls from both properties being sold as yearlings or
in this the two-year-old sale.
Thankyou one and all for your continuing support over the years. Please come to the sale even if you don’t require a bull this year,
we enjoy seeing you all and meeting new faces.

Kind Regards

ANGUSPURE BUYERS AND PROCESSORS

Silver Fern Farms
Wilson Hellabys Ltd Land Meats Belfast, Factory Road, Belfast Hawera, Tawhiti Road, Hawera
131 Portage Rd, 47 Bryce Street, Finegand, Yorston Road, Balclutha Dargaville, Tuna Street
PO Box 22 747 Private Bag 3026, Pacific, Rangitane Road, Whakatu, Hastings
Otahuhu Castlecliff
Auckland. Wanganui. Your Silver Fern Farms regional supplier managers are:
North Island:
Stuart Blake Ph:06 872 6678 Mobile: 0274 339 088
Contact for Livestock Contact for Livestock
Keith Cambie Peter Young South Island:
Ph: 09 270 9811 Ph: 06 344 1255 David Hannah Ph: 03 375 9639 Mobile: 0274 339 325
Mobile: 0275 997 300 Mobile: 0274 415 083 For any enquiries or to find out the field representative in your area
A/h: 09 377 8777 Email: petery@landmeat.co.nz please contact us directly at 0800 362362 or go to www.silverfernfarms.co.nz
www.anguspure.co.nz - online shop

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