Behind The Beef – Angus in the North

Cheyne Twist, Communications Officer

Angus Australia’s Northern Development Officer Jen Peart joined the Behind the Beef podcast to discuss her role within Angus Australia and the work being done in the development of Angus and Angus influenced genetics in the northern Australia.

Jen works to support producers with her passion about producer profitability and delivering research and extension of value. During the episode Jen breaks down the Northern Development Program, the recent research and development and where Angus producers can find further information that can assist them in integrating Angus into their northern herds.

What is your role within Angus Australia? My role is Northern Development Officer, as part of the Strategic Projects area headed up by Christian Duff. In my field we’re doing a lot of work around predominantly research and development to support those using Angus in northern Australia and looking at opportunities that we can take advantage of to provide genetics to northern Australia. Can you give a little snapshot into the northern beef production system and the role Angus cattle play in the supply chain in the north? Northern beef production is really the powerhouse of the Australian beef industry. Queensland has the largest population of cattle in Australia and we’re seeing more and more Angus influenced cattle within that. Obviously, there’s a lot more crossbreeding in northern production systems, however based off a recent study Angus Australia conducted, there’s about 1.8 million head of Angus influenced animals in Queensland only, therefore it’s a sizeable population in the north. Angus cattle have a somewhat negative perception in terms of utilisation within northern Australia due to traits, such as coat colour. What is the aim of the Northern Development Program with regards to its work in supporting the utilisation of Angus genetics in the north? Some areas within the northern production system present challenges to the Angus breed and there are parts of Australia that aren’t suitable to Angus, however there are vast tracts of the north that can capitalise on some of the benefits of Angus, like the maternal traits such as fertility that are sought after in the Angus breed. Angus Australia is continuing a lot of work regarding heat tolerance and looking at heat tolerance in feedlots and its impact on fertility. We are also investigating tick resistance, as there is a lot of opportunity to do work there given the challenges that areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory present to Bos Taurus breeds, and specifically Angus. You are assisted by the support of the Northern Development Consultative Committee, what is the role of the committee? The Northern Development Consultative Committee is a group of producers with experience in the north, either based in the north or selling bulls to the north. They offer a range of experiences and are invaluable to the program because they give us a source of ground truth and information around what they’re seeing on ground, what their experience is with a lot of the projects we have implemented or are planning to implement. They are very good at providing advice and identifying the priorities for producers on the ground. It’s a very effective committee and very engaged. We are very fortunate to have them on board.

When it comes to common misconceptions of the Angus breed in the Northern Australia, what traits do Angus feature that is a driving factor for producers in the North? The thing that really attracts people to Angus is the marketability of them. There’s a lot of avenues that are open to people considering that there’s quite a demand for Angus. You see a lot of people breeding them as they can sell them as weaners, as feeders, they can finish them and they perform very well in a meat quality sense. It incentivises producers to try Angus and breed Angus because they can sell them.

A survey was conducted by Angus Australia in a co funded project with Meat and Livestock Australia from May to June last year of Aussie beef producers. What was the primary purpose of the Australian Beef Breeding Insights survey? The survey was conducted to achieve a number of objectives, one of which was to quantify the number of Angus cattle there are in Australia. The survey gives the research that Angus Australia does weight when you consider the amplifying factor of the number of Angus in the Australian production system. Additionally, where the cattle are distributed gives us reasonable information to go off when we are setting research priorities, looking at what we want to achieve and where it’s going to benefit producers the most.

The survey identified a number of attitudes and opinions around Angus, what producers believe their problems are and what their benefits are, which again feeds back into setting research priorities and identifying where there is opportunity to do further work. What was the sample size and group for the survey and how was it scrutinised? Overall 1023 producers were interviewed across all states and territories of Australia. There were a lot more people than the 1023 interviewed, however parameters were set around the number of head of cattle that person had, whether they still intended to be a part of their Australian beef breeding businesses in five years’ time, whether they were planning to continue to produce beef and a number of other criteria that had to be met before they were able to take part in the survey. Can we break down a couple of the key findings that have been found from the survey? There are some great findings from the survey however probably the best figure based on the survey data is that is 48% of the Australian beef breeding herd is actually influenced in some way by Angus. This totals an estimated population of 5.6 million females with 2.4 million of those females being purebred Angus, accounting for approximately 20% of the national female herd. From the data we are seeing a lot more Angus bulls are selected by producers. 46% in terms of management are predominantly using control period paddock joining and then in terms of their bull selection criteria, temperament came out as number one. Another thing that we investigated was the knowledge of genetics and areas where we might be able to provide some extension. People surveyed in New South Wales and Victoria rated their knowledge of genetics much more highly than other states. How is the penetration of Angus genetics gauged within the survey? Penetrance was calculated two ways in the survey. One was breed influence where we looked at the proportion of cattle that are influenced by Angus genetics. This ranges from being pure bred Angus to cross-bred Angus of varying degrees of percentage of Angus. The second way was the genetic composition of the Australian herd, therefore the proportion of the gene pool that is comprised of Angus genes. On a national basis, Angus accounts for 48% in terms of the number of cattle that are influenced. But if you talk about purely composition, the proportion of the gene pool that consists of Angus genetics is around 33%. What conclusions can we draw from the results found in the survey regarding the use of Angus genetics in the northern Australia? This survey is our original benchmark and will be conducted every five years so we can track change as people and their businesses progress, whether that includes Angus, or not. Some of the conclusions that we can draw around this is that it really identified and quantified the size of particularly the northern Angus herd and the huge opportunity that we have to provide very relevant and topical research, as well as extension and support to people breeding Angus. We also learnt a lot about producer’s management styles, how they receive information and how they like to receive information. In an overview of those reached in the survey can we break down a couple of key target markets that were found through the results? It was interesting to see the breakdown between people who used Angus and their target market and people who use other breeds and their target market. Angus users were more likely to target the feeder market, with just over 35% of Angus breeders targeting this market while other breeds, were around 30%. Additionally, other breeds tended to favour markets like the butcher trade. Angus users were also targeting the backgrounder market, and it just really illustrates that in marketability of Angus, producers are being incentivised to introduce Angus into their herds. Considering the amount of work going into developing breeding indexes from the TransTasman Cattle Evaluation (TACE), it is interesting to see that those markets have been well and truly catered for by providing information at the breeding point to allow producers to achieve their breeding objectives when it comes to marketing those cattle. The survey showed there was a lot of movement from yearround mating to control period paddock joining, which probably reflects a number of factors with improvement of infrastructure definitely one of them. Most of the year-round paddock mating was based in northern Australia just because of those expansive management areas, and it was particularly evident in places

Northern Focus like the Northern Territory where around 71% of those surveyed were utilising year-round paddock mating.

What did the survey gauge in terms of trait selection for bulls being utilised in breeding operations?

Temperament is king and we saw that across the board, apart from the Northern Territory which really valued

BullCheck and South Australia which valued polledness the same as what they had valued temperament.

Realistically, my takeaway from people’s attitudes to bull selection criteria is that they want a bull that will go out and get cows in calf and the genetics that they deliver is a second consideration. The producers are more concerned about calves hitting the ground and then as that becomes more of a managed surety, then they take a deep dive into things like EBVs, pedigree and raw data.

When it comes to the results within the Beef Breeding

Insights survey, what are some areas of development noted for the breed in terms of reasoning why they are not utilising Angus genetics?

There is a big three here. One is that producers believe that Angus is not suited to local conditions, meaning heat tolerance, which is why so much of my job is focussed on research and development in this space. The other is around tick and fly resistance which is why there will be continued work here.

A small group of producers listed temperament as a concern, however considering that temperament is such a high priority in terms of selection criteria, it’s no surprise that some producers were and want information on it.

In terms of resources, what does Angus Australia have to support producers wanting to utilise Angus genetics in northern Australia?

First and foremost, there is me. A fair bit of my job is around supporting producers and providing information and extension on the research and development that we’re doing. That’s a part of my job that I really love and it’s really important to me that producers continue to be productive and profitable.

There is an absolute plethora of resources on the Angus

Australia website with new research being conducted frequently. We have the Education Centre with informative modules where you are provided the information and tools that you can utilise to achieve your breeding objectives.

We have a module on bull management, in terms of acclimatising bulls to get the very best results out of them, particularly for northern Australia, which really illustrates management and prior preparation required to make sure you’re getting the best out of your investment.

Angus Australia has provided the Northern Protocols, which are guidelines for utilising Angus bulls. Considering the content, how are these resources beneficial to producers currently or looking to integrate Angus bulls into the north?

They cover off on all aspects of management required to get a bull on the ground and working, particularly if they’re being bought from southern Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

A lot of the people and again, this is where the Northern

Development Consultative Committee comes in, have experience selling bulls to the north, it’s about getting that relationship between the purchaser and the vendor to work together and achieve the best possible outcomes when the bull is delivered on farm that he will perform when it comes time for joining. The protocols illustrate the timings and conversations that you should be having with the person you’re purchasing a bull from, the considerations around animal health, such as the vaccinations and just general acclimatisation, as well as the feed considerations.

An integral part of Jen’s work is getting out on the road, compiling case studies featuring producers that utilise Angus genetics in their northern herds. In December 2020. Jen caught up with Jeremy and Julie Shaw from JS Grazing, a family enterprise located across a number of properties in the Injune area in central Queensland. In their chat the Shaw’s let Jen know the background of their operation and why they use Angus.

Can you elaborate on where you are situated, what sort of country you’re running and a bit about your enterprise here at Double J? Jeremy: We operate JS Grazing, across four properties in the Injune district and it’s roughly 23,000 acres. It is a mix of country from lighter country through to heavier Brigalow and scrub soils.

In terms of your enterprise, what are you mainly running? Jeremy: We are a straight Angus herd. Across the whole operation we run about 1,300 cows and up until this year we’ve sold the majority of progeny as weaners as we have an annual weaner sale in Roma in early July. However, we’ve just taken the step of revamping our feedlot, so it’s big change for us this year where we will feed most of our own cattle.

With regards to the change into feeding your cattle, is that a reaction to conditions such as drought? Julie: Yes, pretty much that’s what drove it. Last year (2019), it took us a lot in both money and effort, to get the weaners to sale in the way that we were accustomed to having them presented. Jeremy’s a bit of a stickler with that, where near enough isn’t really good enough. That just made us think year in, year out, what was going to be the smartest thing for us to do. We were thinking along the lines that like everyone else around 12 months ago, we were feeding cattle and we were really at the mercy of trying to get feed here. There were a few sleepless nights, and while we weren’t the only ones in that situation, it just got us thinking that we can’t control the weather, but how we can be better situated when, and it’s not if it’s when, that situation comes around again. We already a feedlot here which wasn’t operational, so we could just improve and revamp the infrastructure. Jeremy: We have invested a fair bit of money in a commodity shed which is both for the dry times as well as the feedlot side of things. It’ll put us in good stead in the future as we just wanted to be ahead of things and be able to have some on-farm storage and lessen the impact. And I understand that was sort of a vertical integration component to this decision as well. Jeremy: Yes, we’ve done very well out of our weaners in the past, but the people who bought them were obviously making money, especially on those steers. We figured we

would take a bit of that in taking the next step as well and taking them right from birth to slaughter. Are you still intending to sell some of them as weaners considering that you’ve got such a following? Jeremy: We will still sell the lead of the heifer portion, that is two to three hundred heifers each year. We’ve got a really good following and interest in our heifers as replacement females, so we’ll definitely keep that that side of things going. We invest a lot of money in high end genetics so I think we’re reaping the benefits of that with our females so it could be a shame for some of that to be lost.

On the genetics side of things, can you walk me through your breeding program? Jeremy: We join the heifers at around 12 months old and they are definitely self-replacing. We’ve got a three-month joining period, mid-October through mid-January. We also do an AI program most years, weather dependent. What’s the breakdown between what you are paddock joining and what you’re AI’ing? Julie: We’ve tried in the past to do an AI program with cows as well however it’s more difficult than heifers for us logistically here as we’re very dependent on the seasons. Jeremy: If we’ve got feed, we can do the cows but, at the moment we’re just doing our replacement heifers which is anywhere from one to two hundred heifers each year. So what traits are you trying to breed for specifically? What are you breeding objectives and what are you trying to achieve? Jeremy: On the female side she’s got to be feminine, a softer, easy doing female that will get in calf each year. They’ve got to have eye appeal in a way and it’s the same with bulls. You have got to like the look of a bull, and we will check the figures afterwards. Julie: I know when I first started going to sales with Jeremy down south I’d have written an essay in each bull catalogue and I’d have three different coloured highlighter pens and we would have a shortlist of bulls that you would go in to see. But in the last few years, we’ve probably turned that on its head where we will really walk into the yard and you just see what catches your eye first and then you start looking at everything else. Jeremy: They have to be a soft animal with depth of rib and depth of flank. Up here because we did go through some tough times, if you have those high flanked cattle it really shows when the weight comes off. A deep, long, soft animals is what I guess we’re chasing.

When you select a bull on eye appeal do you then revert back to looking at some of their EBVs to make the final decisions? Julie: It depends on what we’re looking for. We don’t buy a heifer bull every year where that would come into play, so we don’t really have any hard and fast rules. We do look at rib and rump fat. Jeremy: We like positive fat however is not a deal breaker. We like him above average if we can in all the traits, which I think you have to go that way if you want to be breeding above the average. However, we are definitely based on a type and that’s the main focus for us.

Is easy calving a priority with so much fertility pressure? Jeremy: Yes, the days to calving and calving ease direct all come into play, and that comes down a lot of the type of bulls we are selecting. We do not select extremely low birth weight or anything like that, so it comes down a lot to body type.

So where do you source most of your bulls? Are you attending sales or are you buying semen predominately for your two different breeding programs? Julie: We have bought our bulls from Bathurst for quite a number of years now, but in saying that it is important that Jeremy does try and get around and have a look at other sales, as you don’t want to get closed off and not look at what’s happening elsewhere. It’s easy to go to a sale and in every sale there is a stand out bull but when you like the herd as a whole, I think that’s important. It’s important to have similar objectives and views on cattle. We’ve developed a relationship and it’s more than just where we go to buy our bulls, being able to talk things through if we want a bit of a change of direction or something that we’re trying to do, it’s important in the relationship to be able to talk through those things. With your bulls coming from Bathurst, are there any steps you take in acclimatising them to the conditions in Injune? Jeremy: You’ve got to look after them, but in saying that they get treated like everything else. We do buy some yearling bulls and we like to look after them as much as possible. They mightn’t get a full joining the first year and you’ll pull them out early and then look after them.