Price is right for milk vealers

Mr Smith and wife Jean run a purebred Simmental herd and find the price is right for milk vealers when sold direct to works.

The Smiths sell through M.C. Herd meat wholesalers, Geelong, and Hardwicks Meatworks, Kyneton, which are an 80 kilometre and 100km trip respectively.

The knowledge of these markets helped in making decisions when it came to establishing their herd.

Mr Smith said 400 kilograms at 10 months old was the main aim.

"Herds like them up to 400kg, but Hardwicks will take them heavier," he said.

"We've targeted that vealer market for many years and they're beautiful calves at that age.

"When we sell them direct we know a price per kilogram and there's far less excess charge this way.

"There's no commission, no weighing fees or yard fees, so we know what it's going to cost us."

They now join 100 Simmental cows and 30 heifers a year, while also running a 1500-strong Merino flock on their 650-hectare property.

A shift to Simmentals 30 years ago was a move Mr Smith, now aged 78, said had paid off considering the quiet nature of the breed and the premium price it attracted.

The Smith now sell about 80 vealers a year and the rest go back in to the commercial herd.

"The European breed doesn't have excessive fat cover and we picked up $100 a head in heifers by not having the fat tails the Herefords had," Mr Smith said.

"They're a quiet breed that fatten well and the milk vealers turn off at nine or 10 months at the weight we want them at."

Selling the vealers straight off their mothers was another move he said helped achieve weight for age.

"We find by not weaning them the meat quality is better because they've been drinking milk, so they're juicy."

A diet of pasture hay and silage was used if needed, but Mr Smith said the calves mainly finished on grass.

With 125mm of rain recorded already this year, he said feed this season would finish the cattle well.

"We had a marvellous spring and our best autumn break in 30 years," Mr Smith said.

"We're only 40 miles (64km) from the coast so it stays fairly warm compared to other farms but we can always finish our cattle without having to go to lot feeders."

A consistent calving percentage was another trait of the Simmental breed according to Mr Smith, who joins in April or May.

"We join our heifers first when they're two years old and we find we always get at least 100 per cent calving with lots of twins," he said.

Sourcing genetics from across Victoria, South Australia and NSW had added diversity to their commercial herd.

For the past seven years the Smiths have made the six hour trip to Illabo in the Riverina to purchase females from Tennysonvale Simmentals.

"We've done well with those genetics; I'll normally take home 10 to 13 heifers a year from their annual sale," Mr Smith said.

"We used to sell all of our heifers over-the-hooks as well and I went up there to replenish heifers to breed with, and have been going ever since."