Bred Tough. Proven on the Hill.
We are Raupuha Studs.
Run by Russell and Mavis Proffit and family at Mahoenui, in the North Island’s King Country.
Raupuha Stud breeds facial eczema tolerant, worm resistant rams and Shorthorn bulls for New Zealand hill country. We’ve been selling rams and bulls to commercial farmers for more than 50 years.
About Us
Raupuha is a family stud, started by Lyn and the late Jeff Proffit and run today by Russell and Mavis. Our animals are raised in the hill country and we have clients running our rams in some of the hardest hill country, across NZ with great success. What you buy from us is ready to work from day one.
Russell is President of Perendale Sheep Society and past President of NZ Beef Shorthorn and FE Gold. He is also on the SIL advisory group. Lyn and the late Jeff were made Perendale Life Members in 2023 in recognition of their contribution to the breed.
We farm on State Highway 3 at Mahoenui in the King Country, nestled between the Mokau and Awakino Rivers.
What we breed for
Facial eczema tolerance. We’ve been Ramguard testing since 1999 and test at the top 0.6 mg/kg dose rate. Our Perendale and Romdale flocks hold SIL’s 5-star FE rating, and we’re proudly accredited members of FE Gold.
Data you can trust. Every lamb across all flocks is DNA parentage tested. All flocks are genomics tested, and all recording runs through SIL and nProve. If you don’t measure, you don’t know. Our cattle are genomics tested too, to improve the accuracy of the EBVs.
Hill country performance. Our stock earn their place in the hill country, so they’re bred to forage, walk and perform.
Worm and dag resistance. The Perendale and Romdale flocks are WormFEC Gold accredited. We are the only Romdale flock in NZ that is both WormFEC and FE Gold certified.
Looking ahead. We’ve measured methane with AgResearch since 2019 and support ongoing FE research.
Carcase. Beef and lamb are the end products and we’re committed to ensuring a high yield for the farmer’s back pocket and IMF to ensure a quality eating experience for the end consumer.
While data is important to us, if stock can’t walk or eat, they’re no good to anyone.
Our Studs.
Perendale
Our foundation flock. FE tolerant, easy care and productive.
Romdale
Romney size & fleece with Perendale hardiness. Stabilised.
SufTex
Suffolk growth meets Texel muscling.
Suffolk
Proven terminal sires for fast growing lambs.
Shorthorn
Hardy, quiet cattle with milk and growth.
To Skim Across the Top…
Caring for the Land
We were Waikato finalists in the 2021 Ballance Farm Environment Awards. We’ve fenced waterways, planted more than 25,000 native plants, and ran our own eco-sourced native nursery that supplied local farmers until 2023.
Farm at a Glance
Home farm - 1050 ha (1000 ha effective)
Sheep - About 2,200 ewes, plus 800 ewe hoggets & wintering 800 ram hoggets
Cattle - About 1,100
Bulls sold annually - About 20 Shorthorn
Rams sold annually - about 500 across Perendale, Romdale, Suffolk and SufTex
Our Location
We farm on State Highway 3 at Mahoenui, about 15–20 minutes south of Piopio and 25–30 minutes north of Mokau. The country runs from river flats through to steep Class 6 hill country, on Mairoa Ash and Mahoenui Clay soils.
