JOHN Craig does not hesitate when asked about his breeding aims – the answer is easy.
“I’ve always had a clear picture as to what I’ve wanted,” he said from his Casterton property Inverell.
“We breed steers for weaner sales so naturally animals need to have length and plenty of muscling ability.”
He leaves out one important factor, which for him, goes without saying: a red and white coat.
Mr Craig has bred Hereford cattle for 12 years on 700 hectares in the Western District.
He was raised locally and shares a passion for the breed with many locals in the area.
“You have to breed something you like and I like Herefords.”
Yearly he joins about 350 cows, plus an extra 80 to 100 heifers.
The best of the heifer draft is kept and dry females are sold.
Any heifers which are not retained for the breeding herd are drafted and sold pregnancy tested in calf.
“That’s only just started in the last 12 months as we’ve reached the numbers we want and are pretty well self-replacing.”
Alongside the commercial herd Mr Craig runs a prime lamb operation of about 500 head.
His main focus, however, remains the Herefords and it is this part of the operation which he is hoping to build to about a 400-head breeding herd in the next three to four years.
To date it’s been built on a foundation of Yarram Park genetics and this will not change, he said.
“They breed the type of cattle we want to breed.”
It is their maternal genetics which he is particularly impressed with.
“I guess it’s the type of cattle you like to have on your property as a female … good, long, lengthy cattle, well muscled and with good colour.”
As his own herd has improved, Mr Craig has raised his bull bids from $4000 to $6000 in the early days, to paying between $7000 and $10,000 currently.
He hasn’t been tempted to go down the black baldy path and despite trying it in the early days, found the calving ease of the Herefords kept him dedicated to the breed.
“We used blacks for one or two years and it created more lines and it was just easier to stick with the one colour and calving troubles were no different.”
All females are joined in mid-May, with calving occurring from March through to April.
Steer calves are targeted at the annual Hereford-Euro weaner market at Hamilton and they are weaned at seven to eight months to allow a six-week buffer before they are sold.
Mr Craig began using Elders Livestock Management Solutions three years ago and has found great benefit in the system.
Last year’s draft of Red Star certified steers weighed an average 328 kilograms and the top pen fetched 209 cents/kg.
“We have been getting repeat buyers on our cattle which no doubt helps the competition.”
And better yet, the Red Star which stamps the Inverell steer pen cards has attracted a number of extra buyers.
“We’re getting paid for the extra work and money we have spent.”
After calves are sold the work is not over; Mr Craig seeks feedback from buyers to learn how his calves fare heading into the feedlot.
“The last couple of years, calves have averaged around the 335kg dressed weight mark at about 19 months of age.”
“If the calves are achieving that, we’re doing something right.”
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