Belted galloways are in demand by dairy farmers who are seduced by their ease of calving and the good growth of their calves, says Carolyn Dawson.
She has a herd of 28 cattle in total, of which 25 are galloways at her Te Raku Flats Belted Galloways stud on a 16 hectare farm near Foxton.
Dawson has cows and calves on the property, and heifers out grazing on a nearby farm with a belted galloway bull, which is red with the famous white stripe around its belly and back.
The bull’s name is Castle Innis, and it came to Dawson from a farm in Waikanae, about three years ago.
After a wild start, the bull has settled in.
Dawson has been breeding «belties» since 1992.
«I love the distinctive nature of the belted galloways. As a child, my grandmother had cards of cattle types. One was of belted galloways. I think I loved them from that time on.»
She used to have a dairy farm with her husband Bill near Foxton Beach.
Dawson’s affinity with the galloways took a step closer when she bought her first four belted galloways from a Graham Clinton at Okiwa Stud at Whanganui. They were three six month old heifers and a six month old bull.
Bill used them to help break-in his rough country. They were not registered and the last one went to the meat plant in 2009 with the four cattle producing a total of 15 calves.
That was the nucleus of Dawson’s herd.
She is a strong supporter of the breed.
«They are easy calving, the calves grow well, they are hardy-eating on rough feed, and they produce great meat with yields that are in excess of other breeds.»
Dairy farmers are attracted to the breed.
Dawson says she sells most of her male belted galloways to Levin dairy farmer, Hugh Campbell.
«In all my years of breeding belties, I have never had to calve even one.»
She said it wasn’t like that when they were dairy farming – calving some cows was a regular occurrence.
«These galloways are docile and naturally polled [without horns] and they are very long lived. There was someone with a registered herd, who had a female which died when she was 25. She had a calf each year.»
Dawson says the breed was established in New Zealand in 1947. There are herds around the world and galloway cattle in North America are bigger in frame..
That is something she is not a fan of and Dawson plans on getting some semen from Scotland to keep her cattle traditional.
The breed is about the size of most traditional cattle and are bred for an average frame size of 450-500 kilograms for the females and males at 700-850kg. Dawson says her belted galloways are bigger in the body and shorter in the leg than most traditional breeds of cattle.
«People often think they are smaller because they have shorter legs. But they have a high ratio of meat to waste products.»
Originally the belted galloways were kept by the women of the clan in Scotland for milking.
Breed society members believe in today’s tough economic times, the belties’ advantages of high calving percentages, high conversion rates (especially from rough pasture), sure footedness, disease resistance and high quality marbled meat cannot be ignored.
They cope with the hard winter better than other breeds. kill out at better weights, and are renowned for their quietness.
«We run 140 belties on really rough country. Initial attempts to run two other breeds resulted in 15 and 35 per cent losses due to the rugged terrain and harsh conditions. Belties reduced our losses to 5 per cent, and that was without hay,» says a farmer in the Waitotara Valley near Turakina.
The belted galloways to be registered, must have the white belt right around the middle, and none or very little white on their feet.
«We built the house in 1986,» says Dawson. «Then we went down south for seven years and during that time, the belties looked after themselves.»
A friend kept an eye on them and put the bull out on June 1. Dawson and her husband returned each year to mark the calves and check the stock but the rest of the time, the cattle were fine.
Dawson likes them for their distinctive markings and their hardiness.
«We hardly ever drench them. We do it once a year, but they probably don’t need it.»
Last year Dawson said she had 10 calves comprised of one bull and nine heifers. This year the tables have been turned.
«We calve in autumn, because that’s when we have grass growth here. This year, of the four calves born, there is one heifer and three bull calves.»
This year all the calves have names starting with F. There is Fabian, Falcon and Fancy. Last year they were E. We had Elegance and Elm to name just a few.»
There is a dairy cow running with the galloway herd. The cow was kept because it is something of a pet – Spidey the red friesian – and gets in calf to the galloway bull. The cow’s calves have a belt, they are not able to be registered as belted galloways.
«If someone wants a bull, then get one from a registered galloway herd. Go to the galloway society website. Don’t just buy one, as it might not be a full galloway.»
Dawson says she weans the bull calves at eight months and the heifers she leaves with their mother. When the galloway cow gets in-calf, the cow weans the existing calf herself about a month before its next calf is born.
Dawson is an animal lover and walks among the galloways enjoying the tranquility of being with her cattle. She knows them all.
«They all have names and you do get attached to them.»
Belted galloway facts:
New Zealand has 90 herds of registered galloway cattle
Studs include 43 belted, 39 white and eight solid coloured galloway herds.
Galloways can be black, dun or red. The whites do throw a black calf sometimes – an appendix white as it is known.
Galloways are an ancient breed.
They are hardy, polled and long haired and have been a beef breed and milking breed.
They have doubled haired coats which makes them warmer, so they are leaner as they don’t need the fat to keep them warm.
Today the home of the galloways is in Castle Douglas, in south west Scotland.
Galloways were first imported into New Zealand from Scotland in 1947.
There is agreement that the belted galloway was developed in the 1600s-1700s in the Galloway district from galloway cattle and an unidentified outside belted source that pre-dated available records. The unknown source is generally thought to be the dutch lakenvelder which gives the belted galloway the belted colour pattern and its milking characteristics.
Source: Stuff
