It would be no easy feat becoming one of the most prominent Angus studs in Australia, but for the team at Te Mania there’s one simple guiding principle behind everything they do – breed better beef.
Based at Mortlake in south west Victoria, the Gubbins and McFarlane families have had an unwavering commitment to this ethos over the 50-plus years of the Australian operation, and it’s paying dividends.
Joining 2,000 females for a spring-calving herd, the operation markets more than 800 bulls annually.
Stud co-principal Hamish McFarlane said their herd is run under strict commercial conditions, with the goal of producing sound, highly-fertile and docile cattle suited for the restaurant trade.
Genetic focus is applied to calving ease, growth, carcase quality and structure, while constant research is undertaken to maximise efficiencies, he said.
“It may seem quite simple, but breeding better beef and breeding more efficiently resonates with us and we haven’t changed our direction.
“Often there are some challenges, but we’ve stuck to our core belief of continual improvement by testing, recording, analysing and selecting on that analysis. Being a family business, we’re pretty proud of that.”
Mr McFarlane said their commitment to this ethos encompasses the entire supply chain.
“It influences what we’re doing at the farm level, through to proving those genetics on farm and beyond, then right through to the consumer,” he said.
By following product from conception through to consumption, Te Mania is able to ‘complete the loop’ via commercial producers, lot feeders, branded products and the five-star restaurant trade.
“Our progeny testing program, Team Te Mania, helps trial our genetics before we make sons available for sale on the broader market.
“Through the program, we exclusively supply genetics to a number of commercial herds across South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, with data collected from the progeny right through to processing, which we are able to access and submit for analysis.”
Resonating with a global market
Te Mania’s genetic success as a result of more than 50 years of dedicated data capture and research has attracted clients from across the globe.
Their bulls sell to clients up and down the eastern seaboard, while semen is in strong demand across the country and internationally to Europe, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
“Combining genomic testing and large volumes of performance data – while never losing sight of conformation – has put Te Mania Angus at the cutting edge, and the independent proof of the predictable-performance of our genetics, and those of our clients, is keeping us there,” Mr McFarlane said.
A dominant gene pool
The recently-released 2023 TransTasman Angus Cattle Evaluation figures confirmed Te Mania Angus as the breed’s most dominant gene pool in Australia and New Zealand.
In a standout result for the operation, the figures showed Te Mania Angus have the breed’s three highest-ranked sires for marbling.
Te Mania Neon N1387 was ranked the TransTasman’s highest-marbling Angus sire, with an EBV of +9.8 (82 per cent). Neon has been progeny tested through commercial herds and was entered in cohort 12 of the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program.
Neon was followed by Te Mania Stuttgart S1425 (IMF +9.7) and Te Mania Snape S900 (IMF +9.2).
Sons by Neon will feature in the Te Mania Angus annual autumn on-property bull sale at Mortlake on Wednesday, March 1.
“We’re really excited about the sons of our homebred sires that have been proven through our Team Te Mania program,” Mr McFarlane said.
“We’re particularly proud that they’re resonating in both the domestic marketplace and globally.
“As a group, I’m really happy with how the bulls present and how they behave.”
At the 2023 Te Mania Angus bull sale, 179 prospective sires go under the hammer. Kicking off at 12pm (AEDT), the sale will be interfaced with AuctionsPlus.
View the AuctionsPlus listing here.
The Team Te Mania online commercial female sale is being held on Friday, March 17, with 1,000+ head being offered across 35 lots.
The listing is still being compiled, but will be available here.