LAST year Jeremy and Julie Shaw artificially inseminated 100 cows. This year, they hope to raise that number to 500.
The couple, and their sons Henry and Leo, from the 9307 hectare (23,000 acre) aggregation, JS Grazing, Injune, operate a commercial Angus herd in partnership with Jeremy’s parents, Jeff and Jenny.
Heifers are the firm focus of their operation.
“They’re the engine room, I guess, of what we want to do,” Jeremy said.
“It takes a good cow to make a good calf.”
While they cannot compete with the budget of seedstock buyers at bull sales, top genetics are just as highly regarded in their herd.
They buy the best bulls they can, focusing on their female pedigree, and supplement them with an AI program using semen purchased in top priced bulls, including the $150,000 record price Millah Murrah Kingdom K35.
“We’ve been doing up to 100 cows and 120-to-50 heifers but we’d like to ramp that up to 300 to 500 cows this year if we could,” Jeremy said.
“We’d like to get to that 500 cows and we think that’ll really fast track things hopefully.”
Time for change
Of the family’s 1300 Angus breeders, Jeremy’s parents retain 200, which they run at their home block.
The family turned to a pure Angus herd 10 years ago, but historically were a pure Hereford operation.
It was the success of the black cattle in their 999 head on-farm feedlot that swayed them to alter their herd.
“They ate well, they didn’t get sick, they forage well in the paddock,” Jeremy said.
While the feedlot was decommissioned due to high grain and freight costs, the infrastructure is not left to waste.
Jeremy and Julie began yard weaning in 2015 after the premium prices rewarded to those using the technique in southern states.
While they previously sold weaners straight off the cow, they now yard wean and bunk train them before turning them off into paddocks for six weeks before their sale.
Jeremy said while yard weaning was yet to take over in their local area, he wanted to be ahead of the game.
“I’m sure it’ll pay dividends for us in the future, and I think it already has,” he said.
“You’re getting anywhere from $1000 to $1200 for your calf pretty well straight off mum, and then (if you’re using the feedlot) you’re keeping them for another six, eight months and you might get another $400.
“We’ll take the money and run.”
Record weaners
Weaners are the family’s bread and butter and while many producers expected higher prices for their steers, the Shaws’ set themselves apart.
“Your steer has got an end-game so you can’t get a massive premium on a steer because the bloke at the other end has got to make some money,” Jeremy said.
“But if we can get as much money as we can for heifers...that’s where we can fine-tune things I guess.”
Last year their annual weaner turnoff to the Roma store sale saw their steers top at 390c/kg but it was their heifers that stole the show reaching a staggering 426c/kg.
Overall the line of 476 steers averaged 381c/kg at 316kg to return $1208/hd while the 325 heifers averaged 401c/kg at 283kg to return $1135/hd.
They also offered 10 Angus cows due to calve later that month to Millah Murrah Kingdom K35, which sold for $2400/hd.
“When people are coming and buying them they’re not going to the feedlot industry, they’re going...for people’s breeders, that’s a big tick for us really,” Julie said.
“The last couple of years the steers have sold extremely well and you get excited and whatever, but it’s the heifers that, I get a bit teary.”
The season
Last year the Shaws’ went into winter with no feed.
Jeremy said things were getting “desperate” when the season finally broke in September.
But in 2018 Jeremy and Julie’s luck has turned around, recording nearly eight inches (200mm) of rainfall for February alone.
“Our season has been unbelievable,” Jeremy said.
“We copped an early break in September (2017) and we’ve had a couple of patches since with a fair bit of head and things dried off… but we’re looking really good now.”
Beef 2018
With early May weaning time at Double J, Jeremy and Julie said they may have to delay a week in order to make it to Beef 2018.
“I think it’s a great event to catch up with people and network,” Jeremy said.
“You can see some people you haven’t seen in a long time.
“I went to school in Rocky, so I’ve got a fair connection with that CQ region and it’s definitely a great place to catch up.”