Kawakawa

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Two great CRV AmBreed sires have dominated the Jersey breed in recent years in their home country of New Zealand – Manhatten and Maunga are now household names having maintained a presence in the breed’s top two spots for both New Zealand Merit Index (NZMI) and Breeding Worth (BW) over much of the last six years. Their influence and reputation has spread worldwide, whilst back home it is their sons that are now commanding farmers’ attention and dominating the charts.

And nothing could prove more potentially exciting than the magical cross of Maunga x Manhatten. High flying new graduate Okura Maunga Kawakawa-ET is just that and has launched himself onto the New Zealand charts as a dual index bull whose daughters carry exceptional udders and are extremely well-liked by farmers.

Kawakawa has 95 daughters currently in-milk in his initial domestic production proof, and 43 daughters in his type proof. His NZMI of 220 and BW 236 currently rank him 19th and 6th respectively for the breed with 81% reliability. His Breeding Values (BVs) across both production and type traits are exceptionally well-rounded and mirror the same pattern set by his dual index sire Tawa Grove Maunga. Daughters of both Manhatten and Maunga are known for their production, farmer likeability, longevity and super udders. However in most instances Kawakawa takes these BVs yet another step forward!

Kawakawa daughters produce milk, protein, and fat that are all well above breed average BVs (milk 346 litres above average, protein 17kg above, fat 27kg above) with strong components 4.1%P, 5.8%F. Farmers love milking these cows with Farmer Opinion BVs consistently high across all areas (adaptability to milking, milking speed, temperament), and extremely favourable Somatic Cell and Longevity BVs exceeding those of both Maunga and Manhatten. Kawakawa daughters are slightly smaller framed and whilst they don’t possess the capacity consistent with the Manhattens their udders are outstanding with an exceptional Udder Overall BV 0.8, ranking Kawakawa amongst the breed’s elite for this trait.

Manhatten ‘stable’

As the name suggests Kawakawa emerges from the same ‘stable’ that produced the hugely influential Jersey sire Okura Manhatten. His dam, Manhatten daughter Okura Mans Kristen EX, out of a Silver Falls Quick Fame cow, is an extreme indexing and standout cow currently milking at 8 yrs of age in the Okura herd, now owned and operated by Luke and Lyna Beehre. Kristen is one of the original first crop Manhatten daughters and boasts Manhatten’s trademark powerful frame. “She always catches visitors’ eyes in the paddock,” comments Lyna, who adds that Kristen’s capacity and good udder are consistently passed on to her progeny, no matter what sire is used.

Kawakawa was the result of the first flushing of Kristen, after which she has subsequently been flushed most years. Two full ET sisters to Kawakawa remain at the Okura stud, Okura Maunga Kate EX4 and Okura Maunga Krista VG4, both outstanding performers in the Okura herd, along with a Stanza daughter from Kate, Okura Stanza Kaye EX2. Kristen has also produced a flush to Noakes Nevvy which produced two bulls Kenya-ET and Kelvin-ET, procured by CRV AmBreed and awaiting their first proof this forthcoming spring 2010.

The Okura stud, situated in a dairying pocket of land at Hukerenui, at the top end of the North Island of New Zealand, carries three generations of Northland Jersey breeders behind it. Bruce Cutforth began the Okura stud within his parent’s herd in 1978, eventually taking over the herd, increasing cow numbers to 500, and moving it’s breeding focus from a “more traditional” to “high performance” one. Today daughter Lyna and her husband Luke own and operate the stud which carries 260 cows, on 88 ha (effective) centering around a pasture-based system supplemented with maize grown on farm.

Whilst Kawakawa’s first-crop proof is now solidifying this new graduate sire’s potential was identified early via genomics resulting in Kawakawa being used as a mating sire, and his semen being released early for domestic sale in 2008 via a CRV Insire bull team package. Semen sales also began offshore last year (2009), and his first sons will enter CRV AmBreed’s Progeny Test later in 2010.

Okura Dantes Kay EX8

(s. Glanton Red Dante)

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Okura Fames Kate A

(s. Silver Falls Quick Fame)

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Okura Mans Kristen EX

(s. Okura Manhatten-ET SJ3)

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Okura Maunga Kawakawa-ET

(Maunga)

  Indexes and Breeding Values quoted as per AE run 13/2/2010