What an amazing feature in the 2023 NZ Herefords Magazine with a lovely writeup by Rob Tipa on the farm and family, Lauries outstanding contribution to Hereford Prime, a shoutout to Groundswell and also a spotlight on some of our wonderful clients the Helliers.
2020 is a special year for Hereford breeders and Waikaka Station’s Ross Paterson is preparing to be part of the action.
The south will play host to close to 400 people from all over the world attending the Boehringer Ingelheim World Hereford Conference in early March and the conference has been planned to incorporate a special Hereford feature show at the Wanaka A&P show on March 13.
“The feature show will be a very special day for southern South Island Hereford breeders. It’s a big showcase for the Hereford breed.” Mr Paterson said. The family has not entered their cattle into a show arena for a number of years but he said it was a fantastic event to get behind.
The Paterson’s shepherd Lisa Bonenkamp is also lined up as a reserve for the New Zealand team competing in Young Breeders Competition which is being held in conjunction with the conference.
Pre and post conference tours have been arranged by the New Zealand Hereford Assocation and Mr Paterson said about four bus-loads of people will come to the family’s station for a short tour and stud viewing. “We will get some animals close to the yard and show some examples of our breeding programme.”
For Mr Paterson hosting the conference group was a great opportunity to meet like-minded people who were just as passionate about the Hereford breed as he and his family are. “It can be nothing but positive for us, it’s a great opportunity to get our name out there and network with people in our industry.”
Mr Paterson comes from a family of passionate Hereford breeders. His father Laurie is a long-time stalwart of the Hereford breed and has been involved with industry matters over a number of years. He is a past president of the Hereford Association and was one of the instigators of Hereford Prime he has been a director since it began in 1992 chairman since 2000.
Mr Paterson’s mother Sharon came from a Hereford breeding background and her family continues to run Waiau Herefords at Tuatapere. “Herefords are in my breeding,” he laughs.
Following the conference and feature show, the Paterson’s will turn their focus to their on-farm stud sale on May 28. This year the stud will have 25 to 30 rising 2 year old Hereford bulls up for sale, the majority of these being Polled Herefords.
The stud has had to evolve over time, taking into account the changing desires of their buyers and this has meant moving from a horned breed to a polled one in an effort to stay at the top of their game and appeal to a wider selection of breeders. “Historically the horned Hereford was thought to be a hardier type of cattlebeast, but the polled has caught up, and we are excited about the results we are seeing coming through from the polled Genetics we have introduced.”
“ The purchase of Monymusk Eiffel Tower in 2011 was a game changer for us, and with the addition of Otapawa Red Wolf and Waikaka Hustler to the herd, this years Polled Bulls are our strongest line up yet.”
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