ADVERTISER CONTENT: Doug and Jan Bradshaw reckon time passes pretty quickly on Red Range at Wondoan, Queensland, for the duo and their Blue Dog Simmental stud.
No doubt the pair, both in their early 70s, could be forgiven for not keeping pace. But instead of falling behind the pack, the Bradshaws and Blue Dog Simmental Stud continue to be a pacesetter.
Managing three properties of a total of almost 6500 hectares, with a commercial herd turning over 400 head of feeder and 200 prime and day work cattle annually and running a stud of 250 breeder cows, you likely need to be fleet of foot. You definitely need to be resilient, resourceful and educated, Mrs Bradshaw said.
"We bought our first stud cows in '05, and we were just going to breed our own bulls because we couldn't buy the type of sires we were looking for,'' she said.
"We've always had a commercial operation and we run about 800 commercial cows, using our own bulls in our commercial herd.
"I had a vision back in 2012 that I would like to own about 300 stud cows ... but I didn't realise at the time how much work was involved in it,'' she laughed.
The vision has led to plenty of success in the show ring. Blue Dog Simmental last year won the Sydney Grand Champion Female and Grand Champ Simmental titles, and went on to win Grand Champion female at Beef. And it was an incredibly successful first plunge into its own bull sale that Blue Dog took last September, with a total clearance of 38 bulls.
Our aim is that our sires will do for other people what they've done for us.
- Jan Bradshaw
The Bradshaws are confident they can match, or better those results again this September, with Blue Dog Simmentals having a proven track record of continual improvement even when the chips have been down.
"We take a mixture of the bulls for ourselves, using a general run of types,'' Mrs Bradshaw said. "Our aim is to breed really top quality sires and only sell about 40 bulls a year. Not to grow any more than that but just to maintain a really high standard.
"We're very tough, we cull really hard, and we believe that it is all female orientated ... if you've got your strength in your females you will produce the quality.''
It's been far from smooth sailing for Blue Dog and Red Range over the past decade, but the ability of the operations to bounce back and present the outstanding quality they're known for is testament to the practices and dedication the Bradshaws show.
"We used to have a pure Simmental commercial herd and then in the dry in 2008-09 we sold all of them and then we traded for a few years buying whatever we could make money out of them, using mainly Brahmans to start breeding and rebuild our commercial herd and using our Simmental bulls over them,'' Mrs Bradshaw said.
"In a few years we'll get back to having a pure Simmental commercial herd.''
The Bradshaws are steadfast in the approach that they will never again fall victim to "man-made drought".
"We don't believe in over-grazing. We'll reduce our cattle numbers before our grass is eaten out,'' Mrs Bradshaw said.
"It was heartbreaking in 2009 to have to destock ... the worst day of our lives.
"But that probably presented a challenge for us to be able to get back to where we were then. We had magnificent cows then and we're almost back to where we were then.
"We have some magnificent Simbrah cows but also now have some magnificent Simmental cows again.
"You can definitely get back. It does present a challenge but it also gives you the opportunity to feel a great deal of pride in rebuilding.''
The rebuild on Red Range now has them being able to sell anywhere from 150 to 250 feeder steers at Dalby on a single day.
"We consistently average 10 cents above other same type cattle on the day and I guess that's because the product is really good but we're also presenting a line of cattle. You have to have the passion to be able to rebuild ... you can't kill the passion in us.'' Annualy, Red Range turns over about 400 feedlot cattle with stock going to market at anywhere between 380kg to 500kg at about 14 months of age.
The commercial herd has a three-month joining and calves hit the ground through September and October.
"There's a few things we look to concentrate on with our cattle ... we want them being maternal and fertile with a short gestation.
"We're after a small birth weight calf, looking at their serving capacity, and structural correctness is really high on our list of traits we're after.
"And longevity is another one. In the stud we had them at 16-17 years old and still having a calf.
"Temperament is another big one. It doesn't matter how good looking they are, if they don't have a great temperaments they're gone.''
Fortunately for the next generation of cattle producers, the Bradshaws have a passion to educate others. While their two sons and daughter all are "doing their own thing'' the couple go out of their way to try to help the young ones in passing on to them what they've learnt over their years.
"Without giving away all our secrets, of course. It is pleasing that they do listen and they do keep coming back asking."
The guiding principal for Blue Dog Simmentals also has that theme of helping others in the industry.
"Our aim is that our sires will do for other people what they've done for us. To have a legacy of good cattle out there is one thing to aspire to but I would rest even easier knowing that we'd never sold other people the wrong product.''
Bryan Littlely
Started with Fairfax (Rural Press) as a compositor in 1992 at the Victor Harbor Times and progressed to journalism as a cadet and then on to editor at The Barossa & Light Herald. After 8 years with Rural Press, joined News Corp as a journalist at The Advertiser. I held various senior positions at The Advertiser including Regional Editor, Motoring Editor, Chief Of Staff and Investigations Editor. My time with News Corp also included an 18 month secondment to the Northern Territory as Editor at the Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs. After a year working as assistant director of media with the Fair Work Ombudsman and a year at the helm of a public relations firm, I have returned to my farming background and home community on the Fleurieu Peninsula. I am co-founder of missing persons foundation, Leave A Light On Inc, and am also on the board of Indigenous foundation Around The Campfire. Local sport and community activities, horse racing and learning what I can about farming are my key interests outside of journalism.
Started with Fairfax (Rural Press) as a compositor in 1992 at the Victor Harbor Times and progressed to journalism as a cadet and then on to editor at The Barossa & Light Herald. After 8 years with Rural Press, joined News Corp as a journalist at The Advertiser. I held various senior positions at The Advertiser including Regional Editor, Motoring Editor, Chief Of Staff and Investigations Editor. My time with News Corp also included an 18 month secondment to the Northern Territory as Editor at the Centralian Advocate, Alice Springs. After a year working as assistant director of media with the Fair Work Ombudsman and a year at the helm of a public relations firm, I have returned to my farming background and home community on the Fleurieu Peninsula. I am co-founder of missing persons foundation, Leave A Light On Inc, and am also on the board of Indigenous foundation Around The Campfire. Local sport and community activities, horse racing and learning what I can about farming are my key interests outside of journalism.
