RUNNING a successful feedlot beside a large scale breeding enterprise has worked in favour for the Gett family of “Bonnie Doon”, Narrabri.
A mixture of livestock and a small portion of cropping has created a strong demand from local and out of state repeat buyers for their cattle.
Bonnie Doon owner operator Jeremy Gett, said the popularity of their first cross Simmental/Angus females has been a major contributing factor to the success of their breeding enterprise.
“We run an Angus stud, we use our black Simmental bull as a back up bull, although, half our bulls we sell are Simmental cross,” Mr Gett said.
After the purchase of their embryo bull in 2013 from Round- Em-Up Simmental's, Molong, they have been breeding first cross cattle.
Running around 300 to 400 cattle on their 1400 hectare property and running another 200 to 300 through the feedlot, the Gett family sell around 600 cattle a year out of their feedlot.
A new complex has recently been built, which they hope to put into action in the next few months, harbouring a professional set-up with day shelters and feed bunks so they can monitor weight gain.
“The new feedlot is a more professional set up. We hope to move in to it in the up coming months,” Mr Gett said.
The Simmental part of their operation is a major part of their breeding enterprise, half the bulls sold are Simmental cross and the other half are straight Angus.
“Simmental's play a pretty big part in our operation,” Mr Gett said. “We run around 100 Angus cows and a few Simmental cows to put with our Angus and Simmental bulls.”
Ninety per cent of the Gett family’s Simmental cross and Angus cattle go to Woolworth's and the other 10pc are sold through the local sale yards.
“We have a very good relationship with Woolworths, we have been working with them for around 15 years,” Mr Gett said.
After recently selling their fifth crop of “home grown” bulls of both Simmental cross and straight Angus, in lots of 25 to 30 to mostly repeat buyers. Mr Gett said the straight Simmental bulls are very popular to go across the border.
“They seem to put a more hybrid vigour into their cattle herds,” he said.
Praised for milking ability
The Simmental breed, originally from Switzerland, has been praised for their ability to produce enormous amounts of good quality milk for their offspring.
Bonnie Doon feedlot operator and cattle producer, Jeremy Gett Narrabri, said his Simmental breeders are exceptional mothers and he cannot fault them.
“I really like the black female Simmental cross we have, they are outstanding mothers,” Mr Gett said.
“Their milking ability and mothering qualities are just extraordinary, our first cross females are top breeders.”
Mr Gett believes the one thing the Simmental’s has overt their Angus breeders is their strong milk supply, because they were traditionally used for milking.
“They are obviously bred a lot different to the traditional milking cows we have today, however, their milking ability is incredible,” he said.