Glenburn producer's interesting way of deciding when to turn off cattle

Mr Abbottsmith Youl runs chickens and a small herd of beef cattle at Glenburn Farm, in the Yea Valley.

"I look for the 'happy' lines on the side of the animal and the fat composition, on the tail head," Mr Abbottsmith Youl said.

"If I can see three rolls on the tail head, I think they are getting close."

He said the animals "get a bit of a swagger.

'It's mainly visual.

"I will take one to butcher - we test that meat, and if you can get your finger, and push it through the steak without resistance, it's going to be good eating."

He said he was turning off about 20 head of cattle, a year.

Mr Abbottsmith Youl is the third generation of the family on the 130-hectare property, just south of Yea.

He runs up to 1800 laying hens, in two flocks, alongside a Simmangus cross female cattle herd.

More recently, he said he'd been putting bulls from the ancient British breed, the Devon, over the females.

"The cattle are the fertiliser management program for the farm," Mr Abbottsmith Youl said.

The chickens run with the cattle, coming behind the herd, scratching in the manure and fertilising the ground themselves.

The block is split into individual paddocks, using demountable fencing, and the cows are rotated, each day, to fresh pasture.

"This mimics natural herbivore behaviour while promoting a rich multi-species perennial pasture that provides our animals with a varied diet, high in vitamins and minerals," he said.

The pastures are then allowed extended periods of rest, allowing grasses to put down deep roots and add carbon to the soil.

"We are not spending money on fertiliser, our veterinary bills have decreased, and the stock is healthy.

"In stock management, the frequent movement, high-intensity grazing, with long rest periods, is how we manage our grasses to get the maximum performance out of them.

"That's been quite interesting, to see how the composition of the pasture had changed, over time, and there is a greater density of grass since we moved to this multi-purpose grazing."

Mr Abbottsmith Youl said he finished a mechanical engineering degree, ten years ago, but realised he didn't want to work in that area.

He said he'd heard American organic farmer Joel Salatin speak at an event, which he described as "a lightbulb moment.

Mr Salatin and his family own and operate Polyface Farm, in Swoope, Virginia, practising grass-based production methods for more than 40 years.

Mr Abbottsmith Youl said when he came home to the family farm, he wanted to make it more efficient.

"That's what got me started with the chickens," he said.

He now runs ISA (Institut de Sélection Animale) Brown and White Leghorns in two flocks, selling the retiring hens to backyard producers.

He has up to 180 temporary paddocks, to allow a maximum rest period for the pastures of 180 days, and produces up to 700 dozen eggs, a week.

'That fluctuates a lot, with the seasons," he said.

Restaurant closures slashed his sales by about 60 per cent, and he has since pivoted to supplying the public directly and selling wholesale to the retailer.

"I get them as day olds, from a hatchery, and brood them for three weeks, before I get them out onto pasture in mobile pens at six weeks old."

Initially, predators, including foxes and birds of prey had caused problems.

"Everything wants a bit of chicken, they are very low on the food chain," Mr Abbottsmith Youl said.

The advent of newer technology, and learning about chicken behaviour, had helped resolve that.

"Electric fences are portable and 100 pc effective in keeping foxes out as long as the power is on," he said.

The other predator of concern was the Wedge-Tailed Eagle, the only bird of prey big enough to take a fully grown chicken.

"We do have a family, living on the property, the control there is giving the chickens enough shelter, so they can get under it if they see an eagle in the air.

"Once I got the density of chickens right the number of chickens per hectare, the eagle attacks slowed and stopped.

"It's like a school of fish effect, the eagle wants to get one, but the mass movement of chickens is quite confusing.

"They need things to be the same way for them, to be successful hunters."

Mr Abbottsmith Youl said much of his meat was sold into Melbourne, but there was some local interest, which he believed would develop further.

"It's really for the individual, who sees the benefit of having a freezer, and a ready supply of meat at hand," he said.

Steers were grass-finished, at two and a half years old, while heifers took a little longer.

"I am hoping that changes, I'd like to finish them at around two years.

"This area is a bit uncharted, but I am about letting the animal finish properly, that's where the quality and flavour is."

He said the farm aimed to find a balance between agricultural land use and ecological conservation, through high tech electric fencing, reticulated stock watering systems, native wildlife wetlands and stock exclusion zones.

Remnant vegetation areas are monitored for healthy biodiversity and invasive weeds (in particular, blackberry).

If intervention was deemed necessary control was implemented in the most unobtrusive way possible.

Farm tours form the backbone of Graceburn's education program, helping the community to re-engage with the production of food from a local regenerative agricultural system.

"We believe that public awareness and education is the key to improving our food system from an environmentally destructive one to a regenerative one.