YEARLING bulls are the choice for Allandale Station, Oodnadatta, South Australia.
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Andrew and Donna Clarke own and manage the 500,000 hectare property, with an average rainfall of between 100 and 150 millimetres, depending on the season.
Between 1700 to 2500 head of crossbred cattle graze the property. It is important to have appropriate stock levels.
Angus bulls are joined to Hereford base females in an uncontrolled breeding program to add hybrid vigour and milk to progeny that are sold or kept according to the season.
“You have to go a long way to beat a British-bred cow. They tolerate the conditions fairly well,” he said.
“Calving per cent is 70 to 80 per cent, but varies depending on the season. It is hard to measure.”
The Clarke family has bought and used 40 to 50 yearling bulls from commercial and stud producers during the past three to five years since they made the change from purchasing older bulls.
Bulls are commonly purchased from the Halliday family’s Ben Nevis Angus stud, Walcha. The Clarke family has eight bulls from Ben Nevis.
“Yearling bulls are what to buy if you want to spend money. If producers want specific genetics, they need to go to sale,” he said.
“Producers get longer out of yearling bulls. They have a greater ability to adapt to conditions compared to two-year-olds.”
Bulls are selected on both phenotype and estimated breeding values (EBVs) with an emphasis on moderate milk, positive rib and rump fat and good growth rates.
“We don’t want the heaviest, biggest framed type. We prefer cattle that are soft coated, mature early and a good type. These cattle provide versatility,” he said.
Mr Clarke said yearling bulls have a greater ability to acclimatise to the harsher conditions and to droughts.
“Bulls run with the cows all year round due to the size of the property,” he said.
“A handful of bulls are sometimes rested. If they need a spell, they are brought in and fresh ones are put out. Yearling bulls learn to manage themselves.”
Yearling bulls are used for their stamina and have been since before the drought broke.
It has been six months since reasonable rainfall, but Mr Clarke said the country is in good heart, just not as fresh as they would like it.
“Every mouthful has good in it, there just is not a lot of it. Supplements do not do much for us. When you are out of feed, you are out of feed,” he said.
To help with the lower amount of available dry matter per hectare, Mr Clarke said it is important to have an appropriate level of stock.”
The biggest problem during a dry spell is the amount of energy expelled by the cattle trying to find food. This meant bulls needed longevity and do-ability to get through.
“Thirty per cent of older bulls were lost in the drought, but we are still sitting on the yearling bulls. We haven't found any that we have lost,” he said.
This is because they acclimatised when they were introduced to the property.
Mr Clarke said the biggest advantage of yearling bulls was they worked longer and producers got better retention and survival rates.
