This breed leaves a good taste in the mouth
go well too.’’
Tangihau’s annual sale is held at the Gisborne Combined Angus bull sale on June 29 in conjunction with three other angus studs.
Tangihau will offer 16 bulls for sale with about 70 up for sale in total.
‘‘We breed them for ourselves for our commercial cows so we keep what we want and the surplus go to the sale,’’ he says.
The station has 1600 commercial cows and also calves 185 stud cows including yearling heifers, all angus.
Tangihau Station’s Angus Stud was founded in 1949 to establish an angus herd capable of performing under frequent extreme weather conditions. McHardy has managed since 1990. Situated 44 kilometres west of Gisborne, the 6555 hectare station is described as medium to steep hill country that generally endures a dry summer with an average rainfall of 1000mm and very little to no rain from January to March. Structurally-sound cattle are needed on the station, which rises from 90 metres above sea level to 640m.
‘‘We can go from drought to snow so we need cattle that can handle those extreme conditions. We also need fertile cattle because obviously we need calves . . . these bulls go over our commercial herd.
‘‘Temperament is also a big one. They have to be quiet so we can handle them and move them.’’
Tangihau Station also carries 16,000 romdale ewes. ANGUS entries dominated 14 of the 16 finalist positions they were eligible for at the 2016 Steak of Origin competition.
"The Steak of Origin results are a testimony of the hard work and dedication that angus breeders are putting into growing quality beef for the consumer,’’ says Angus New Zealand communications manager Sarah Ivey.
‘‘Angus is at the forefront of the beef industry and this clean sweep proves how far ahead of the rest we really are."
Brendon and Hayley Robinson from Hawera took out the Grand Champion title at the event’s gala dinner in Palmerston North with an angus-cross sirloin steak. It was deemed to be the most tender and tasty in the country by a line-up of top New Zealand chefs the grand final taste test.
The winner was chosen from 20 finalists based on criteria such as aroma, tenderness, juiciness and taste.
14 of those 20 finalists included angus or angus-cross steaks (including four in a European section angus was not eligible for).
After winning the grand champion title last year, father/ son duo Angus and Forbes Cameron from Ngaputahi Station near Ashhurst came first and third in the Best of Breed: British section with an angus steak processed at Silver Fern Farms in Hastings and Land Meat Wanganui (respectively).
Forbes Cameron says the ongoing recognition of the quality of the steaks from his cattle were testament to their natures.
‘‘I’ve always said docility and quiet handling helps with that tenderness.’’
The supreme brand champion was Countdown North Island and the processor of the grand champion was ANZCO Foods.
Countdown North Island with a CD Finest Angus entry was first and second in the retail section with steaks from Ridgewood Farms and Takapoto, respectively, both processed at Auckland Meat Processors. It also won the wholesale and foodservice section with an angus Takapoto steak processed at Auckland Meat Processors.
The Steak of Origin challenge originated from a national carcass competition, when a taste element was introduced to raise consumer awareness of the qualities of beef steak. The competition, sponsored by Zoetis, is in its 14th year.
Steak of origin winner Brendon Robinson says having healthy, happy animals could be one of the reasons they won the competition.
He says his animals are well fed and live a contented life while on his South Taranaki property.
The Robinsons have been leasing a 24-hectare block at Normanby for five years.
With the downturn in the dairy industry, the couple decided to move from dairy heifer grazing to buying and grazing their own stock.
They buy weaner calves at 100kg, mainly hereford or angus cross from dairy farmers, and aim for a minimum 220kg carcass weight at 18-20 months processed by Silver Fern Farms, Hawera.
The couple don’t farm fulltime – outside of farming hours Brendon is a shift engineer at the Kapuni Gas Treatment Plant in South Taranaki and Hayley works at an accountancy firm in Hawera.