From the late 1970s Don began using Charolais bulls over his own cows, buying bulls from the Lomas family at Patoka, who were one of the first to import polled American Charolais into New Zealand.

He’s run his stud for the past 12 years, buying stock at dispersal sales himself. More recently he bought the best of Gerald Kemp’s Pouriwai stud from Gisborne.

His objective is to produce quiet, fast growth rate polled Charolais bulls which when mated to any cow – whether horned or polled – produce polled offspring and easy calving.

“We have to be one step ahead of the industry as a seedstock producer. Commercial farming depends on stud breeders making the right decisions to produce beef castle that can perform and are profitable for commercial farmers.”

Temperament is the number one trait he selects for. “They must be absolutely quiet,’ he says. Calving ease and growth to 600 days are also very important traits.

The stud has been built up slowly and now there are no commercial cattle on the farm. They had 140 cows calving last year. This year sires are from Canada, the United States of America and two of their own bulls were used.

They sell about 30-40 bulls a year, all privately in paddock sales. Four other Charolais studs bought bulls this year, and the rest have gone to commercial farmers.

The cattle are recorded with the Colorado State University recording scheme, which is an across all NZCCS herds evaluation. Don thinks they are very forward thinking and innovative in their work at Colorado.