While many others are relaxing and enjoying their holidays, for Mansfield producer Rodda Manning, the north-east feature weaner sales in the first week of January are a hugely important time of the year.
More than 200 of his cattle was on offer at the Wangaratta feature sale on January 2, and he was one of the feature lines of the day, selling a run of 144 Angus weaner steers with an average weight range of 360-376kg.
Being sold under the vendor name Davilak, the run sold for $1275 a head, or 331-345c/kg.
Mr Manning said the importance of the sale had been fuelled by hard work on his farm towards the end of 2023.
"We had 800 Autumn-drop Angus steers, and they were all yard-weaned in around the second to third week of November," he said.
"They're very quiet, and really well to handle, which is a benefit"
Mr Manning's cattle were also the only cattle sold at Wangaratta that was Coles carbon neutral eligible.
He said being a part of the program was "experimental" for him as a producer but also believed there was a need for beef producers to recognise the benefits of a carbon neutral product.
"Coles have been are marketing a new carbon neutral product over the last few years and we're one of the suppliers to the program, where people that buy these calves can continue them into the program," he said.
"That means they can be on-sold to the supermarket at the end of their days into that program too."
"We've supplied a lot of other cattle to Coles and have involvement in their top shelf grass fed programs, but I think there's a lot of movement heading towards this carbon neutral direction and we were probably wanting to be on it on earlier rather than later."
He said he was "willing to see where it goes" but he said the program had merit, but said a lot of his main focus was making sure cattle were EU eligible and grass-fed along as being eligible for the carbon neutral program.
The Mannings run more than 2000 Angus cows on several properties across north-east Vic and had their herd assessed annually, auditing inputs like fertiliser and also assessing herd performance.
Coles launched their carbon neutral beef brand in Victoria in early 2022 and rolled it out over the year, with seven premium cuts available including eye fillet, rump medallions and porterhouse steak.
Carbon neutral pork is was also launched last year in response to demand "to provide sustainable options at the checkout," according to the supermarket.
"Since launching Coles Finest Carbon Neutral beef in April 2022, we have doubled the number of suppliers, with twenty producers located in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia now supplying the range," a Coles spokeswoman said.
"Coles Finest Carbon Neutral Beef and Pork ranges are examples of how we are working with our suppliers to create a more sustainable future and drive innovation in the meat industry.
"We recognise the importance of working side-by-side with our suppliers and other partners to accelerate the transition to a net zero economy."
Preparing for the weaner sales in Wangaratta was akin to a rollercoaster ride for Mr Manning.
"A lot of our calves battled through winter a bit, as Mansfield really does get wet and cold," he said.
"It then started turning the corner about September and we ended up with probably one of the best springs on record, which we weren't meant to have.
He said his cattle did well from weaning then "it's just a matter of getting them through" to sale time where many repeat buyers from the northern states bring them back out to the paddock.
"They'll go out and perform from the day they hit the paddock because they're well broken in, weaned and more or less ready to go."
