KEN and Kym Skews, Ensay, have sold weaner cattle at the Mountain Calf Sales for 18 years - Hereford steers at Ensay and black baldy steers and heifers at Omeo.
This year they will be selling Hereford weaner steers at Ensay.
While happy with their involvement, the couple are in the process of broadening their marketing and the calf sales from next year will be one of four options for their cattle business.
"This will be our last mountain calf sale to this extent," Mr Skews said.
"It's a good thing to be part of, so we don't want to give it up entirely; but because we are moving to spring calving, we'll sell stock as seven months old or 16mo at future Ensay calf sales.
"It will depend on the season and how we think they are going," he said.
The couple run 400 Hereford-Shorthorn breeding cows, in a self-replacing herd.
They join Hereford cows to Malton Shorthorns to produce heifers.
They join the heifers to low birth-weight Angus bulls from Dunoon and Tambo Angus studs; their second and subsequent joining are to Hereford bulls bought from the Newcomen, Mawarra and Bowmont studs.
Sourcing the best genetics they can afford, they have developed partnerships with other breeders in the region to share the cost of buying bulls.
"It means we can buy the best genetics and it often costs us less individually," Mr Skews said.
"We breed Shorthorn into the cows to make sure the milk stays in the herd.
"We join 15mo heifers to black bulls for ease of calving and to ensure live calves and heifers.
"It takes a long time to raise a heifer calf to be a herd cow, so we don't want to lose heifers.
"After their first calving, we join them to Hereford bulls for the growth, carcase traits, eye muscle and fat - with a fast finishing ability.
"We like a heavy boned, good sized calf, with a well developed rump - like the bulls.
"After many years of careful breeding, we're starting to see consistency across the herd."
They focus on keeping the cows healthy and yard-wean the calves for one week, feeding home-grown lucerne silage and moving among them regularly to quieten their temperament.
They then move them into paddocks, where they are still handled regularly; and also drove them on the roadsides, which helps keep them quiet, Mr Skews said.
"They require very little supplementary feeding once they're weaned," he said.
"And this year they don't need any lucerne silage or ryegrass hay, because the season has been so good."
In past years, their black baldy steers have been sold at Omeo calf sales at 300-plus kilogram and as 250kg heifers.
At the Ensay calf sales, they sell the 10mo Hereford steers at weights up to and exceeding 400kg.
They recently weighed this year's crop and the top Hereford weaners were more than 400kg, Mr Skews said.
Making the switch to spring calving
UNTIL 2014, Ken and Kym Skews carried two calvings per year - autumn and spring. They have now switched the total herd to spring calving.
It is part of a strategy to broaden their marketing options beyond selling weaners.
It also cuts some of their workload, as they no longer need to feed cows and calves during winter, although some supplementary feeding of the herd will still be necessary.
"We changed our marketing recently from selling weaners to selling 18mo steers into feedlots," Mr Skews said.
"We're still working out how to carry calves forward to 18mo; but carrying them forward and putting more weight into them has doubled the price received for heifers, for instance."
By broadening their options, they now sell at the mountain calf sales, to grass finishers, into feedlots and at the Bairnsdale fat cattle market.
