The queen of a northern beef operation is the lactating cow that re-conceives, experienced northern cattle veterinarian Trevor Smith says.
The ability of a cow to get back in calf every 12 months is crucial to making a success of running cattle in tough country.
Western Queensland operation Braidwood Station, outside of Jundah in the Barcoo Shire, has taken that to heart.
A focus on high reproduction rates, heavier sale weights and low mortality rates has paved the way for a robust business in a marginal part of the world.
It's given Braidwood a degree of resilience that will prove invaluable as the beef industry stares down El Nino, drought and herd liquidation.
Managers Andrew and Megan Miller set up a beef herd from scratch seven years ago in a region where cattle had to stack up profitably against Merinos.
They had to know their profit drivers inside out.
They've taken reproductive rates from mid 60 per cent to the mid 70s and kilograms of beef produced per adult equivalent from 114 to 128. At $3 a kilogram liveweight, that's the best part of $200,000 of additional income a year.
Their costs of production have gone from $2.30 per kilogram of beef produced to a little over a dollar. The long-term target is now $1.50.
And their operating profit per AE - which is what they consider their key profitability metric - has lifted from negative $30 to $360. That compares to the northern beef business average of $190 and the average for the top 25pc of northern beef producers of $280.
"Our business is economically sustainable - we are not chewing into equity or needing cash injections - and it is also environmentally sound," Mr Miller told a recent beef industry breakfast organised by Meat & Livestock Australia in Darwin.
"We are profitable enough to reduce stocking rates if we run out of feed to look after our country."
For the past four months, they have spelled 32,000 hectares of mulga country.
"We are able to remain profitable in tough market conditions like we are now seeing given our low COP," Mr Miller said.
"And still be in a position to expand."
How it's done
The 1440 square kilometre Braidwood is 200 kilometres south west of Longreach, with 30klm of Thomson River frontage, a 319 millimetre rainfall and a long-term carrying capacity of 4500 AEs.
A breeder/grower enterprise, it turns off beef to domestic feeder and slaughter markets from a Santa Gertrudis-dominated herd.
Controlling the mating window, mating yearling heifers, sourcing bulls to suit, timing the program well and matching feed supply with peak traditional demand have been key.
All stock must conform to their '180kg rule' - that is put on an average of 0.5kg a day.
Mr Miller said bulls were sourced based on affordability, a tropical breed, performance recorded with a fertility focus and sexually mature by 15 months.
Heifers are bought at 200kg, which leaves room for heavy fertility culling and trading out empties at a profit.
"We bought every breed under the sun. Cattle prices were dear at the time we started so we couldn't be too choosy," Mr Miller said.
Heifers are joined in May for 11 weeks at a target weight of 275kg.
They are pregnancy tested in September and PTE females are sold.
"So we are left with either a profitable trade or a heifer in calf early to a bull of our choice at the time of our choice," Mr Miller explained.
Heifers calve in late February onto feed, with dry females sold at marking in June.
"We take every opportunity we can to remove unproductive females from the herd," he said.
"Then we wean our calves in September and they are joined as yearlings the next May."
Big profit drivers
Cloncurry-based Mr Smith, from the North Australia Veterinary Group, said the three elements Braidwood focussed on - reproductive rate, mortality rate and sale weight, were the big profit drivers for northern beef production.
"These are the big levers that account for approximately 75pc of business profitability," he said.
Fertility - the ability for lactating cows to get back in calf and produce a weaner every 12 months - is paramount.
"Gestation for a cow is 285 days or 9.5 months, give or take two weeks, therefore we have 2.5 months after calving to rebreed the cow to stay in a 12-month window," he said.
"That's a big challenge in northern Australia where cattle are run on challenging land types."
So what dictates fertility?
Nutrition accounts for 70pc and genetics 30pc, Mr Smith said.
Rainfall, fire, flood, land type, time of calving, grazing management - matching stocking rate to carrying capacity- and distance to water are all factors affecting body condition score and the ability of the cow to reconceive, he said.
"Essentially, we are trying to align a cow's nutritional requirements for fertility with the season," Mr Smith said.
"This lessens the requirements for inputs, reduces mortalities and increases liveweight on both weaners and cows."
Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
