This Friesian bull called Lyssel is tempted by a cracker but prefers mandarins.
This Friesian bull called Lyssel is tempted by a cracker but prefers mandarins.
Big things are happening at the Tararua Breeding Centre just south of Woodville.
From August 1 it became owned by Totally Vets Ltd based in Feilding. It owns businesses in Palmerston North as well as Tararua Vets in Pahiatua and Dannevirke.
This doesn't mean the business is moving - far from it. It is expanding having bought the old stables in Woodville's Bevan Street formerly owned by Bruce Marsh.
This Simmental bull illustrates the wide variety of beef and dairy bulls which come to the Semen Collection Centre on SH2 south of Woodville.
Tararua Breeding Centre now owns three properties, its semen collection centre on SH2 just south of Woodville, its quarantine centre on Sowry Road and now Bevan Street.
It is a far cry from the bare land which former owner and now manager Robyn How purchased in 1997. Robyn bought the land because it was cheap enough to allow her to set up her semen collection centre. It has thrived allowing her to expand in Sowry Road in 2002 and now Bevan Street.
This Speckled Park bull called Cove featured on TV1's Country Calendar a month ago.
The Tararua Breeding Centre has established a global reputation and exports beef and dairy semen to most parts of the world. It does not own the bulls but collects the semen on the behalf of clients who send their bulls to the facility.
Firstly they have to be quarantined at Sowry Road. Bulls arrive at Sowry Road and are held and tested for four to five weeks before being sent on to the Semen Collection Centre on SH2. Some bulls stay for long periods, the longest being eight years.
Tighter European Union quarantine restrictions have meant until now semen could not be exported to the EU, so the Bevan Street property was bought to create those conditions. Substantial modification of the stables is planned using local businesses.
Laboratory and Cattle Technician Courtney Moffat has a very good rapport with the centre's bulls - in this case a Jersey bull called Vistar.
A wide variety of beef and dairy breeds are kept on the property, one of the more exotic being the Canadian Speckled Park, renowned for very high marbling of the meat. It featured on TV1's Country Calendar a month ago.
Closure of the Manawatu Gorge has affected both the staff, all of whom live in the Manawatu, and the bulls which are a bit less stable on their feet from crossing the Saddle Road, according to Manager Robyn How.
Plans for the expansion are in full swing.
"Totally Vets Ltd has had a long association with the Tararua Breeding Centre and it is delighted to add it to its stable,"
Totally Vets Ltd manager Chris Carter said. "Totally Vets Ltd has rapidly expanded its services to the local area in the last four years and this is a great chance to extend NZ Genetics to the EU. Already a number of breeders have indicated they will enrol their bulls in this facility."
