Tallarook cattle grazier Steve Clarke to headline Wangaratta sale

The Tallarook grazier, who trades as Deepdale Partnership, will consign 300 mixed-sex nine-month-old Angus calves to the blue ribbon feature sale on January 6.

"We like to have cows with a bit of size about them so we deliberately buy bulls that have a lot of weight with the idea we'll end up with good, big calves which are easy to market and get a premium for," he said.

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Mr Clarke, a former livestock truckie turned beef farmer, runs about 400 breeders across more than 1000 hectares at Tallarook and Mansfield, consisting both owned and leased country.

He bought his home property, Seaton Park, on the Dabyminga Creek at Tallarook in 1982, and runs the cattle enterprise under the Deepdale Partnership banner with a business partner.

The grazing ration for the Tallarook property is one cow and calf unit to two hectares and its foundation herd was based on the Witherswood Angus stud in north-east Victoria.

The stud now uses two main bloodlines, including Riga Angus, owned by the Finger family of Mansfield, and The Glen Angus stud from Walwa on the Murray River.

"We try to keep the age of the cows reasonably young because in the event we have a tough season, we don't want to be stuck with old cows which are going to struggle," Mr Clarke said.

Cows are usually sold at the age of nine or 10 to improve herd fertility, he said.

In 2021, Deepdale also purchased a handful of yearling bulls from Paringa Livestock at Yea.

Mr Clarke said the wet weather had affected the condition of the cattle to a degree in the north-east, with increased reports of foot abscesses common among many beef herds.

However, he was "pleasantly surprised" with the fertility rates of his Angus breeding heifers and cows after a damp and challenging 12 months.

His herd's first and second calvers collectively recorded fertility rates of more than 90 per cent, while only 3 to 4 per cent of his older cows were not in calf last season.

"Cattle burn a lot of energy just to keep themselves warm without even putting on weight, so the wet weather has affected the bloom of some of the calves," Mr Clarke said.

"Cattle do present well, but they won't have the heaviest weights they have had in previous years."

The draft of cattle is often bought by return graziers and feedlots, while the 70-odd heifers are likely to be bought by restockers for breeding, he said.

In the January 2022 sale, Mr Clarke sold 230 mixed-sex Angus calves including 56 Angus steers, 10-11 months, 414 kilograms, for $2690 a head or 649 cents a kilogram, and 72 Angus steers, 368kg, for $2520 or 684c/kg.

He also sold 27 Angus heifers, 364kg, for $2490 or 684c/kg and 39 heifers, 324kg, for $2240 or 691c/kg.

"The cattle job has had a small correction, but I still think the upcoming sales will present more opportunities for purchases than there have been in previous years," Mr Clarke said.

He said the wet weather and moist conditions had also reinforced the importance for good animal husbandry.

"We re-drenched our cattle this year because we've heard there have been issues with higher worm counts than previous years so that has been a priority for us," Mr Clarke said.

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