Beef cattle have made an emotional homecoming to Lord Howe Island, three years after producers were forced to destroy their livestock due to a rodent eradication scheme.
The lengthy process, which was coordinated by Robert Mackenzie and Marc Robson of Macka's Australian Black Angus Beef, Salt Ash, saw the delivery of 21 head on Sunday consigned to two farmers.
Nine head of Angus were purchased from Macka's by third-generation cattle farmer Esven Fenton.
In a separate consignment, a line of 13 Dexters were put together by Kathy Baker, Little Milky Way Dexters, Clifton, Qld.
They were all quarantined for a seven-day period at Macka's Oakfield Park property prior to their voyage.
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Esven Fenton owns sanctioned farming land set aside on Lord Howe Island (LHI) for the sole purpose of being self-sustaining for the whole community of LHI residents.
"It is absolutely crucial the island becomes self-sufficient to reduce the carbon footprint," Mr Robson said.
"The infrastructure on the island is all geared like this and they have sophisticated produce operations like fruit and vegetable growth, with a keen focus on hydroponics to minimise any impact on the natural ecosystem.
"These points are crucial to ensure the island remains and flourishes as a world heritage site."
The pursuit to help the island's producers restock began when the LHI Rodent Eradication Project's active baiting period ceased and the Lord Howe Island Board (LHIB) actively began looking for arrangements to help acquire and transport stock.
"Prior to the Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project (REP) (which began in 2019 after 15 years of planning and research), the majority of cattle on-island were destroyed to increase areas aerially or hand baited, and decrease the area baited via bait station, to give the project the best chance of success," the LHIB proposal to import cattle read.
"The LHIB resolved to pay cattle owners for their stock to be dispatched. As part of this agreement, the LHIB also resolved to assist cattle owners in reintroducing replacement cattle after the cessation of the REP."
Mice were accidentally introduced to LHI around 1850 and rats in 1918. They had been responsible for the extinction of numerous species and were recognised as a threat to more. Since the REP there has been a rebound of birds, plants and insects.
In a March 2022 media release, Invasive Species Council chief executive officer Andrew Cox said while eradication has not been officially declared, there are promising signs it is on track.
"If it is successful, it would be the world's largest ever eradication of rodents from an inhabited island," Mr Cox said.
"The project build on earlier eradications of feral cats and pigs in the 1980s, feral goats in 1999 and the world's first eradication of myrtle rust in 2018."
Mr Mackenzie said it was in 2019 when Wauchope Stock and Estate Agent John O'Brien - who has since retired - approached Macka's Beef and they began involvement with the process.
But there were delays, challenges and many hurdles due to seasonal conditions, transportation barriers, and a detection of seven breeding rats in early 2021.
"My son James visited the island in December 2021 and met with the LHIB and project officer Darcelle Matassoni to determine what was needed and how to make it all happen," he said.
"It was established that they were after some really quality Angus commercial cattle to rebuild the herd, and we wanted to use Angus Verified which has been a good program for commercial producers here."
Mr Mackenzie said they selected the "top of their keeper heifers" to send to the island, including females pregnancy-tested-in-calf (PTIC) to Texas Iceman R725 which Macka's Beef purchased for the then record top of $225,000.
"We AI'd [artificially inseminated] a couple of hundred heifers, and out of 200 AI'd to Iceman we selected the top eight to send to Lord Howe Island," he said.
Accompanying the heifers was Mackas' first stud bull that they had sold, Macka's Revelation R22, an 18-month-old son of Esslemont Lotto L3 out of the Witherswood Beauty M117 female they purchased from the Witherswood dispersal.
"The bull is also what we believe to be our best sire," Mr Mackenzie said.
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Mrs Baker selected five Dexter heifers from Lynelle Kruger's Pine Spur stud, Crows Nest, Qld, and five heifers from Splitters Creek Dexters near Lismore, NSW. She added a six-month-old weaner bull, Little Milky Way Seneca, from her stud and two steers.
Mrs Baker said her buyer was a previously an Angus breeder who had converted to Dexters due to their compact size, and meat quality.
She said she put the line of Dexters together in 2020 and they have been running on agistment since then.
"This has been two years in the making and the heifers were covered by my bull before leaving," she said.
The 781 kilometre journey from Sydney to the island by barge took 60 hours, but was said to be "smooth sailing" for the stock.
"We had to be ready to go at anytime as the weather prevents the transport of livestock on the water," Mr Mackenzie said.
"We had to be ready to go at anytime as the weather prevents the transport of livestock on the water," he said.
"The call was made Wednesday morning for us to be in Sydney by Thursday morning very early. My son Jack and I delivered the cattle, we left home [Salt Ash] at 9pm [Wednesday] and arrived at Sydney at 12am [Thursday], but had to wait for the tide to rise to make the loading safer.
"They left at 4am on Thursday and arrived at 4pm on Saturday afternoon... the seas were favourable and calm, and the trip was quicker than anticipated. They were anchored off-shore and then when the tide was right they were unloaded on Sunday morning."
"The proud cattle farmer that now owns the cattle, Esven Fenton, was really impressed with how these lovely animals were. They were so well adjusted and calm when they arrived," Mr Robson said.
Mr Mackenzie said they will travel to LHI in the coming month to ensure everything is going well, and after this they will continue to liaise directly with the buyers in the future to form a long-term relationship.
"We want to ensure we provide and service, so we will look at is it time to send bull over or help with setting up an AI program so there is no inbreeding," he said.
A purpose built 50ft shipping container carried the stock across on the barge.
"We added a 10 foot container to the end of a 40 foot shipping container, and custom modified that into six pens for the cattle," he said.
"Each pen had carpet floors, feed and water troughs - and that was the job for the LLS [Local Land Services] vet; to oversee and manage the stock, and make sure they were fed and watered."
Mr Mackenzie said a lot of work went into preparing cattle for the voyage four weeks prior to travel, including getting them used to electric fences and working closely with the stock.
"It was very important the stock were quiet when they turned up," he said. "We trained them so they would come up to the purchaser, and we sent them over with the same food we fed here during the quarantine period so he could feed them when they arrived.
"It wasn't just a sale, but something that meant a lot to us. I asked myself if it was my father, what would he want the cattle to be like."
The bio-secure feed was fed seven days prior to importation, and all cattle were vaccinated and health checked within this period. They were also weighed to ensure even weight distribution on the vessel.
"Before the journey we had the barge fully cleaned to be free of any type of sea fungi or contaminants before entering the water around LHI," Mr Mackenzie said.
It was also a first for barge company, Polaris Marine, who had not transported stock to the island before. It also brought back a load of scrap metal that the Macka's team will help assist with unloading and taking to the recyclers, which helped reduce the cost of shipping.
Mr Mackenzie said coordinating the voyage and restocking process was part of their commitment to industry.
"From our team to the Polaris team to LLS, and Carolyn Young (of Viona Exports) with the documents - it was all team work," he said.
"It was something new and exciting to be apart of, but more so it was something to really help make a difference."
