Tim Hayes, Tarcombe Herefords and Poll Herefords, is not afraid of change, incorporating Charolais cattle into his operation, and phasing out Horned Herefords.
Mr Hayes, who runs the stud with parents Rob and Jan, and wife Cindy, said embracing change is the only way you will survive in the business.
“You’re not going to go forward if you just stay the same,” Mr Hayes said.
The family has run Hereford cattle since the 1950s, but Mr Hayes said he added Charolais cattle into the mix about four years ago.
“I had involvement with Charolais a few years ago, and I’ve liked them ever since,” he said.
“I thought it would be a good industry to get involved in, and the opportunity came up to buy some cattle, so I decided to give it a go.”
He said crossing Charolais over a British breed like Herefords means they can increase carcase weight and yield while maintaining carcase quality.
He said Charolais cattle make a good cross over British breeds like Herefords.
“Crossing Charolais with Herefords means you can increase carcase weight and yield, while still maintaining carcase quality,” he said.
“Charolais have changed a lot over time, they’ve become more adaptable to Australian conditions, they’ve got bigger carcases and offer higher yield.
“Herefords are often more fertile, have more fat cover, and handle conditions slightly better.
He said not enough people take advantage of crossbreeding cattle.
“Crossbreeding is huge in the sheep industry, crossbreds almost outweigh purebred sheep,” he said.
“But it’s the exact opposite in the cattle industry.”
Horned Herefords had always been run on the property, but Mr Hayes has changed his herd so that 60 per cent are now polled.
He said the decision was made in response to market trends.
“Herefords are traditionally a horn based breed, but we sell way more polled bulls than horned,” he said.
“If that’s where the market’s going, and that’s what I can sell, then that’s what I’m going to breed.”
The family, who run 1000 head of cattle on 1600 hectares, will hold its 43rd annual bull sale on March 1 this year, where they will offer 35 stud bulls.
He said after a few average years, they’re starting to see an improvement in their sales.
“There just hasn’t been enough bull buyers of late, but we’ve put a lot of work into the herd, and things are looking good,” he said.
Mr Hayes said he likes the stud side of the business.
“I like playing around with genetics, facing challenges and trying to improve,” he said.
“We’ve become more BreedPlan orientated, it’s a very important tool.”
He said birth weight has been a big focus since the mid 1990s, in order to avoid having issues with calving.
”We had been getting high birth weights for a while, it had the potential to be big trouble,” he said.
“We began weighing all calves at birth, and saw a big improvement, bringing weights down.
“We record growth weights, at 200, 400, and 600 kilograms, and scan for eye muscle area, fat depth, and intramuscular fat.”
At Tarcombe, they join twice a year, in autumn and spring, as to make the most of their bulls.
“If we make an investment in a sire, we want to utilise them, rather than having them sitting around,” he said.
“Joining twice a year means we get double the number of calves.”
Mr Hayes said Stock & Land Beef Week is a good opportunity to show off their entire herd.
“We’ve been to other open days, and a lot of people just show off their bulls,” he said.
“But the herd is where the bulls come from, so it’s important to show them off too.”
