A FEW years back Joel Helmuth, Moxham Pastoral, found a good neighbour whose livestock have unlocked a growing Angus enterprise.
Moxham, nestled in the high country of Black Mountain not too far from Armidale, is predominantly a superfine Merino operation.
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But thanks to old links to Steve and Amity Chase, Waitara Angus, Mr Helmuth and Moxham are steadily growing a quality line of pure Angus cattle.
"Before I moved up here to manage this business, I was Steve's neighbour and a regular at his bull sales," Mr Helmuth said.
"I wasn't in a position at the time to buy any of his bulls but would be there for a sticky beak and I got to know him.
"When we had the chance here to start building a herd Steve was the first breeder I thought about contacting. That was three years ago and it has been good."
Moxham needed cattle able to cope with the obstacles nature can throw at a property stretching across 1100 hectares 1300 metres above sea level, where the air can be cold and the country is a blend of granite, scrub and softer soils.
"Angus cattle do quite well where we are," Mr Helmuth said. "They acclimatise really well in the cold, held up well through the big dry and the past few months have been very wet yet the cattle have continued to thrive despite the horrible weather.
"It's because of the genetics we get.
"We grow our cattle on grass. There is a bit of supplementary feeding through the winter but that's only a bit of hay grown here.
"The bulls we get from Waitara have improved our herd. They've made them better, more consistent in structure and growth and been a real asset. Our cattle overall are probably a little bit bigger in frame and our replacement females are producing a better line of calves."
Mr Helmuth finds truth in Waitara's mission statement to "produce superior, predictable genetics with a commercial focus, resulting in a more efficient, profitable production system for each of our clients" saying the quality offspring affords Moxham the luxury of choosing where and when to sell stock.
"His bulls are also exceptionally quiet and that is a really big plus for us," he added.
"At the moment we're focussing on the feedlot market but we are flexible and when we turn them off is dependent on the circumstances at the time.
"We don't go chasing any specific market because things are often changing but our breeders are doing better and showing improvement each year with good growth, fertility and structure.
"We would like to double our numbers in time."
Alan Welburn
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
