THE way in which Rebecca and David McMillan view their farm business has taken on a few twists and turns in recent years, but has all been with an eye to the future.
The couple run the 567 hectare "Mt Quamby" and the 267ha "Clifton", both at Young, the historic homestead on Clifton also becoming the centrepiece of the their diversification plan.
With daughter, Marina, 23 - also older sister to Hugh, 11 - keen to get into the family business, some outside-of-the-square thinking has been required.
"That's what we're doing now, is building the business up, because Marina (currently working off farm, but also the licensee for their function centre) wants to get into the business," Rebecca said.
The McMillans have long had a cattle breeding operation based on a self-replacing Mandalong Specials stud herd, currently numbering 400 cows.
They also buy and finish lambs, as well as grow wheat, canola and oats, with some of the wheat used to supplement their lambs. The cattle, meanwhile, have to finish on grass alone.
"The cattle have got to be able to do it on grass - grain is expensive stuff," said David, who in the past few years has made more out of selling grain than feeding it to the livestock.
This works because of the attention given to pasture performance. A stringent program of lime and high performance pasture species, along with dual purpose crops for grazing and grain, is allowing their stock's genetic potential to be realised.
"We want the most amount of beef in the shortest amount of time for the least amount of grass," David said.
By eight months old (weaning age) their calves could enter a feedlot, or go over the hooks, typically weighing 375 to 430 kilograms.
The 700 to 1000 lambs grown and finished at any one time do get a small amount of grain and mineral supplement, but they reach their finished weights quickly, so it pays better than feeding grain to cattle.
"With the lambs it's a different story, because they only eat that small amount to get that turn around," Mr McMillan said.
Rebecca, whose father Rick Pisaturo developed the Mandalong Specials breed, said they were also value-adding some of their beef themselves by having it killed at the Hilltops abattoir, cut up by a local butcher and then used through their function centre.
The lambs, meanwhile, are targeted for their ability to meet market weights quickly.
"All the sheep that we have that have got that particular bloodline in the them (Lampro) have turned around quickly," David said.
Adding to the success of the high performance genetics was good planning around their fodder crops, ensuring they were available to graze early in the season.
In late February, they already had 970 canola germinating, their summer spraying regime to conserve moisture being central to achieving this.
As soon as a big enough fall of rain arrived, they speed-tilled the paddocks so they were ready to sow.
Along with the dual purpose canola, they also grew Kittyhawk wheat and Naparoo beardless wheat, the latter being used to produce silage.
The lambs are purchased at 30kg and grazed on lucerne, with the grain supplementation in self feeders. The supplements include Blueprint Feedlot 50 and Blueprint Lift, and are fed under the guidance of David Starr, Alltech, Wagga Wagga.
They target 18-26kg carcase weight, often to Coles, and any that exceed that were sold through the Wagga saleyards.
"Most of the lambs we've sold, we've got about $200 (a head), and some of the heavyweights we've got about $245/hd," he said.
The couple have also developed a line of black Mandalong Specials within their stud herd, called Rapalong.
"The black has always been in there, and in this breed appears to be recessive in how it comes through," David said.
"We keep track of that so we can keep black on black and the (other) Mandalong Specials to stay as purebreds."
In recent years, the McMillans have also introduced a function centre, farm tours and a farm stay, a big part of which included introducing visitors to what farmers do.
"We offer farm tours and explain to people what we do and why we do it," said Rebecca.
"People get to understand how the farm is run and that most farmers love their farms and how they're run."
Their licensed venue at the historic Clifton comes with a rich history, and since purchasing the farm four years ago, the couple has also learnt of past connections to the McMillan family.
This included a period of less than five years, from 1917, by the McMillans, and a period in the late 1800s by the founding family, the Thackerays.
The six bedroom homestead is reminiscent of a time when Clifton was much larger.
It is of granite and sandstone construction, built with stone from the Glenquarry and Bowral quarries.
Rebecca said the homestead - renovated by its previous owners, Cheryl and Robert Hazlett - was built in 1890 at the beginning of the 1890s wool crash and depression.
The flow-on of out-of-work tradesman as public works projects came to a halt meant skilled labourers, including stonemasons, were seeking employment.
The homestead was built by Richard Hutchinson Roberts, who resided in Croydon. He owned holdings at Glenquarry, including "Roberton Park" and "Merilbah", and was Member for Camden from 1864 until 1869, a Member of the Legislative Council from 1882 until 1903 and vice president of NSW Sheepbreeders Association from 1895 until 1903 (also the year he died).
His uncle owned Tiverton Station, Harden, and while Tiverton's original homestead no longer stands, it was from that house which he copied the floor plan for Clifton.
Mr Hutchinson Roberts commissioned the house for his daughter, Minna, who married into the Thackeray family and during the time of their ownership totalled 35,000 acres (14,164ha) and stretched from Young to Thuddungra.
In 1905 - soon after an uprising of Young locals, frustrated the town couldn't grow because it was landlocked by surrounding large holdings - the Closer Settlement Board was formed.
Rebecca said that brought about the first subdivision of 12,000 acres (4856ha) and a 1905 advertisement laid out specific terms upon which the land could be offered, including being affordable for the "average, reasonable person".
Another later subdivision, around the time of the Second World War, also occurred for soldier settlement.
- If you enjoyed this story, don't miss the 72-page Signature Properties special insert in the May 2 edition of The Land.