Wellers on point with Hereford herd direction

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The Hereford had been a fixture in the daily lives of Peter and Karen Weller well before they married and took their joint passion for the breed to new heights with the establishment of their Swanvale Herefords Stud.

Karen's father enjoyed breeding Hereford cattle in a commercial capacity, so she grew up with Herefords on the Mid North Coast, while Peter has also enjoyed crossbreeding Herefords for the last 40 years.

As third-generation Hereford breeders, their primary focus for the last three decades had been on breeding commercial Hereford cattle, before commencing their stud operation, which they run with their son Glen and his wife, Kate.

The family runs their stud herd from Wolli, on the North West Slopes, 30km west of Tamworth, New South Wales, and they've leased a neighbouring property and a smaller block 10km up the road.

Swanvale Herefords was established in 2005 at Swan Vale, between Inverell and Glen Innes, and later Burroway, near Narromine. The Wellers then shifted their herd to Wolli in January of 2017.

Wolli consists of gently undulating arable land through to grazing hillsides, with predominantly black and red basalt soils and some lighter soils on the hillside.

Karen said rainfall has been sparse to date in 2024 with just 20mm having descended, which has been well below their annual average to this point.

"However, the cattle are looking good. We still have plenty of feed though that is drying out fast."

The Wellers have a solid handle on the Hereford having run a commercial Hereford herd since 1994, which stretches back to when they were based at Nabiac.

"Our breeding philosophy has focussed on strong Hereford cattle genetics to produce animals with the most efficient weight gain for age and high-performance carcase traits," Karen said.

"Structural soundness, high fertility, and easy calving ability are an essential component in our breeding program."

The Swanvale stud herd was formed through females sourced from the Courallie dispersal sale in 2005.

"This opportunity led to the establishment of Swanvale Herefords with quality genetics in our sires and females to ensure genetic progression."

The Wellers further strengthened their herd with genetics purchased from the Emu Holes, Raby, Dundee, and Cara Park studs, while their initial polled genetics were introduced from the Tycolah, Waratah, Kidman, Courallie, Wirruna, and Wararba Park studs.

"We focus on breeding horned and polled Hereford cattle with a quiet temperament, good weight for age, carcase, and maternal traits.

"Our fundamental aim is to produce soft easy-doing, long deep-bodied cattle with structural soundness and plenty of thickness.

"We also focus on producing cattle to perform well on grass, to ensure that they'll perform well in any herd under any conditions."

The Swanvale stud herd currently consists of horned and polled females which are run in conjunction with their commercial herd.

"Breeding females are run under commercial conditions and culled if they don't produce a live calf to weaning every year. This process helps us maintain our high-fertility traits."

To complement their resident stud sires, the Wellers also use high-quality AI sires in their annual AI program to ensure valuable genetic improvement.

"Ultrasonic scanning for Breedplan EBV's and individual DNA testing are performed within our herd.

"We also adopt a yard weaning program for our calves to ensure more resilience so that they're better adapted to handle stress in life, and within an intensive feedlot environment."

"It's also a management practice of ours to pregnancy-test our cows annually, following a six-week joining. This management ensures our high fertility rates and better genetics remain in our herd."

Swanvale bulls are sold at Glen Innes Annual Hereford Bull Sale in July each year.

Feeder steers are sold via AuctionsPlus and through feedlots in March or April each year usually at seven to 10-months-old, at an average of 380kg live weight.

MSA bullocks are sold in spring to the abbatoirs at 340 to 400kg dressed weight.

"In the past we have sold eight-and-a-half month old weaners, weighing 380kg, for $2260 through AuctionsPlus.

"Swanvale bulls are regularly sold to repeat buyers at Glen Innes Annual Hereford Bull Sale and by private arrangement at our property."

Karen said they bought a Poll Hereford bull from Elite Poll Herefords, which was the second top-priced bull at the 2023 sale.

"We're looking forward to seeing the progeny produced from this high-growth bull with good carcase traits.

"We're also optimistically awaiting the arrival of our calves from our latest AI program, just like every year."

The Weller family work closely, with a passion to provide a sustainable future with their select stud breeding program.

"Individual expertise is adopted within our business with low-stress stock handling techniques, extensive stock recording and management, and animal health practices adopted on-farm."

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