Former Mayor breeds cattle

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33034, 29 September 1972, Page 8

Former Mayor breeds cattle

One of the latest people to become an owner of cattle of the Simmental breed, which is of Swiss origin, is a businessman and former Mayor of Christchurch, Mr A. R. Guthrey, who is also a farmer.

Mr Guthrey has purchased a bull and two heifers, which were originally imported by Mr R. G. Macdonald. The bull, Friarton Actor, which is a son of Scottish Herod, is shown in the accompanying photograph with Mr Guthrey. At 14 months of age this bull weighs 14001 b. The two heifers are 14 months and 11 months old and are by Scottish Pride and Scottish Neff. Mr Guthrey’s intention is to keep Friarton Actor at the Kaiapoi centre of Animal Breeding Services (N.Z.), Ltd, for the collection of 5000 straws of semen, of which 2000 will be for sale in New Zealand and 3000 in Australia. He will then be moved to Mr Guthrey’s Richmond Downs property at Broomfield, six miles inland from Amberley, for use in natural mating.

There are now 30 rising two-year-old Hereford heifers on Richmond Downs which are in calf artifically to the Simmental and these are now in process of calving. It is proposed to artificially inseminate up to 150 cows and to grade up the crossbred cattle until there is eventually a reaonably large Simmental purebred stud herd.

The older of the two heifers that Mr Guthrey has bought from Mr Macdonald was inseminated last month.

Guthrey Properties, Ltd, has owned property at Broomfield for nearly six years and it has recently been expanded by the purchase of 800 acres of flat land

to total 1600 acres, on which it is proposed to carry about 3000 ewes, 200 to 300 cattle and do 100 acres of cash cropping. A challenge Saying that he had found farming “a very challenging investment,” Mr Guthrey said yesterday that it was

i much easier to make a pro- : fit in the city than on the s land, and he both sympathii sed with and admired the farmer. “In the city for the most I part increased costs can oe ; passed on, but with a farm ' you are at the end of the ; line. All increased costs have

to be absorbed and this means constant striving for economies and more efficient methods, together with hard work and long hours. And the farmer has no control over such factors as overseas market prices, freight rates, internal costs—and, not least, the weather.

i "On the other hand there is • a lot of specialised informa- : tion available to him from I such organisations as Lincoln I College, the Department of ! Agriculture, stock and station > firms and Federated Farmers. , These sources have been in- , valuable to me as a business-man-farmer.”