Caramut beef producers Neville and Florence Young are pleased with how their draft of Angus and Poll Hereford weaners are looking, with a "tremendous spring" giving the calves a significant boost in growth.
The couple, along with children Nigel, Roslyn and Susan and their families, have been breeding cattle for more than 40 years and have been strong supporters of the Western Victoria Livestock Exchange at Mortlake since the facility was opened in 2018.
Trading as Nevflo, the Young family will offer about 160 Angus and Black Baldy steers, 70 Angus heifers and 85 Poll Hereford steers and heifers, all March/April-drop, at the Mortlake weaner sale in the New Year.
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Final heifer numbers across both breeds will depend on how many are retained as replacements.
Originally from Yarrambat in Melbourne, Mr Young's father helped him purchase their home block in 1971.
Gradually adding on parcels of land over the years, the Young family now own three properties, comprising more than 1400 hectares.
They currently run 150 Poll Hereford cows and 250 Angus breeders, along with 2200 self-replacing Merino ewes, about 700 Merinos joined to Border Leicester rams to produce first-cross ewes and 3900 first-cross ewes mated to White Suffolks and Poll Dorsets.
They also run a hay and silage contracting business, as well as rock picking and raking, and aim to sow some crop to supply stock feed and as part of their annual pasture renovation program.
Traditional Poll Hereford breeders, the Young family diversified into Angus more than 20 years ago.
"We had always grown out our heifers for three years before calving, then we decided to start calving them down as two-year-olds, we put an Angus bull over them and found out our younger heifers were far more robust," Mr Young said.
"As we bought more land, we put the Angus-cross females there and have gradually bred up to pure Angus now.
"I think it works well having both breeds, there is generally not much difference in price between them.
"But we have found the Angus to be a bit more resilient to the seasons, they seem to hold their condition more easily."
The Young family aims to breed easy-calving, quiet and productive cattle that will produce robust, fast-growing calves.
Angus bulls have always been sourced from the neighbouring Kelly family's Barwidgee stud.
The Poll Hereford herd was founded on Woolbul bloodlines, then Banemore sires were used, and the family is now purchasing bulls from the Moora stud, Broadwater.
Mr Young prefers to select his bulls visually first, looking at structure, including narrow shoulders for ease of calving and sound feet and a moderate frame size.
A well-balanced set of estimated breeding values is also important, with emphasis on low birth weight, growth rates and maternal traits such as milking ability and fertility.
The same selection criteria is used across both breeds.
"For years we have looked at low birth weight bulls for calving ease," Mr Young said.
"I think a live, smaller calf is better than a fat, dead one.
"Barwidgee have been performance recording their herd for many years and are tremendous with the structural evaluation of their bulls which is very helpful."
With the weaner sales the Youngs' target market, cows are joined in May to start calving the following March.
"The calves are looking good this year, it was a wet winter, but it has been a tremendous spring," he said.
"October is the critical time to get rain here for our spring growth and this year we've had good November rains too."
He anticipates the top lines of Angus and Poll Hereford steers to be about 360-380 kilograms, the middle draft at about 330kg and a lighter run at 260kg, while the heifer weights won't be far behind.
"We generally keep our lighter calves to grow out, but this year I don't think we will," Mr Young said.
"With the current prices and demand, it couldn't be any better than what it is.
"The weaner market suits our operation, we don't have enough country to grow everything out and it's been profitable for us."
