Lucindale farmer Anthony Hurst can get calves to sale weights of 400 kilograms at seven or eight-months-old by using an Angus-Shorthorn cross.
Traditionally he used Charolais bulls over Shorthorn females, but switched to Angus sires three years ago as market trends changed and buyers increasingly wanted the blacks.
"I was worried I might lose some growth by switching the mix to Angus," he said.
"But I haven't sacrificed anything, with growth rates still being really high."
Mr Hurst runs 400 Shorthorn cows on his 2020-hectare property, which has been in the family for two generations.
He also has a commercial Merino ewe flock that is mated to White Suffolk rams for prime lamb production and operates White Suffolk and Suffolk studs.
His farm is characterised by highly variable soil types, which are predominantly clay, with some sandy loam and red types.
Each year Mr Hurst buys-in Shorthorn females from several studs and mates these to Nampara Angus bulls.
Calves are dropped in autumn and weaning starts in early December.
Calves are then lined-up for the Ballarat feature sale in late December. At this point, the top lines are weighing about 400kg/head and the average weight is about 350kg/head.
Much of this exceptional performance is being achieved by using Angus bulls with high 200 and 400-day growth rates and high rib and rump score Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs).
Mr Hurst said the influence of the Shorthorn mothers and hybrid vigour could not be overlooked.
"I am yet to find a female that can perform as well as a Shorthorn," he said.
"They have high conception rates and are excellent milk producers for a moderate sized cow with high muscle and that really suit our environment.
"Their crossbred progeny has very rapid growth and are early maturing.
"We are seeing quicker and easier growth patterns of calves from switching to Angus away from a Charolais cross."
Mr Hurst chooses his Angus bulls based on EBVs for rib and rump fat, 200 and 400-day growth and eye muscle area.
"Nampara bulls are renowned for being bred for commercial cattlemen," he said.
"They have their own big commercial operation, so they know what we need.
"Nampara bloodlines are also regularly achieving the top prices at the saleyards.
"So, you can see their success reflected in the commercial market.
"Bulls are paddock-reared, so they arrive ready to go.
"And some Nampara bull buyers are putting them to work successfully as yearlings."