Breeding Objective
“We believe that through the use of the best technologies available we can assist in moving our customers bottom lines upwards.”
Our goals
Our aim is to improve the profitability of our customers and their beef business. We believe that through the use of the best technologies available we can assist in moving our customers bottom lines upwards. If beef farmers do not have increasing economic returns we will drive further land use conversions to dairying or more other profitable uses.
Storth Oaks are leading the way in the Angus breed with our selection for marbling, EMA and good carcase weights. Docility and excellent structure are non-negotiable.
Fertility is paramount
We place huge emphasis on fertility as this is the most important trait, economically. We’re looking for animals with good calving ease, so they will calve unassisted and the progeny will bend the typical curve—growing rapidly to 400 days. At the same time we are maintaining a moderate maturity pattern to keep her feed costs down.
Ensuring top eating quality
The discerning beef consumer is the driver of all profit, with their demand pulling right back through the supply chain. For this reason we are looking to build in good carcase attributes.
Marbling is recognized as the key indicator of beef ‘eating well’—providing juicy, tender and flavoursome meat, consistently. Marbling doesn’t cost anything to include in the breeding mix so why not add it into your selection criteria?
The AngusPRO index ($PRO) is a real help to farmers who wish to work with an economic model—combining relevant traits in a typical self-replacing herd, going on to sell surplus steers and heifers for prime beef and hopefully process into the AngusPure programme.
Enhancing gains
To enable us to use the very best genetics, for many years now we have used AI and ET programmes to enhance our gains. All females are AI’d using a fixed time synchronised AI programme, for two cycles. We have always (since the stud’s inception in 1991) calved 2 year old heifers and these animals are AI’d for two cycles and then mated to a follow up yearling bull for the third cycle. The aim is to have everything in calf in 2 cycles or they are culled.
The graph below illustrates the Storth Oaks herd’s genetic trend for AngusPRO index ($PRO), compared to the breed.
