As a fourth-generation dairy farmer, Jo Schellen, Cowirra, had a tough decision to make when milk and dairy prices plummeted about eight years ago.
After a crippling drought in the early 2000s, followed by an industry crisis, Mrs Schellen and her husband David sold the dairy farm but they then had to make a decision to either re-enter the workforce, or make productive use of their 149-hectare property of swamp and high land near Mannum.
David found employment at a local dairy milking 400 cows a day but Mrs Schellen and her son Tyson decided to “just go for it” and begin a beef cattle operation.
The Schellens decided to retain a portion of their Holstein and Jersey cow herd and bought an Angus bull to experiment with producing beef cattle.
“I have always been involved with cattle and animal husbandry does not change, so those skills remain second nature,” Mrs Schellen said.
“The first drop of calves turned out really well – even with the Jersey cows they were throwing a decent sized, bulky calf,” she said.
Tyson also farms about 45ha at Ettrick and runs 35 crossbred breeders.
The decision to run a crossbred herd of Poll Hereford, Belted Galloway, Angus and Limousin breeders was made after the dairy cows were sold because the then 11-year-old Tyson was allowed to choose a beef breed.
“Tyson had his own cows in the dairy and to compensate for selling, we let him start producing Belted Galloways, and we needed to get a herd up and running fast if it was going to pay our way,” Mrs Schellen said.
Once the opportunity to produce beef cattle arose for the Schellen family it was grabbed with two hands, and the family operation has continued to push production boundaries ever since.
Running 150 crossbred breeders and Angus, Limousin and Poll Hereford bulls to produce well-muscled steers, the Schellens embarked on another risk-taking journey and sourced a Wagyu bull and heifer from Vic.
A butcher by trade, Tyson used his trained eye for quality beef traits and bought Wagyu bull Waggy Woo 18 months ago after he was interested in producing a marbled meat for a niche market.
“The breed is expensive to buy in but after researching what the return could be I knew I wanted to have a crack,” Mr Schellen said.
“The last time I checked AuctionsPlus it was worth about 5030 cents a kilogram,” he said.
Waggy Woo was joined to selected crossbred heifers from the main herd and the Schellen’s were pleased with the results.
Twenty-five calves dropped about four months ago and Mrs Schellen said the ease of calving had been exceptional.
“Waggy Woo was amazing, the calves were small when they were born so we have had no calving issues at all, but they seem to be growing out really well too,” she said.
They have not decided which market to sell the steers into, but AuctionsPlus will probably be the chosen option to begin offering their new progeny.
“Given Wagyu beef is a gourmet product, AuctionsPlus seems popular for buyers who are looking for a specific breed,” Mr Schellen said.
“In the saleyard the infusion of Wagyu comes across differently to that of a normal beef breed, so it is good to know some local butchers are keen to have a look at the calves as well, so I am confident it will pay off,” he said.
The breeding herd is joined all year for a consistent flow of calves and females are retained, while steers are sold at Mount Pleasant.
Most calves are weaned at seven months old but heifers are weaned earlier at five months old.
“We leave steers on a bit longer to build size and then they are put straight onto pastures with no supplementary feeding,” Mrs Schellen said.
“Steers are sold at about 10 months old but mostly we sell when they are in the right condition,” she said.
Caring for the environment and River Murray is also a part of the Schellens on-farm management plan.
Pastures are slashed regularly and not sprayed, with the organic matter returned to the soil.
“We use water from the river so it is important for us to not have any residual chemicals ending up in the river,” Mrs Schellen said.
