MARKETS
Eating quality
Station’s premiums high BY: TONY LEGGETT
A
strong emphasis on improving eating quality is delivering substantial premiums at slaughter for beef cattle from Mount Linton Station in
Southland. The station’s general manager Ceri Lewis also runs the cattle operation, comprising 2400 commercial cows and an 800 cow Angus stud. “We’re very fortunate to have the commercial side to the business because it acts like a benchmark for our stud cattle programme. We can see the progeny coming through, getting killed and see their kill results, the marble scores and the carcase weights,” he says. Three key areas are focused on to ensure eating quality – genetics, feeding and management.
“Without genetics, you’re never going to get there. If you haven’t got an animal that’s got a genetic propensity to marble, (it) doesn’t matter what you feed them or how you manage them, it’s not going to come through.” Lewis says the aim is to have cattle that are fed to grow every day. “Our target is to grow them at 0.75kg1kg a day throughout their lives. That’s from the day they’re born, right through to slaughter.” “We’re targeting a 300kg carcase animal at Mount Linton, minimum, because we find that if they’re not up to 300 kilos then they don’t express that marbling, so that’s a minimum.” “You do need a level of rib fat and rump fat because we need it to be prime enough to be able to finish at 300 - 325kg before its second birthday and to do that, we need some fat in the system. “
Mount Linton Station general manager Ceri Lewis.
Once the Mount Linton calves are weaned they go on to hill country over the winter for six months on swedes and kale. In spring, they are mustered down the hill onto what Lewis calls “rocket fuel mix”, a clover dominant pasture with both red and white clover, plus plantain and fescue.
TE TAUMATA 42ND ANNUAL POLL HEREFORD BULL SALE BULL S TE TAUMATA 41ST ANNUAL POLL HEREFORD
MAY 26th 2021 at 1.00pm
For electronic sale catalogue and pictures go to:
www.tetaumata.co.nz
Te Taumata Foundation 14684
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27 BULLS OFFERED FOR SALE
BVD VACCINATED • TB C10 • CARCASE SCANNED • FREE DELIVERY BEEF INDUSTRY DRIVEN PERFORMANCE FOR OVER 50 YEARS POLL HEREFORDS Est. 1962
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Alistair & Eileen 06 372 7861 Email: studstock@tetaumata.co.nz 150 Te Kopi Road, Gladstone, Wairarapa www.tetaumata.co.nz
Country-Wide Beef
May 2021