Our first Red Charolais bull MO7

Maungahina started breeding the Red Charolais stud in 1993. Because its a recessive gene it is a slow process. You can mate two Reds and get a white. However, if you breed from the white you could get a Red.

We first identified the major problems with the Charolais breed – shoulders (too big for calving ease), feet, milk, testicles and temperament. The first few years were slow as we killed more cows than we kept and after 11 years of strick culling we have got the Red Charolais where they suit New Zealand conditions.

Back in 1992 after traveling extensively in North America and seeing a number of Charolais herds- all the best Charolais I saw were Reds. In Canada the Red Charolais were so popular and in huge demand by the commercial breeders. There was something special about these cattle.

After many years I kept a watch on neighbour Jim Williams Charolais steers, most were white but their was the odd Red. The first to be finished and killed were the Red ones around 20 months. In 1993 we bought 10 white Charolais cows from Landcorp, and introduced the first Red Charolais bull (MO7). His progeny were 80% Red or straw colour. Now we have 90 Red Charolais breeding cows and are using three Red factor bulls sourced from all over New Zealand and recently have imported two Red Charolais bulls from Canada (Harvey Ranching).