A good-coloured nose and healthy hair.
This is what lifelong Poll Hereford breeder Ian Edson looks for when he is breeding and buying stock, and it is paying off.
Mr Edson, “Stirling Vale”, 95 kilometres from Ivanhoe, says his methods for choosing quality stock aren’t scientific – they are habits passed on from his father to the fourth generation farmer.
And he uses this method when selecting bulls at the Herefords Australia National Show and Sale at Dubbo, which he and his family have been attending since its inception.
Mr Edson, who, with his wife Trudy, runs 240 Poll Hereford breeders, as well as 3000 Merinos, on his 30,700-hectare property, said he had tried other breeds of cattle, but he just kept coming back to only Poll Herefords.
And it seems they are in his blood. His father Charlie began breeding Poll Herefords in 1951. The family property was only a third of the size it is today and has been in the family for almost a century.
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But he said the Poll Herefords had many advantages. “Herefords can go to hot or cold country,” he said. “They seem to do better than other breeds. They can go anywhere and still be useful.”
He has also found that Poll Hereford cattle seem to have a gentle temperament. “They are patient cattle. They’re not as likely to kick you,” he said.
Mr Edson joins his bulls year-round, and said he can sell the offspring as vealers or as steers, depending on the season. He mostly sells his cattle through the saleyards, selecting where to send them depending on the season. “So I send fat cattle to where there hasn’t been rain,” he said.
He said he buys bulls from a wide range of studs to get a mixture of genetics. “I like to go to Dubbo because I can buy some bulls from one stud, and then get them from another,” he said.
Mr Edson looks for good-sized bulls with narrow shoulders. “I like them to be wide from eye to eye,” he said. “If they are wide across the eyes, they will be wide across the hip.”
He said this also seemed to be the case when measuring from the nose to the forehead. “It means they should be a long beast,” he said.
He said having slightly sunken eyes often meant the animal had a better temperament. Good feet and legs were also crucial. “They need to be able to walk and to produce,” he said.
But he also has other ways to tell if a beast is good quality. “If you want to tell if beef is any good, you look at the nose and the hair. If the nose is a good colour, that means there is good blood supply, so the meat should be even. And you want good quality hair – generally it will give you good eating,” he said. “It’s not scientific or anything – it is just something we use and it is fairly successful.”
