Words by Sandra Taylor and Images by Sarah Horrocks – AngusPRO Magazine 2026
The combination of Angus genetics, feeding and management is proving to be a winning one for Hawke’s Bay’s Arohiwi Station.
Last year, beef bred and finished on the 1471ha rolling hill country property won medals at the World Steak Challenge held in the Netherlands, with two silver medals being awarded to their rib-eye and sirloin steaks, while their fillet steak won a bronze – but these medals weren’t an anomaly.
Since switching to Storth Oaks genetics five years ago, the station has lifted the percentage of prime beef hitting Silver Fern Farm’s premium-paying EQ (eating quality) targets from 20 percent to 70 percent, and for Arohiwi Station’s manager Robbie Schaw, this is money in the bank.
“It makes a big difference at the end of the day,” says Robbie.
Robbie says one of their steers had one of the highest marbling scores in the country, made even more impressive by the fact that they focus on maternal traits when selecting their bulls and don’t use terminal sires.
Arohiwi Station, which is 56 kilometres north-west of Napier in the Puketitiri district, is owned by Presbyterian Support Trust East Coast. It runs 400 Angus breeding cows (which includes first calving heifers) alongside 4200 Romney ewes.
Typically, all progeny born on the farm are finished, although they may sell a small number of store lambs if it is a tough season.
The cattle play an important role in maintaining pasture quality on the summer-safe property, which has an annual rainfall of over 1500mm, but they also contribute significantly to the bottom line by producing fast growing calves that are generating a premium for eating quality.
Robbie says the calves are weaned in April, drafted according to sex and then rotated around saved pasture until spring, often behind a wire.
A small number of lighter calves may be wintered on crop.
In spring, the yearlings are given a bit more scope and allowed to make the most of the spring flush, with 90 percent of them being finished at 18-20 months to a target carcase weight of 300kg.
The balance will be carried through winter and sold in early spring.
This year, Robbie is trialling Halter collars on half of the weaner steers to see what difference the technology can make to weight gains, the kilograms of drymatter grown, and potentially, stocking rates.
In early summer, he intends to transfer the collars to the cows as he likes to give the yearlings more space at that time of the year, but wants to ensure the cows are doing the job of cleaning up pastures without compromising the pre-weaning growth rates of their calves at foot.
After weaning, the mixed-age breeding cows spend their winter preparing pastures for spring and cleaning up some of the station’s steeper country. They are often integrated into the ewe flock, or grazed ahead or behind them, until calving in spring.
As the farm sits at 460-750m above sea level, Robbie says they do experience long winters and the cows can do it tough – but they want cows that can look after themselves through winter, calf unassisted, produce a fast-growing calf and get back in calf – and the Storth Oaks genetics are ticking all of these boxes.
Robbie says he is looking for a medium frame cow with positive fats that can produce a growthy calf, but fertility is his number one priority when selecting bulls, followed by calving ease.
“This is big for us. Our cows are just left to it, so we can’t have any calving issues.”
The improvement in carcase characteristics has been a huge bonus, and this has been reflected in the premium payments for eating quality as well as their success at the World Steak Championships in the Netherlands.
Keeping heifers fit
All yearling heifers are mated, going to a two-year-old Angus bull, in the first week of December. Mating in the mixed-age cows starts on 20 December.
After mating, the heifers are run onto the steeper parts of the farm but managed so their on-going growth is not compromised.
“We still want them to be gaining weight as we want them to be in good condition going into spring. I believe this sets them up for life.”
Robbie has a philosophy of feeding the heifers well while keeping them fit on hill country pre-calving.
“This really helps with calving; we haven’t pulled a calf in over two years.”
The focus is then on ensuring the heifers are in good condition before going to the bull for their second mating.
The best of the female calves from the heifers are retained as replacements, as this helps speed genetic gain.
Such is the performance Arohiwi Station is getting out of their Angus genetics that they have no need to consider terminal sires or bulls specifically for heifer mating.
Robbie says the two-year-old bulls they buy for heifer mating are then used across the mixed-age cows, so they are getting a good return on their investment.
The right balance
The farm runs a sheep to cattle ratio of 60:40 and Robbie finds this is just the right balance.
The cattle complement their 4200 Romney ewe flock, a proportion of which are put to a Suftex terminal sire. The ewes are lambing around 155 percent.
Robbie says he has no plans to significantly change sheep or cattle numbers, rather the focus will be on continuing to incrementally improve the performance of their existing stock.
He is excited about the potential of wearable technologies and is looking forward to seeing if they make a difference to their productivity.
With so many new technologies emerging in the agricultural sector, Robbie says it is a great time to be working in the industry, especially this season with such strong returns for both beef and cattle.
Supporting community services
Environmental protection and enhancement are an important part of Arohiwi Station’s management strategy, and indigenous bush, exotic forestry, retired pasture and broadleaf forestry sit alongside livestock production.
The station was partly gifted to Presbyterian Support Trust East Coast (PSEC) some years ago, and in 2013 organisation became the sole shareholder. The farm generates funds to support people through PSEC’s community services, Enliven and Family Works.
The farm is administered by a Board of Independent Directors, which includes local farmers.