IAN Woods says he’s getting a bit closer to retirement, but that hasn’t kept him from buying new sires for his commercial Poll Hereford herd at Goonumbla near Parkes.
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While he and wife, Valda have formalised their succession plans they still have several hundred hectares where they keep their breeding herd of 65 cows at “Woodlands” and another small block down the road.
It was while Mr Woods was a livestock transport carrier that he ventured into Poll Hereford breeding.
The Woods family originally moved up from Victoria and grandfather settled at Goonumbla while other branches of the family moved on to Tomingley and Oakey, Queensland.
“Dad was a sheepman and probably only had about 10 cows,” he said. “They were more into sheep while I liked cattle and actually started with some Shorthorns bought from the Fergusson family, Moreton Bay, Dunedoo.”
However, he bought some Poll Hereford heifers at Forbes saleyards, a double decker, and said he gradually bred up from there.
“The Herefords have a nice temperament and I used to cart a lot of them out of the Walgett area at one stage,” he said.
“I found them to hold their condition better, so was keen to continue breeding them.”
His first bulls came from Cranbury stud, Cudal.
“I bought a few off Doug Nash and later a few from Kidman stud, Dubbo.
“I did buy a horned bull but quickly moved back to Polls.
Last year he ventured to the Dubbo Poll Hereford National and went home with two bulls.
“I only buy a bull every few years and was due for a changeover and the two are now running with mobs about the property,” he said.
Calves are now beginning to drop sired by them.
Jindalee Kane, a son of Mt Raven Merchant and from a Jindalee Fern matron weighing 888 kilograms and an eye muscle area of 127 square centimetres is performing well among his females after Mr Woods paid $4500 at Dubbo last year.
The other at $7000 was Grathlyn Knockout by Markowen Federer and from a Grathlyn Coral dam which stood fourth in his junior class weighing 825kg.
Mr and Mrs Woods turns-off their steers at 18 months with the last consignment averaging 480kg.
Most of his property continues to be natural grass country while there is some improved pasture paddocks of oats undersown with lucerne which is used to grow out young steers and feed cows with their calves.
Mr Woods said he had used Angus bulls over his heifers, but experienced more calving problems than he liked, so changed back to using Poll Hereford bulls again.
