Consistent quality the key to Hereford breed's grassfed success

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As the demand for certified grassfed beef continues to grow, Hereford producers are in a prime position to take advantage of the market opportunities available, both in Australia and overseas.

That's the message from several industry stakeholders and one that Herefords Australia chief executive Michael Crowley is keen to promote ahead of the upcoming Mountain Calf Sales.

"Hereford and Hereford-cross cattle consistently produce results for grass finishers, backgrounders and feedlots," Mr Crowley said.

"You only have to look at the recent weaner sales in the western districts of Victoria.

"There were a lot of Hereford drafts that were well supported by repeat buyers who take them home and produce a quality grass-finished product or take cattle through to feedlot entry weight at young ages."

According to Mr Crowley, Herefords Australia is taking a leading position on sustainability and it is a major focus for the breed.

"Sustainability is one of the largest macro trends in the red meat industry and we want to be a significant part of the solution," he said.

"Hereford cattle deliver improved fertility, longevity, weight for age and superior carcase quality outcomes.

"If we can reduce the cost of production, lift productivity and improve profitability, we will go a long way to a sustainable future."

He said Hereford cattle were also delivering top-end Meat Standards Australia (MSA) grading off grass and grain.

"We collected more than 35,000 MSA carcase records, from central Queensland down to Tasmania and predominantly from grassfed cattle," he said.

"The results showed that Herefords are consistently grading in the top 25 per cent when benchmarked against national MSA data."

He said the use of genomic technology to drive faster rates of genetic gain was also a focus for the breed.

Elders national livestock manager Peter Homann believes the Hereford breed's finishing ability on grass is hard to beat.

"The pasture assured grassfed continues to grow and historically Herefords are great converters of grass, they have big frames, big square heads and they can eat a lot of feed," he said.

"Personally I would prefer to have a Hereford in a grassfed program, as I think they are the best grass converters of all the British breeds.

"The certified grassfed program with Aussie beef is just going to get bigger and that's where the Hereford breed comes into its own."

At the recent weaner sales in Hamilton, Mr Homann was busy buying Hereford steers to fulfil client orders for backgrounding and grass finishing programs.

"I bought nearly 500 head for clients, with about half going to the Princess Royal Station feedlot in SA, where they will be backgrounded before moving onto grain, while the other half went to buyers in north-east Victoria for grassfed programs," he said.

"Hereford-crosses are the way to go in feedlots as you get the attributes of both breeds."

Mr Homann said the quality of the Hereford calves at the Mountain Calf Sales would be excellent.

"They have been breeding Herefords in the mountains for 150 years and I shouldn't say it, but the Herefords are by far the best cattle there," he said.

"The cattle will be fantastic, there'll be a power of people there and although prices have dropped off slightly, I believe they will pick up that drop."

Elders Delaney Livestock and Property livestock agent Anthony Delaney attends the Mountain Calf Sales each year, purchasing quality drafts of Hereford calves that he knows will perform for his clients.

"The clients that we purchase the calves out of the mountain sales for are generally repeat buyers who come back for the same lines each year and have a distinct preference for the Herefords," he said.

"The mountain calves come out of a pretty extreme environment up there, so they do well wherever you take them."

Mr Delaney said the majority of their buyers were from Gippsland and the Yarra Valley, as well as areas north of Melbourne, and were looking for calves weighing 370 kilograms and upwards to finish on grass within the following 12-16 months.

"Generally our clients are marketing the cattle over the hooks at live weights of 700kg-plus, so around the 400kg carcase weight," he said.

"We also do some backgrounding heifer jobs where clients will join them and then sell them as pregnancy-tested-in-calf heifers.

"The mountain breeders do a very-good job producing calves with consistent and improved quality each year.

"That's what has kept the sales going."

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