Professional director and former head of NAB’s agribusiness division, Mike Carroll established the Widgeegona Angus herd at Derrinallum 10 years ago, with pure Te Mania blood foundation cows, purchased from Habbies Howe, in the Strathbogies.
It was great to read in the Stock and Land last week that the Te Mania bloodline and embracing cutting edge genetic management, has enabled Mike to fast track his herd to the point his major customer buys his cattle sight unseen.
He said that purchasing Angus cows from the long standing Team Te Mania herd, Habbies Howe, gave him everything he wanted for the high-marbling feeder steer market. High fertility, excellent calving ease, moderate mature cow weight and outstanding 400-day growth.
Mike pushes his operation hard, always looking to find the right balance between the maximum stocking rate, maximum kilograms of beef grown and the challenges of climate. He said “we synchronise all our heifers for AI for an August calving, and we do two rounds, to give a tight and easier to manage calving period. We consistently get AI conception rates around 80 percent, and this year it was 82 percent. The naturally-mated cows consistently average around 95 per cent.” Full story
Mike will be offering 49 Angus cows in the annual Team Te Mania Online Commercial Female Sale on AuctionsPlus, next Wednesday at 3pm EST.
Photos by Sal Patterson, Glenview, Lismore
