Beef Spectacular Feedback Trial 2024: Boco Pastoral breeding for tough conditions

Mr Garnock, Boco Pastoral Company, Nimmitabel, has entered the trial about eight times in a 10 to 12 year period and had performed strongly in feedlot performance in the past.

While this year was no different with the Angus/Hereford team taking out champion feedlot performance with 315 points out of a possible 350, the team also finished third overall with a score of 790 points out of 1000.

For feedlot performance the average daily weight gain of the steers ranged from 2.20 kilograms per day to 2.76kg/day.

The steer with the highest average daily weight gain started with an induction weight of 384kg and had a final weight of 687kg.

Originally as a Hereford breeder, Mr Garnock first entered his first trial with four teams to compare his Herefords with Angus, and black baldies but has since only entered black baldy teams to keep track of where his herd is at.

"I wanted to know what direction I was going with figures," he said.

Mr Garnock said he was shocked his black baldy team performed so strongly in the carcase section, scoring 375 points out of 550.

"I reckon we started in the bottom quarter for carcase figures and I think we're about the middle now on carcase but still up there for feedlot performance," he said.

"That was the tricky bit trying to maintain the feedlot performance while bringing those carcase figures up."

Mr Garnock had Herefords and started buying in Angus cows with calves about ten years ago in the spring.

"I'd bring them back and split up and sell the calves in the autumn," he said.

Mr Garnock said he was initially putting his own bulls over the black cows, before bringing in Regent bloodlines from Rennylea, Dunoon and Milwillah, to go over the Hereford cows.

"We ran out of our Hereford bulls pretty quickly so we started using Anzac bulls," he said.

Mr Garnock sourced the Anzac bloodline from Kaludah, as well as buying some Angus stud cows from Irelands and Kennys Creek and heifer bulls locally from Hazeldean.

He said he started crossing the cattle to add extra length and stretch to his herd, but still keeping the toughness of the Herefords to suit the conditions.

With temperatures of down to minus 12 overnight, along with sleet and snow, Mr Garnock said the hardiness of the Herefords was needed.

Now his aim to transition the herd to fully black baldy and is breeding his own bulls, selling off the remaining purebred Herefords this year and the remaining purebred Angus next year.

"If I could end up with a black baldy mob of Anzac/Regent cross cattle and then we'll fine tune it probably with a second-cross type down the track to tweak it at the end," he said.

"We still want the carcase figures - IMF is the big one.

"We also like to keep a pretty close eye on fat cover because in this climate you do need a certain amount of fat cover."

Mr Garnock currently has about 1400 breeders between himself and his son and daughter in-law, Charlie and Manon, Sherwood Pastoral, Nimmitabel.

The cattle are mostly sold as weaners at Cooma where the mountain bred cattle are in strong demand.

Prime cattle are sold through Wagga and stores go to either Wodonga or Carcoar depending on the season.

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