A Word from the Western Zone

from Droughtmaster Magazine August 2021

Neil Donaldson Awarded Life Membership

A WORD FROM THE WEST DROUGHTMASTERS DO WELL AT DEEP VALLEY, WA

By Harry Clarke

THE BREED performs well on the heavy, hilly country around Donnybrook in the southern corner of Western Australia, but for Glenn and Jodie Hoskins, running Droughtmaster catt le has had other benefi ts too. “I didn’t grow up on a farm and I’ve only been working with catt le full time for three and a half years,” he said. “I’m prett y lucky we’ve got Droughtmaster catt le because their temperament is so great. They’re so quiet and that’s certainly helped me out a lot.” Mr Hoskins is the manager of Deep Valley Droughtmasters, a stud founded in 2010 by his parents in law, Graham and Robin Bishop. Their son, Jack, a member of the Next Gen Committ ee, is learning the ropes and keen to take over the farm one day. The Hoskins’ began with the purchase of 20 cows from veteran WA breeder Dick Vincent, of De Grey Park stud at Capel. In 2015 they bought the Barwonga Droughtmaster stud from Tamworth, NSW, consisting of 80 cows, forming a great baseline to their herd. Fast forward a decade, and Deep Valley has expanded from one block to four totalling 800 acres. The property now stands 125 breeders and fi ve bulls, and the Hoskins’ are well on their way to reaching their growth objectives. “We want to get up to 180 head, so we’re not selling a lot of heifers at the moment. We’re just trying to breed up a bit so that we can sell a good 70 or 80 bulls a year,” he said. With reliable rain, cool climates and rich soil, the Donnybrook region is prime for fruit farming. But those conditions are a treat for livestock as well. Even the hilly nature of the countryside serves a purpose, giving the bulls nice condition before they’re sent north to predominantly Pilbara stations at the age of one. “Our rainfall is about 900mm a year so we’ve got good, heavy country,” Mr Hoskins said. “The soil is clay over loam, so the grass grows well down here and the catt le seem to go very well. They get a good start in life.” The Hoskins’ have this year carried out artifi cial insemination with 40 cows and heifers and plan to introduce embryonic transfers next season.

“We want to keep pushing along our genetics and, so far so good. The young heifers that are coming through are great.”

Glenn and Jodie Hoskins, Deep Valley Droughtmaster, are working on breeding length and muscle into their herd for their predominately northern WA market.

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