Rauriki bulls enjoying the fine weather on the hills.
Rauriki bulls enjoying the fine weather on the hills.
Simon and Wendy Collin of Rauriki Charolais are excited about the 21 bulls on offer at their eighth annual R2 Charolais bull sale.
This is their 22nd year of breeding and Simon says: “We’ve got some good young bulls coming forward.”
Of particular interest is a bull used in the 2021 mating season, Rauriki Ransom R51, who was used as a yearling and sold in 2022.
“We only got one crop of calves from Ransom and we’re pretty excited about how his progeny are shaping. They will be selling nine bulls he’s left - bulls that have growth, depth, softness, nice and sound and great growth figures - which is what Charolais are about.”
Rauriki Ransom R51 has good EBV data and his progeny are looking like very good prospects for the bull sale.
“We retained one bull of that line - a polled bull Rauriki Ransom T36 and are looking to incorporate him in the herd at a greater level for the 2024 mating season. He’s got lots of potential.”
Lot 1 bull, Rauriki Osca T81.
”One of our sires, Silverstream OSCA, has left a consistent line of bulls. Lot 1 bull, Rauriki Osca T81 is a homozygous polled bull and a really great prospect, he’s looking really well. He’s very quiet, with good data behind him and is certainly worth consideration.”
Polled bulls are becoming more of a market requirement and Simon says “we’re offering more polled bulls as we go along”.
”Lot 2 bull is Rauriki OCSA T33: I’ve got a lot of time for him. A moderate bull with a lot of presence. Great shoulder, and carrying good muscling.”
The Rauriki bulls have a lot of strength and power.
“We’ve got good data and also we’ve got some bulls that might be suitable to a heifer or for a dairy operation.
“This year we DNA tested, all are tested as calves and all bulls carry sire verification so we can have some confidence in that pedigree sire background. Sires can be identified through DNA and we’re heading down that road with dams.”
DNA testing has been carried out since 2020 and sire and dam verification is going to become more available as the years go by, he says.
Traits they’re looking for include homozygous polled, carcass evaluation for tenderness, cattle with a good degree of softness carrying intramuscular fat, combined with growth.
“We’re getting pretty good data on bloodlines here and we’re starting to get some good results on IMF figures.
“Technology is ever-evolving, and there are some traits we can get on board with in our genetic program, to offer bull buyers some added benefit to their breeding programme.”
Rauriki Charolais is holding its eighth annual R2 Charolais bull sale at 18 Ahiweka Rd, Dannevirke, on May 28, 2024. The bull walk will be held on May 14.
Enquiries are welcome and if you can’t make the open day you can make an appointment to view.
