THIRTY years ago, Peter Moses bought a few cheap steers to finish during drought times as a “one-off”.
Fast forward to the millennium – and more than a 100,000 head later – and he and his wife, Jenny, are still finishing and selling cattle.
In the process, their Welcannah Feedlot was recently acknowledged as the 2011 Woolworths beef supplier of the year.
The 2000-head capacity feedlot is run in conjunction with farming to supply the Cargill-owned abattoir at Tamworth, which supplies Woolworths with 150 steers a week.
These days, Mr Moses is happy to leave the “hard slog” in the yards to his capable on-farm managers, Ed Wisemantel and Errol Lather, who run the Moses’ Moree and Mullaley properties.
Annually, the two places – “Welcannah” at Moree, and “Kanowna,” near Mullaley – turn over about 7500 head.
The southern block at “Kanowna” sits on about 810 hectares and is where bought-in yearlings – less than 320 kilograms – are backgrounded on grass.
“We aim for these to gain the first 60kg or so here,” Mr Moses said.
“After that, they are forwarded on to Moree at about the 380kg and 12- to 18-month-old mark.”
At the larger 2428ha “Welcannah” property, the farm operations become “vertically integrated” – crops grown there go back into the cattle feed.
“On arrival, the stock are sent out for a week or 10 days to adjust to their new environment and get used to the different water,” Mr Moses said.
He said it also gave the mob a chance to settle from the journey and any bumps and bruises
that may have occurred during transport.
Then it’s on to the feedlot and final part of their operation, where the target is for cattle to reach about the 470kg to 480kg mark within 60 days.
“The benchmark daily weight gain is about two kilograms per day.
“The feed mix is mostly barley (about 70 per cent), cottonseed, corn silage and a molasses-based supplement.
“Barley straw is also added to the starter ration.”
Feed works out to a value of about $250 a tonne, and each animal consumes about 700kg of feed during the 60-day feedlotting period – equating to a cost of about $175 a head.
With the current market value hovering at $2.20/kg, Mr Moses said the best way to profit was through careful buying and by meeting the strict contracts and criteria Woolworths demand.
“We’ve been filling contracts with Woolworths for about 17 years now,” Mr Moses said.
And 100,000-plus head later, they’ve done so with a 98pc compliance to Woolworths’ high quality specifications.
