SOUTH of Deloraine, Tasmania, up to 1000 head of cattle are run on what, to all intents and purposes, is a typical dairy farm.
But owner Tim Schmidt, who owns Woodlands – a 354-hectare farm, is something of an industry anomaly.
He doesn't milk cows and he "never has, and never will".
Instead, he agists dry cows and young stock for other farmers in the area; currently he is running 1000 dairy heifers.
He said he could even pinpoint the time when he realised he and wife Pip had made the right decision.
"It's when we went to the movies with some dairy farmer friends and we were watching "Pearl Harbor," Mr Schmidt said.
"We were in the front row and they were asleep, in the middle of the movie, at 9pm."
The Schmidts began agisting cattle in July 2007, increasing numbers from 250 to 800, for winter agistment.
The number was up to 1000, in late autumn, made up of Jersey or Friesan cross, with a handful of beef breeds.
"We've almost reached our stocking capacity," Mr Schmidt said.
The farm was mainly sown to perennial ryegrass and clover, with applications of nitrogen when the season, and budget, allowed it.
"We aim to at least maintain fertiliser levels," Mr Schmidt said.
Only under extreme circumstances was fodder brought onto Woodlands.
"One of the critical strategies is grazing management, making sure you don't graze it too much, so we run a three-day grazing cycle.
"You have to make sure you have enough fodder for the animals, all the time – you are running your paddocks just the same as a dairy farmer, but you don't have to milk cows, which is really good."
Seeking to avoid the high capital cost of investing in livestock was one of the reasons behind going into agistment only.
"The other reason is ease of management, you have big mobs and you can move them around, quite easily."
Challenges included finding the right stocking levels.
"You have to get out there and be heard – as the old stock agent used to say, 'if the phone's not ringing, pick it up'.
"That's the hardest thing, looking for cattle all the time – then someone comes and you think they would be a fantastic client, but you can't take them."
The key to successful agistment was putting as much weight onto the cattle as possible, with the available resources.
Apart from not milking animals, the expertise involved in ensuring the herd was healthy and getting the right nutrition were the same as in a full-scale dairy.
"You need to have the appropriate grazing systems and understand animals," Mr Schmidt said.
"One of the main principles any blade of grass which is in walking distance of the dairy, should have an animal grazing on it.
"That's the most economically efficient way farmers can use that capital.
"But farmers can outsource their dry stock to people like me, who can focus on their welfare and make sure the animals come back to the dairy in a good condition and be able to produce milk."