A chance opportunity to try Red Angus in their beef operation near Rockhampton has led Queensland producers, the Kelly family to meet market specifications and boost quality and profitability.
Weight gains have substantially improved while carcase data from the processors indicate an increase in MSA Index, yield and marble score in their Red Angus cross cattle, Glen Kelly said.
"Calves (from the first joining) hit the ground in April/May 2019 (earlier than we usually would like), and they grew like anything. They hit the ground tiny, and before we knew it we had 300 kilogram cattle at 15-18 months," he said.
"They were working out 50-60kg ahead of everything else."
Farming across Oakleaf, a 2307-hectare (5700 acres) property west of Rockhampton, Mr Kelly along with his wife Nikki and daughters Laine and Paige, runs a 250 head breeding herd which produces stock to go into their crop fattening operation
Originally, they were Hereford producers before going into Santa Gertrudis and Droughtmaster cattle in the 1990s.
"We then stuck with the Droughtmaster infused Brahman over the Droughtmaster cross females,' he said.
They wanted to do something different and get more flat backs into the stock.
Mr Kelly said he first introduced the Red Angus breed to their program in 2018 after coming across the grand champion Red Angus bull at Beef Australia that year. He was Round-Em-Up Morton M17 bred by the Hobbs family of Round-Em-Up stud, Molong, NSW.
"His length, and his whole attitude and quietness was exactly what we wanted, while he had the spring of rib, softness and colour," he said. "Angus are renowned for their fertility, and I wanted to see how that went."
The Kelly family works on joining around 50 replacement heifers at 18 months to two years of age, with the rest culled.
"We then stuck with the Droughtmaster infused Brahman over the Droughtmaster cross females,' he said.
They wanted to do something different and get more flat backs into the stock.
Mr Kelly said he first introduced the Red Angus breed to their program in 2018 after coming across the grand champion Red Angus bull at Beef Australia that year. He was Round-Em-Up Morton M17 bred by the Hobbs family of Round-Em-Up stud, Molong, NSW.
"His length, and his whole attitude and quietness was exactly what we wanted, while he had the spring of rib, softness and colour," he said. "Angus are renowned for their fertility, and I wanted to see how that went."
The Kelly family works on joining around 50 replacement heifers at 18 months to two years of age, with the rest culled.
"We are selecting for a feminine animal - big bullocky cows never do much for you," he said.
They have been a closed herd not buying in any cattle, except for bulls, for 30 years now.
"We are EU [European Union] accredited producers - it is the safest and best market overall for us," Mr Kelly said.
Mr Kelly is the sixth generation of his family farming at Oakleaf. They originally settled in the 1870s on a property called Edith Vale, purchasing the adjoining properties to grow their operation.
"We had beef cattle, and were dairy farmers before going into beef," he said.
Previously growing grain crops, including sorghum and winter crops such as wheat, the Kelly's finished doing this in the 1970s then moved into crop fattening.
"We have summer and winter fattening crops - forage, sugar graze, honey graze and winter oats," he said.
"We crop fatten cull heifers and grow steers to 300 kilogram-plus dress weights, aiming to turn them off as quick as possible.
"Right up until the end of 2019 we always had them processed at Teys Australia Lakes Creek (Rockhampton)."
With crop fattening they achieve growth rates of two kilograms per head per day on average, while on grass they do an average of 1kg/hd/day.
Due to the drought, they moved to selling feed on steers leaving the place at 450kg.
"It has been awful here until recently. Last year we had 20 inches, 2018 we had 11 inches, 2019 we had eight inches," Mr Kelly said.
"We sent heifers to feedlot, a 44 head consignment of which 21 were Red Angus cattle - they were cattle that we would have grown out in the crop fattening, but the conditions didn't allow it.
"Some did 3.5 kilograms per head per day - it was extraordinary."
Rainfall over the past six months has helped get production back on track.
"We sent 80 steers in the last four months to Teys Australia for good money - money like we have never seen before," he said.
They had another line booked to go in the first week of processing at Teys in January and they will easily dress 300kg, Mr Kelly said.
"From previous carcase data, the marbling is what has impressed us the most. We've had some reasonable marbling, but with the Red Angus it is extraordinarily good.
"I know with black Angus they are renowned for marbling but I love red cattle, and I love red polled cattle.
"For what we do, to see marbling pop up overnight with crossbred cattle is what impresses me.
"The other thing that blew us away with the cattle sent to the feedlot was with MSA Index and yielding."
Mr Kelly's father Darrell is still involved in the cattle operation at 83 years of age, and he has a soft spot for red cattle. The acclimatisation of Red Angus bulls to go into the north is the crucial component, Mr Kelly said.
ALSO IN NEWS:
Have you signed up to The Land's free daily newsletter? Register below to make sure you are up to date with everything that's important to NSW agriculture.