FOR Barry Pitt and his son Damien, their decision three years ago to carry their weaner cattle through to 18 months was a game-changer for the better.
They run 180 Angus breeding cows on 325 hectares at Sumatanga Park, Coonawarra.
They also lease 60 hectares to a local grape growing group where Cabernet and Shiraz grapes are grown on a long-term agreement.
What is different about the Sumatanga Park beef enterprise from most in the South East is that they carry their young sale cattle through to 18 months rather than sell at 9-12 months, into the regional weaner or finished cattle markets.
Like most producers they also marketed this way for many years, but this all changed in 2010 as a result of an on-property trial that demonstrated the big advantages they could get by carrying on and finishing them at 18 months.
In their trial the steers weighed 388.1kg average weight and at $3.65/kg carcaseweight their average price was $1416.72/head.
"Whatever the young cattle price/kg is at the time, we showed through this trial that we could virtually double our money in an extra eight months," Barry said.
"That's the same as producing another weaner, without the maintenance-cost of running the extra cow that would be required."
But he did not come to this decision through economic desperation, rather as the result of consultation with his bull supplier and a well thought-out management plan.
"We started with Angus back in 1975 when family friends, the Umpherstons from Millicent, gave me the pick of their heifers which provided a wonderful starting base," Barry said.
"We sourced Angus bulls but we were finding too many of the female progeny had finer bone or poorer feet and were suffering breakdowns.
"A lame cow rapidly loses condition and her calf suffers and ultimately she struggles to get in calf again the next year."
He said the alternative was to breed them structurally correct, saving labour costs and preventing lost income, a relatively easy option with the right genetics.
"We searched far and wide for a stud with very good feet right through their cattle and discovered the Banquet stud at Mortlake," he said.
He bought his first Banquet bull from Stephen and Noeleen Branson 11 years ago.
The original objective was achieved much to Barry's pleasure, because trimming cattle feet was too hard and Damien works off-farm with flexibility to assist when needed for the main operations.
The bonus was that the Banquet genetics were putting more frame and stronger bone into their cows which resulted in heavier weaners and thus opened-up the possibility of other marketing options.
"We have built up a very good relationship with the Bransons and they have given great after-sales service and advice," Barry said.
"They have also given us access to some of their very best proven sires to use in AI programs. Young bulls may be good but are unproven. I don't think you can do much better than breed from proven high-performance bulls."
Full report in Stock Journal, February 7 issue, 2013.
