Tangihau Angus hopes these yearling bulls might set another record come next year's sale. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Dean McHardy might just be seeing more than three decades worth of work starting to pay off.
For the past 35 years, he's been the general manager at Tangihau Station - a 6500-hectare sheep and beef farm west of Gisborne - and in charge of its breeding stud, Tangihau Angus.
"If they're suited here, they're going to be pretty much suited for anybody in New Zealand," he told Country Life as he checked on the latest yearling mob of bulls which will go under the hammer next year.
Last year, the stud broke the New Zealand on-farm sale record in 2024 with a bull - Lot 2 - selling for $135,000.
Then at this year's sale in June, it took the record for the highest priced bull in New Zealand across all breeds with Lot 16 which sold for $161,000.
Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts.
Tangihau Angus was founded in 1949 as a result of the difficulty they had in sourcing bulls that suited Tangihau's specific terrain and climate.
Last year's top bull was sold to Keith Higgins, of Oregon Angus in Masterton. Before that the record had been held for more than 30 years by a bull which sold for $155,000 in 1992.
Tangihau Angus also had the highest bull sale average in New Zealand for the season at $24,880 and it also sold a charity bull for $16,000 which helped raise funds for a new bus for the local school, Rere School.
Tangihau Station stud and general manager Dean McHardy has been breeding bulls on the property for 35 years now. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
The bulls are sold via on-farm sales each June, with a custom sale barn built to hold up to 300 people. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
When McHardy first started, there were 65 stud cows. It's now calving 240.
Next year marks the sixth on-farm sale. Earlier it had run combined sales in Gisborne.
"Of course there's five other breeders who got five other lots of bulls that they can all hear and smell and upset them at times, so it's perfect here."
Running them at the station also means less transport stress for the stock and allows potential buyers to see where the animals have been raised.
Tangihau U418 sold for $161,000 to Oregon Angus in Masterton with owner Keith Higgins totally thrilled with the prized Angus bull. Photo: supplied
From the station peak at an elevation of about 650 metres above sea level, McHardy explained the farm was very steep which means the bulls have to be "good on the ground".
Calves are born on the flats and after a few days walked up to the hill country where they are reared.
"We get snow up here and so we can go from snow to drought. Snow in the winter doesn't sort of stay for long, but it does snow.
"You can see why we need to breed cattle with positive fats. They've got to carry their own hay barn with them here. We can't feed out. It's too steep. We can't get tractors or anything out around here."
Dean McHardy says the latest mob of bulls are coming along nicely. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
McHardy said it was a "slow process" breeding better cattle, having been selecting for the right qualities for 30 of his 35 years as manager.
It can take several years selective breeding to achieve results for a specific trait - be that colour, backlines, or feet type. He'll focus on fixing one before turning to other qualities.
His focus has been on breeding to the "middle of the road" rather than chasing extreme EBV (estimated breeding value) traits.
He wants "big barreled" bulls - "just good functional cattle".
"The structural soundness, the depth that we've been bringing. The nature - nice and quiet. I think it all helps and [they're] very good meat value."
Located, about 45km west of Gisborne, Tangihau Station operates over 6653-hectares. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
Tangihau Station recently rolled out wearables for part of its commercial herd. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life
It's these qualities which other stud breeders and commercial buyers are wanting to introduce into their own herds, McHardy said.
He hopes to sell up to 70 bulls next year - up from 48 this year. And of course he's hoping to see more records set.
With the yearling bulls already weighing about half a tonne, he was quietly hopeful it would be a good sale day come June.
"They're coming along well. They're right up with last year."
Learn more:
You can learn more about Tangihau Angus, here.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
