About Waimara Angus & Romney
Waimara Angus & Romney is a family-run breeding operation based at Wainuka Run in Eastern Bush, Southland. Founded by Tom and Sally in 1988, Waimara now spans four generations, with the next generation actively involved in continuing the family’s commitment to practical, productive livestock.
The Angus stud began on a small property in Te Anau with cows sourced from Matanaka and Cottesbrook, followed by the regular introduction of Te Mania females. Over the years, the herd was strengthened by carefully selected genetics, including 50 cows purchased from Braxton Angus in 2011.
Waimara has never been developed in just one environment. The herd has been tested through the dry coastal summers of Tumai in East Otago, the tussock hill country and cold winters of the Rock and Pillar Range at Middlemarch, and now the wet, cold, conditions of Western Southland. This journey has shaped the cattle we breed today: sound, balanced animals with the constitution and performance to thrive in commercial farming systems.
Today, Waimara runs almost 200 in-calf Angus cows across two properties – North Range Station and Wainuka Run and offers approximately 35 rising two-year-old bulls, along with yearling bulls, each year.
Our sheep breeding history began in the early 1980s, when Tom and Sally established successful Romney and Poll Dorset studs. After the loss of a leased property led to those flocks being dispersed, the family returned to Romney breeding in 2017, using Taimate two-tooth ewes as the foundation of the present stud.
Waimara Romney sheep are selected for the qualities that matter in a commercial flock: fertility, survivability, sound structure, maternal ability, worm resilience and superior wool. Stud ewes are run alongside 4,500 commercial ewes for most of the year, ensuring the genetics are tested under practical, large-scale farming conditions rather than managed separately.
Across both Angus and Romney breeding, our approach is straightforward: select livestock that are sound, efficient and able to perform without unnecessary inputs. We value proven family lines. New Zealand genetics remain at the heart of our programme, while overseas bloodlines are considered on a small scale until they are proven in our environment.
Balance remains at the forefront of every breeding decision.
Why Waimara?
Waimara breeds Angus cattle and Romney sheep for farmers who need livestock to perform in the real world.
Proven under commercial conditions
Our stud animals are run within a working sheep and beef operation, not in isolation from it. Both our Angus and Romney genetics are tested across hill-country environments as part of our Partnership with North Range Station and alongside commercial animals. This keeps our breeding decisions grounded in the traits that contribute to a profitable and manageable farming business.
Performance with phenotype
Figures are an important breeding tool, but they are only part of the picture. We place equal importance on phenotype, structural soundness, constitution, temperament and proven family lines. We select for balanced animals that can breed on consistently.
Genetics shaped by demanding country
Waimara livestock have been developed through dry East Otago summers, exposed tussock country on the Rock and Pillar Range, and cold Southland winters at both North Range Station and Wainuka Run. That range of conditions has helped us identify genetics with the adaptability, resilience and doing ability required in New Zealand farming systems.
Angus cattle with balance
Our Angus programme aims to produce fertile, sound and efficient females, along with practical sires that add value to commercial herds. We favour cattle with constitution, good structure and the ability to perform on grass, without chasing a single trait or breeding trend at the expense of the whole animal.
Romney sheep that earn their place
Our Romney programme focuses on a hardy, efficient and low-input ewe. We select for manageable fertility, survivability, maternal ability, sound udders, parasite resilience and quality wool.
Lambs are challenged under a deliberately robust management programme so that animals unable to cope are identified early. Ewes must continue to perform without drenching after their first mating. The objective is a productive sheep that remains easy to manage and contributes across reproduction, longevity, carcase and wool production.
Wool remains an important part of the programme. We select for high-yielding, resilient fleeces with good texture – retaining the qualities for which the Romney breed is valued.
A breeding partner for the long term
Waimara is built on more than 35 years of breeding experience and four generations of family involvement. We value long-term relationships with commercial farmers and aim to provide genetics that deliver repeatable, practical results – backed by people who understand the environments in which those animals must perform.
Sound. Balanced. Resilient. Bred for commercial performance.
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