To cap it off in March, Robert had a major accident with a yearling bull, tearing away a large amount from his calf muscle with its hoof! Their hooves are very sharp and you should never wear shorts when working with cattle. The result was 11 days in Hospital. Thank goodness the injury is now healing well.

We were preparing 9 animals for the Kumeu Show when the accident happened. As a result we had to cancel our entries at the show which was very disappointing. However we will be there next year as well as at the Waikato Show in October.

Apart from all of the above we have made a lot of progress with our Lowline Herd in the last year. They are now all registered with the exception of one animal where the DNA is very close between two sires and they have to do further tests. We are awaiting these results. This year we have used semen from our Bank along with Tartan Farms Wallace picking up the balance. We have also delayed our calving until November to avoid the end of winter rain and gales, plus we will be heavily involved with our Jersey/Lowline calves in September/October.

We cut 725 bales of good soft clean hay in December, this was much earlier and better than previous years, so we are well set for the coming winter.

Our drainage program, completed by Garry Allan of Koromiko Stud in the Autumn of 2008 has worked well. We now have three paddocks that are a lot more workable.

Last winter we raised 60 odd Lowline/Jersey Cross Calves and all were sold prior to weaning. This winter we hope to rear a few more and they will all be sired by our ex Stud Bull Cherryvale Drummond who is in retirement on a farm in the winterless North. This year we will buy back the steers at 15/18months for finishing. To learn more about this venture look at our web page titled "Cross Breed F1 Calf Program 2009".

We have been very lucky of late having David, Trisha's brother living us for an extended period on the farm, this worked well with Robert in and out of Hospital several times. David has helped enormously with the calves, gorse spraying, ragwort pulling, pine tree pruning, thistle patrol, fencing and general farm duties. The property has never looked better.

On a sadder note our dog Suez has arthritis in the back left leg and a partly fused spine, but she is still as keen as mustard and is happiest when out on the farm working the stock. It's just sad to see her in the early mornings when it's cold and not being able to put her left leg on the ground.

If you are looking for registered, quality, purebred Australian Lowline Stock please look at our For Sale web page, we have adjusted our prices to reflect the current market conditions and the economic climate.

Committed to the Promotion of the Australian Lowline Beef Breed