The Rowe family, Princess Royal Station, Burra, have some big plans to more than triple the capacity of Tungali feedlot at Sedan, which they bought early this month.
The Murraylands feedlot was the last S. Kidman & Co asset in SA to be offloaded by the Hancock Group.
Simon Rowe says the purchase was a good strategic move for the business and they already have their first cattle on feed there.
"We have been looking around for some time for feedlot space. We have got all the family interested in the business and another generation coming through so we thought to keep everyone employed, we needed to keep growing," he said.
"It will add to what we do here (at Burra)."
The 1700 hectare Tungali feedlot is licensed for 4966 units and Mr Rowe said they want to expand this to 18,000 to 20,000 head, subject to approval.
This would be the same capacity as their Burra feedlot when that expansion is completed later in the year.
Mr Rowe says in the next couple of months they will assess the investment needed at Tungali but one positive is there is already shade cloth across all the pens.
"We will look at the mill and the whole operation and what we can do with it. There are parts that are old that we know will need to be developed - we will be able to replicate a lot of what we have researched and used here (at Burra)," he said.
Ninety per cent of the feeder cattle Princess Royal buys are European Union-accredited, which are fed for about 115 days and then processed at Teys Naracoorte abattoir, but it also feeds cattle for other markets for up to 150 days.
Mr Rowe expects to target similar markets with the cattle fed at Tungali.
He understands why there are record numbers of cattle on feed in Australia, confident it is the most efficient way to produce beef.
"A Deloitte Economics report some years ago found to produce a kilogram of beef it takes 45pc less land in a feedlot, 76pc less feed and 49pc less water and results in 51pc less methane and and 42pc less carbon emissions," he said.
He said feedlots, which required much less land than grazing enterprises, also made financial sense with rural land hitting record highs.
"It takes a long time to grass finish a bullock or even a steer but we can grow good crops and if we act like a squirrel and harvest the grain and hay and store it and then feed it back to stock throughout the year, it is the best option ," he said.
He said it was too early to say if there would be any difference in weight gains achieved by the two feedlots.
"I would assume the weather in winter would be better than Burra, it could be 6-8 inches (98 millimetres to 131mm) of rainfall less but in summer it may be a bit cooler up in the hills here at Burra," he said.
Mr Rowe is confident about the ongoing demand for Australian beef, despite the heightened threat of foot and mouth disease, but says the government "can never do enough" and must keep educating people to prevent an incursion.
"I don't think we need to stop people going to Bali but it is about having everything in place to protect our borders," he said