Red Cow Farm

Red Cow Farm Red Cow Farm is a 600-cow Milking Shorthorn farm in Mid Canterbury, New Zealand.

Owner, Mark McDonald, has been breeding Milking Shorthorns since 1987, making him one of the most prominent breeders of red cattle in New Zealand.

Recently 524441 Brecon Finnegan returned to Xcell Breeding Services for semen collection. Strong demand over the last co...
04/05/2026

Recently 524441 Brecon Finnegan returned to Xcell Breeding Services for semen collection. Strong demand over the last couple of seasons saw his semen sold out. But this time we had the option of sexing the straws, and today I heard that he had produced well with close to 450 sexed straws. I think this would be the first time a NZ Milking Shorthorn bull has had sexed semen collected.
Finnegan is A2A2 and already has calves on the ground. The few I have on the farm are very strong deep calves. He is sired by Brecon Hurricane from a very good Vario daughter.
So if anybody is interested in a few straws, message me on 0274 790 175. I can't quote a price just yet as I'm not aware of the collection costs.

There's a couple of sale heifers that need special mention for anyone wanting a heifer with a deep pedigree that could p...
15/04/2026

There's a couple of sale heifers that need special mention for anyone wanting a heifer with a deep pedigree that could possibly be shown.

13/04/2026

Just a couple of days to go until our heifer sale. I hadn’t seen the heifers for a while as we’ve been away, so was delighted to see how fat and content they are today. The final heifer in the video is a Novak heifer (lot 31) and I’d definitely say one of the star heifers.

Our annual Incalf heifer sale is on Thursday April 16th. It is a BIDR auction held with the support of Carrfields. The c...
17/03/2026

Our annual Incalf heifer sale is on Thursday April 16th. It is a BIDR auction held with the support of Carrfields. The catalogue is now up on BIDR.
The herd was tested negative for Johnes via LIC Herd Testing in February and there is no BVD either. So heifers can be purchased with confidence.
On March 1st we weighed all the sale heifers and they averaged 461kgs, so they will come forward well grown and in excellent condition.
Here's a couple of sample photos of what's on offer.

The International Red Dairy Cow Conference is happening in Palmerston North next week. So an on line sale has been organ...
26/02/2026

The International Red Dairy Cow Conference is happening in Palmerston North next week. So an on line sale has been organised for Friday night the 7th.
Here’s our entry for the sale, Brecon Roman Midi P, a 2 year old heifer. Midi recently won the South Island On Farm 2 year old class. 22 entries. So for someone wanting a heifer ready to show, this is a great opportunity.

Lot 11 at the Summer Sensation sale tomorrow night at 7pm on BIDR.
24/01/2026

Lot 11 at the Summer Sensation sale tomorrow night at 7pm on BIDR.

24/01/2026

Another round of cow photography last week. Here’s a short video of Brecon Taika Rachael.
Coming up tomorrow night is the NZ Dairy Event Summer Sensation sale. Lot 11 is a beautiful roan heifer Brecon Trev Eliza. Take a look.

It's that time of the year to sort out what young bulls are going to be collected and of course photos need to be taken ...
13/01/2026

It's that time of the year to sort out what young bulls are going to be collected and of course photos need to be taken of dams etc. This morning was the perfect sunny morning to draft a few cows out and tidy them up.

Classification day. Another horridly windy Canterbury day for Wendy Harker to work in. It’s a great chance to stop and l...
26/11/2025

Classification day. Another horridly windy Canterbury day for Wendy Harker to work in.
It’s a great chance to stop and look at the cows and see them with a bit more milk on than usual.

13/11/2025

A good result at the Next Generation Futurity sale last night. Brecon bhc Juanita heading to Southland.
The next offering is an incalf heifer consigned to the Dairy Event Sale at the end of January. A beautiful roan heifer backed by a strong maternal line. She’ll come home from the runoff next week to be halter trained and tidied up for a photo. In the meantime here she is with the mob in her work clothes.

Address

195 Ashburton River Road
Ashburton
7776

Telephone

+64274790175

Website

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