Burts celebrate transition to Murray Grey herd

Mr Burt is the third generation of his family on the Mid North farm, which encompasses 1417 hectares with an additional 728ha of country leased from his neighbour.

His parents, Graham and Kaye Burt, ran a mixed herd of cattle, but when Mr Burt came home, he eventually converted the entire herd to Murray Greys.

"We used to have bits and pieces then I went half pure Murray Grey and half pure Angus, but now I've only got 100 per cent Murray Greys," Mr Burt said.

"I just love Murray Greys. I got into them years ago, and I just love their temperament and how easy they are to handle, improving over the years through buying a lot better bulls.

Presently buying their bulls from the Sanders family's Ballyvaughan Murray Grey stud, Clare Valley, Mr Burt said the Ballyvaughan bloodlines had assisted with the docility of his cattle.

"Everyone who comes to the farm can't get over how quiet our cattle are. It makes the job of handling cattle a lot easier," he said.

Normally running 100 breeders, Mr Burt said at the moment, he had about 130 females.

"We always try and keep 13 replacement heifers each year, so in that 10-11 year cycle your old ones go and you keep your young ones."

Selling direct from the paddock, Mr Burt said they had received premium prices for their Murray Greys.

"Normally when we wean them, our stock agent makes a few phone calls and we sell them straight out of the yards for very good money on the place," he said.

"It's normally the same feedlotters that buy them in, because of their docility. One guy had them fattened out of his feedlot in 66 days rather than the average of 94 days."

Mr Burt also sold 10-month-old steers at Strathalbyn last year for $2300 a head.

RELATED READING:

Planting a vetch/oats mix for cattle feed on his sandy loam country, Mr Burt farms approximately 1619ha, growing wheat, barley and field peas, and cutting about 121ha for hay.

"We have got a bit of scrub ground that's good for cattle too, with natural clovers and bush, which all comes in handy," he said.

Providing two heifers and a steer each year to St Mark's College at Port Pirie, Mr Burt said the students had success one year, with their Murray Grey entry winning champion carcase at the Royal Adelaide Show.

"Our daughter Sophie has just started her own Murray Grey stud, Sandy Hills, and has about four head, and we are also looking forward to our son Blake, who is an apprentice butcher, coming home to work on the place next year," he said.