Evan Ferris' name appeared with some regularity in the annual Otago Southland Beef Competitions, thanks to his Limousins.
In this year's event in June, he won two trophies, a first place, a first, second and third placing in the same category, and was named both champion and reserve champion.
One of his Limousin steers received 303.4 points, which was the second highest to be awarded in 11 years.
Both Mr Ferris, of Waikaia, and his friend Mike Thompson breed a few Limousins, and they have about 30 on Mr Thompson's 370ha lamb and beef fattening property at Freshford.
Mr Ferris said the Limousin tended to yield 60% at the works, while other breeds yielded about 53%.
Mr Thompson buys in Angus-cross cattle yearlings from neighbours and sales during November and December, preferring the Angus influence as they mature earlier.
During the winter they keep about 250 to 300 Angus, Charolais, Simmental and Limousin-cross cattle in a Calder Stewart wintering shed. Another 100 are kept on fodder beet in a nearby paddock.
Before they built the unpowered , open-sided shed four seasons ago, cattle spent much of their energy keeping warm. Now, in the warmth, with a constant access to 38kg of grass silage, lucerne and whole crop per cow per day, they can put on about 1.5kg a day, for 110 days.
Mr Ferris said this year's feed did not have as high a dry matter content as last year and they were getting better results.
``Last year we struggled to get 1kg a day per cow, but this year we got 1.5kg per cow easy.''
The cattle sleep on sawdust and barkchips, which is topped up with straw every two to three weeks.
The effluent is scraped off and into a storage pond and any liquid seeps into a second pond through a weeping wall.
Solids are periodically spread on the farm.
Mr Ferris said the cattle would be weighed at the end of August.
``We will make a call then about their condition and the better ones will go out to grass.
``It will take a month for them to get rid of the dags, as the works don't like those.''
He said the average weight at present was about 605kg, but when they were sent to the works, they would probably be close to 650kg to 700kg liveweight. The first draft is sent away in October and then every fortnight after.
Mr Thompson also buys up to 1500 lambs before Christmas at 33kg liveweight, and kill them out at 46kg, aiming for 300 grams a day or about 2kg a week, growth.
At present the lambs are sent away about three months later, which Mr Ferris said was too long.
In past years they have grazed on a ryegrass-clover mix but this year they intend to plant 60ha in rape, chicory, red and white clover and lucerne, which they hope will get the lambs to killing weight earlier.
Once those lambs have gone they buy in more for autumn fattening, as well another 100 cattle to fatten over the summer.
- Yvonne O'Hara