Producing quality, fast-growing Angus weaners is the focus for the Jarrad family, whose calves are in strong demand at the annual sales in Casterton.
Chris and Karyn Jarrad and their son Hamish have been selling their weaners at Casterton for more than 40 years and are busy preparing their draft of steers and heifers ahead of next month's calf sales.
Despite an unseasonably-wet and cold spring, the Jarrad family are pleased with how this year's drop of calves are looking.
"We had a very late break here and had to start feeding hay out earlier than normal, but because we did that, the stock got through the wet spring pretty well," Mrs Jarrad said.
"We were pleased to see it rain in spring as it had been a dry and mild winter, but it just kept on raining.
"The cattle have come through it better than the sheep."
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The Jarrad family run about 200 Angus breeders across a spread of owned and leased country in the Sandford area.
They also run about 550 first-cross ewes joined to Wairere Romney rams to produce their second-cross ewe replacements and 1300 Romney-cross ewes joined to Poll Dorsets for prime lamb production.
Trading as Forest View, the family will offer about 100 steers and 70 heifers, predominantly March/April-drop, in the weaner sales in the new year.
Final heifer numbers will depend on how many are retained as replacements.
Mrs Jarrad expects weights to be very similar to last season, with the top line of steers in this year's draft averaging about 380 kilograms, while the middle run of calves should be 360-370kg and a third line at about 320-330kg.
"We're really pleased with the heifers this year, they are probably better than last year's drop," Mrs Jarrad said.
"We'd expect them to average about 330kg."
The family are long-term clients of Nick and Sara Moyle's Pathfinder stud at Gazette, with Mrs Jarrad using a combination of visual appraisal, specific sire lines and estimated breeding values to select their bulls.
"I'll go through the catalogue first, selecting a balanced set of figures and then go through the bulls carefully on sale day," Mrs Jarrad said.
"Structural soundness, particularly feet and legs, is important, and I always look at maternal traits such as milk and fertility which are important for our cow herd.
"We place plenty of emphasis on 200 and 400-day growth because they are being sold as weaners, ideally we go for +120 or above for 400-day weight.
"We also look at carcase traits including eye muscle area and intramuscular fat depth."
The Jarrads pride themselves on presenting their calves at the Casterton sales in the best possible condition.
All the calves are trucked back to their home block about four to six weeks before the January sales.
They are then yard-weaned for five days, before being split into their sexes and moved into larger paddocks with good-quality pasture feed.
During the process, the weaners are supplemented with silage and handled extensively on foot and with dogs to quieten them down.
Mrs Jarrad said the weaner market suited their operation with their calves attracting repeat buyers from both local areas and interstate.
"We've found certain buyers really like the Pathfinder genetics as the calves seem to grow out really well," she said.
"The herd has also been European Union-accredited for many years, in two years out of 10, you might get a 10 cents a kilogram premium so it is worth doing."
The steers will be offered through Nutrien Ag Solutions on Tuesday, January 10, and the heifers will be offered on Friday, January 13.
