Gestation length
OUR PHILOSOPHY
We breed cattle that will enhance your bottom-line.
We have invested significant time and effort into searching for the right genetic material to enhance our breeding programme here at Gold Creek.
Since the Stud’s inception in 2009, we have been running an extensive Embryo Transfer Programme using the best sourced genetics from Canada, USA and South Africa, all sourced via Woonallee Simmentals in Australia.
We have also flushed the very best cows we have on farm to continually lift the quality of calves produced. Every year all mixed age cows are synchronised then inseminated for one cycle – usually with imported semen – then backed up with bulls sourced from studs around New Zealand.
All registered animals have 50k SNP profiles. This will be very useful moving forward helping us to make faster more accurate breeding decisions. It also means calves are parentage verified so clients can be sure pedigrees are correct.
We focus our eye on the end product
We place great emphasis on producing faster finishing, high yielding fleshy cattle. We want to put more meat on a smaller frame than traditional Simmentals, which is one of the main reasons for sourcing genetic material from beyond the shores of New Zealand as well.
To measure the progress of our breeding programme and to select the best replacements, all cattle between 12 and 15 month are scanned for eye muscle area, p8 fat, rib fat depth and IMF. We also closely monitor carcase yields on cull animals sent for slaughter, with most yielding in excess of 60%
Ensuring we are delivering what our clients need.
We aim to breed predominantly polled cattle. This is something our industry is increasingly moving towards, even more so since new legislation came into effect, which mandates the use of a local anaesthetic for the process of dehorning and debudding. Whilst we champion this move and support animal welfare, we are also very passionate about saving our clients time and money. Producing naturally polled cattle solves this problem.
Whilst ensuring the full package is top quality
Above all, all cattle must be structurally sound, mobile and capable in hill-country. Breeding females are assessed yearly, and all sale bulls are independently assessed by beef class assessor, Bill Austin.
Cattle must be docile – there are no exceptions here. In order to ensure this we continually assess for temperament. All calves are given a docility score at weaning, which is then submitted to PBBNZ in order to generate official EBVs for temperament. Sale bulls are also independently scored for docility at the time of their structural assessment.
BULL PERFORMANCE RECORDING
We measure multiple traits, and endeavour to do this at the same time each year, and record in a specialise software programme – Herdmaster.
Traits measured include:
EBV’s EXPLAINED
EBVs are the estimated breeding values of a sire or dams offspring and are used to compare animals across herd within the same breed. Read more here
