Many producers are keeping a tight hold on their females as they restock after the drought but one farming family has sold their full July and August calf drop.
Selling in the Blue Ribbon Weaner Sale held at Central Tablelands Livestock Exchange, Carcoar, on March 25, James Jackson, Pine Hill Pastoral, Molong, said "you've got to sell something when the prices are this good".
Mr Jackson said his decision to sell the calf drop came from changes to the business and the sale of a property.
"We don't normally sell all our heifers, we retain the better ones," Mr Jackson said.
"We have quite a few cows now so we could afford to sell the whole lot. It was a good time to sell since the prices are so good."
On offer were 60 weaner heifers split between two pens, and about 200 weaner steers.
The heifers were awarded best presented pen on the day which drove their price up to $2500.
"They looked good all penned up and I wasn't expecting to win anything but it was a nice surprise to turn up and see the ribbon there," Mr Jackson said.
"We have been breeding here in Orange for 50 years and it is nice to finally realise that you are doing something that people value so that gives you a bit of motivation to keep going."
Mr Jackson said during the drought the family had destocked quite heavily but not completely. He said they fed out a lot of hay and wondered how long they could hang on but with the quality in their cows, they didn't want to sell any more.
"You chase the quality and in the middle of the drought you wonder if it is worth it then you come out and realise it has all been worth hanging on to your cows," Mr Jackson said.
"It has taken us two years to get back to the stage where we are happy with our numbers so we were in a position to sell."
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On-farm operations
Originally stocking at 500 cows across three properties, Mr Jackson said after the recent sale of one place, the mature female numbers were at 350 to 400 head.
Mr Jackson said the female herd was at least 95 per cent Angus with some small remnants of Murray Grey and Hereford from when his father ran the operation.
The bulk of the females were purchased from Gilmandyke Angus and Mr Jackson said he had some really good female genetics from this line.
"We definitely want to keep this cow base because they are very good cows," Mr Jackson said.
"It is really hard to buy good quality cows so once you have got them, you want to hold on to them".
Bulls are usually bred on-farm through the small Angus stud operation of Bell Hill which has a lot of Millah Murrah bloodlines.
"We have bought quite a few bulls from Millah Murrah and we have done a lot of artificial insemination and embryo transfer using those genetics and we find they work really well for us."
Mr Jackson said in the past, he had sold steers direct in to JBS Swift but was better off selling them as weaners so he could run more cows.
"I like the breeding side of things too, I am probably better at breeding cattle than I am at feeding them so it works well for us to sell weaners"
In the last few years, Mr Jackson has come back to the core breeding side of the operation selling most of his steers at weaner sales.
"I think the value is in the female side of it so in order to get the females up, we need to sell the calves as weaners and I think it works quite well," Mr Jackson said.
In the sheep aspect of the farm, Mr Jackson said he ran a small Australian White stud using Tattykeel bloodlines.
Looking to the future, Mr Jackson said he wants to re-expand in his business with more emphasis on the family side and bringing the next generation in to the operation.
"I have two sons and one is still at school but I definitely want to get them more involved in the business," Mr Jackson said.
"They are showing signs of being interested so if that is the case, it will be a good little burst of new energy for the farm."
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