North’s winter challenge

Most beef producers are locked into carrying breeders through winter on much less pasture than typical and with limited opportunity to buy in feed.

The priority now seems to be getting through the cold months with as many numbers as possible in the hope of spring feed for calving and, where producers have opted to keep weaners taken off earlier than normal, compensatory weight gains.

Across the Northern Tablelands, the opportunity for late-season pasture growth that came with the unseasonably warm spell – which saw early-June daytime temperatures still about 20 degrees Celsius at Armidale – didn’t eventuate for the most part due to a lack of rain.

Combined with the extreme lack of fodder for sale and limited agistment options, the lack of pasture feed has meant some producers are continuing to destock.

Some Tableands cattle have been sent as far as Trangie and Nygan on agistment.

Beef consultant Bill Hoffman said early weaning happened just about across the board throughout the Northern Tablelands in response to the disastrous 2013-14 spring/summer season.

Calves as young as three months old were weaned in many cases compared to the more traditional six to nine months.

In some herds up to 50 per cent of stock numbers were sold and in many cases breeder numbers were reduced by as much as 30pc, he said.

“Many feeder and trading cattle were forced onto the market which was flooded with cattle at weights 50 to 100 kilograms less than normal,” Mr Hoffman said.

“An added frustration was the extended delivery times which were in place at most abattoirs and feedlots,” he said.

“At the same time, New England producers have spent heavily on cleaning out and deepening dams and purchasing pumps and poly pipe and there had been huge expenditure on bought-in feed.”

Business cash flow for the next few years will likely be significantly affected, hindering restocking ability when the season does break.

Mr Hoffman said spring-calving cows were rejoined in terrible seasonal conditions so pregnancy rates would be affected, however producers categorically agreed they were able to maintain cows in far better condition by taking the early weaning option.

“From a fertility point of view, the benefit of weaning this season’s calves early may come next season if those cows manage to calve in better body condition than if the calves were left on until the normal weaning age,” he said.

Making decisions early and being willing to take strong action has placed Northern Tablelands producers John and Narelle Finlayson in a position where they’ll now be able to take well-bred calves through winter and have a saleable article come spring.

Against the backdrop of one of the toughest seasons on record, it’s a good outcome and while it has come at the cost of a seriously depleted breeding herd, the Finlaysons are looking to focus more on trading down the track as a way of building in a buffer.

Their key responses to drought were to wean calves early, reduce cow numbers as opposed to trying to feed them and sacrifice paddocks in order to keep the rest of their farm going.

The Finlaysons normally run 600 Angus and Angus/Hereford breeders on their 2200-hectare “Pointsfield” near Armidale, but breeder numbers are now down to 350.

They also normally run 6500 Merinos and fat lambs, 3000 of which are breeding ewes, but numbers in this enterprise are now also down almost 50 per cent.

“In November we started selling down stock we’d normally fatten off the back of a bad season last year,” Mr Finlayson said.

“By late December, after a month of terribly windy and dry conditions, we went into full selling mode.

“We had made the decision to feed for only a short time then cut our losses and we stuck to that.”

In January, they started yard weaning two months earlier than normal, with calves given specialist weaner pellets.

Cows were locked up in “sacrifice” paddocks and fed intensively, with grain and hay rations at times trucked in as far as 1000 kilometres.

Home-grown conserved feed had been depleted by the end of 2013.

That meant when rain did arrive, there was good growth through the majority of “Pointsfield”, a mixture of native and fescue-based improved pastures.

The property received 60mm in February and 110mm in March, where normally 100mm each month from January would be expected.

EARLY weaning was a very effective tool for maintaining cow condition, according to Northern Tablelands beef producer John Finlayson.

“We have pregnancy-tested (early as well – mid January) and our joining percentages were very high,” he said.

With 450 calves coming through now, the Finlaysons, “Pointsfield” near Armidale, have planted 140 hectares of oats, rape and short-term ryegrass.

They had a good strike rate and have started to graze already.

“We generally grow calves out to 450 to 500 kilograms to sell from January to March as rising 18 month olds,” said Mr Finlayson.

“We’re redoing feed budgets to recalibrate how far we can go with them. If spring rain arrives, we may be able to keep to that but if not, they should still offer good value if sold earlier.

“When you’re underpinned by breeding, a season like this one means you have to take drastic action to get some value.

“While we will retain a breeding herd, we’ll restock next year with more trade cattle to give us an alternative enterprise and more flexibility if there is a downturn.”