Sandy Point farming couple reveal ambitious beef breeding target

The pair already run 750 Angus cows and heifers across three South Gippsland properties, and believe a "phenomenal season" in southern Victoria has renewed their confidence to expand their herd.

Trading as Doonagatha, Mr Pilkington's great-grandparents moved to the home-base Sandy Point property in the 1890s.

The name is Celtic for 'shut the gate' and the property is bordered by the sounds of waves and salt smells of Waratah Bay, only a stone's throw from the old family homestead.

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Doonagatha's property portfolio also includes another property at Alberton - where the autumn cows and calves have grazed this year - along with leased country at Fish Creek.

"It is a roller coaster ride and farming can be tough, but we have a brilliant lifestyle and we're very lucky people to be able to be farmers," Ms Toohey said.

The pair will offer 100 Angus steer calves at the Victorian Livestock Exchange at Leongatha in early 2021 and indicated good seasonal conditions should bring out the best in their weaners.

Predominantly featuring Harris Farms bloodlines, the March/April 2021-drop steers went through a tough winter, but the late spring and relatively mild summer conditions have given the cattle a burst of growth.

For the first time this year, the autumn cows and calves were sent to the Alberton property, while the heifers remained on the home block which allowed the cattle to run on longer ahead of weaning.

"They're cleaning up really well and their coats are quite shiny," Ms Toohey said.

The autumn-drop calves are yet to be weaned and Ms Toohey said that was a result of an abundance of feed.

"Usually we would wean in October but we haven't weaned this year because ironically after a tough winter, the feed was there and it didn't seem necessary," she said.

"If we weaned, we would have ended up with some very fat cows so we thought we'd run the calves on and keep some of the weight off the cows to see how they would respond."

Ms Toohey admits weaning calves later does pose some potential consequences, but also believes their condition and overall presentation will improve in the lead up to sale day compared to previous annual drafts.

Instead, the cows and calves will be weaned in late December or early January.

"If you can run the calves on the cows for longer, when you do wean them they do look more sappy and appear to have done better than if you had weaned them earlier," she said.

Their split autumn/spring calving has allowed the pair to adjust to seasonal conditions easier, particularly after a very wet year.

The pair also receive help from a local farmhand, and often their four adult-aged children.

"When it was really wet in winter, we couldn't feed out with a tractor because of how wet it was," she said.

"Every time you took a tractor you made a mess."

But despite the challenging conditions, high cattle prices and now grass on the ground has renewed their confidence, along with the possibilities to follow.

"I think next year we should easily hit the 800-cow mark and beyond that, I guess it depends on opportunities and seasonal conditions," she said.