Angus breeders take sustainable to a new level

Along the way, they unlocked enormous potential for diversified income streams on small farms via a paddock-to-plate branded beef product.

The couple’s 92 hectare “Ghinni Ghi Angus”, west of Kyogle, runs 120 breeders and calves, 20 yearling bulls, 20 two-year-old bulls and 20 replacement yearling heifers.

That is exactly twice what it carried five years ago when the former small business owners from Brisbane took over.

The property has effectively been transformed from growing Parramatta grass and two metre high thistles to well-managed kikuyu pastures with legumes and the occasional herb.

Annual soil tests have shown gradual improvement to the point where limited additives are now required and the 40ha of alluvial creek flats are now weed-free.

“We always had a desire to move into beef and we spent two years looking for the right property, investigating options from Roma to Dorrigo,” Mr Gillett said.

“We basically settled here because of the fertile flats and permanent water - we have a 240 megalitre irrigation licence from Iron Pot Creek which has daily releases from Toonumbah Dam.

“That meant we knew we could do the pasture improvement we had in mind.”

The Gilletts turned four big paddocks into 16 two hectare paddocks plus one 6ha paddock.

“During the construction phase we were buying a 500m reel of electric fencing every month,” Mr Gillett said.

They planted natives like Red River Gums and Paperbarks and even fruit trees in the centre of paddocks for shade and established water to all paddocks. That process is continuing.

Laneways facilitate cell grazing, with fencing changed on a daily basis.

The width of the patch grazed is determined by number of stock, with each adult equivalent having access to 10 to 15 kilograms of dry matter per day.

“We want them to graze kikuyu at the four to five leaf stage because that provides maximum megajoules,” Mr Gillett said.

In summer the stock returning to the same paddock can do so in as short as 10 days while in autumn that can go out to 28 days.

At the end of kikuyu season in March, paddocks are over sown with ryegrass.

“Beforehand, we mulch each paddock, taking kikuyu back from the summer ‘boot height’ to two centimetres to limit competition, then we spin the ryegrass out, harrow again and roll,” Mr Gillett said.

Rye is fertilised with urea after the first grazing at 50kg/ha and then after the second grazing at 100kg/ha.

In summer granular nitrogen and phosphorus is applied at the same rates.

The Gilletts are also in the process of sowing creeping shaws vigna all over the property.

“It is the perfect complimentary legume to kikuyu, providing extra nutrients and fixing nitrogen,” Mr Gillett said.

The 6ha paddock is sown with cowpeas and millet in late spring and baled for winter feed.

“Instead of a second cut we graze this paddock in late summer and early autumn before planting with ryegrass and oats,” Mr Gillett said.

“We also use a two hectare paddock of lucerne and one of Rhodes grass to fill the hay sheds with dry feed for winter.”

Of the 120 breeders, 96 are Angus with Devons used as recipients for the embryo transfer program, which utilises semen sourced worldwide.

Ghinni Ghi Angus markets 20 stud bulls a year, mostly into commercial crossbreeding herds in the Northern Rivers but bulls have gone as far as North Queensland.

“We are breeding for high growth, fertility and good temperament. The majority of our bulls are used in crossbreeding operations to produce veal so the 200 and 400 day growth traits are very important,” Mr Gillett said.

“Fertility is critical for that type of operation so we concentrate on milk and scrotal size.

“And we don’t want growth bringing calving problems so we also focus on gestational length.”

IT was a paddock to plate side business that helped fund the pasture and infrastructure developments that transformed Angus breeders Mark and Carol Gillett’s Northern NSW property into a very viable small beef operation.

“As we built up female numbers, to supplement income and fund the development of the farm, our cull and commercial cattle went to the brand Ghinni Ghi Beef,” Mr Gillett said.

They sold frozen 1kg packs covering the full range of cuts at two local farmers markets each week.

Cattle were slaughtered at the nearby Northern Co-operative Meat Company and packed by a local butcher.

What they found was that there is a huge demand for this type of product.

“Our experience is the consumer definitely wants to talk to the producer,” Mrs Gillett said.

“Even if we decided to deregister all our cattle and focus on the brand we would not have kept up with demand.

“The potential is enormous but the cost is it takes you off the farm and our first love is seedstock.”