Pāmu to Release Silver Stabilizer Genetics to Farmers

Pāmu, also known as Landcorp, is preparing to distribute semen from its Silver Stabilizer bulls to the wider farming community. The move follows increased demand and higher prices for lean, grass-fed beef, particularly in the United States.

The company has worked for several years with Focus Genetics and LIC to develop the composite cattle. Silver Stabilizers combine Simmental, Red Angus and Gelbvieh genetics with Charolais. Gelbvieh originated in Germany and is mainly used for beef production. The resulting calves have a distinctive silver colour.

Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said many dairy-beef animals currently used in New Zealand are Friesian bulls. He said Pāmu had developed an alternative intended to create value for both dairy farmers and farmers who rear dairy-beef animals.

The genetics are designed to produce calves with low birthweights, short gestation periods and colour markings that distinguish them from replacement heifers. Leslie said faster-calving cows could remain in milk for longer. He also said calves produced from the Silver Stabilizer genetics had strong growth rates.

Leslie described the genetics as an additional method for moving animals off farms more quickly. Dairy farmers already use sexed semen on their best cows and for producing replacement females; he said Silver Stabilizer genetics could be used on other cows to produce saleable calves.

He said beef cows would continue to have a role on hill country, alongside sheep. Producing two quality calves from a dairy herd could provide another financial option, while technologies such as wearable devices were making hill-country operations easier to manage.

The next stage, according to Leslie, is to increase the number of beef animals on rolling hill country while ensuring sufficient feed is available. He linked that approach to higher farm productivity and a smaller environmental footprint.