Bowman Genetics, The Ridge Pastoral owners optimistic about beef

The decision to sell 400 Angus and Angus/Hereford-cross steers and heifers is "just part of the business plan" for the pair of Gippsland graziers, who join about 1000 stud and commercial females each year.

The highs of the 2022 cattle boom, where their steer calves sold to a top price of $2640 a head, are still in the back of their minds, but Glenn says two key personality traits of any good farmer are "persistence and resilience".

"You can't get hooked up on what's happening in that short period of time," he said.

"It's all about the long-term game."

Their consignment of 11 to 13-month-old Bowman Performance Genetics-blood cattle were raised over the last year on their Rosedale property, where its northern perimeter is bordered by Cairnbrook Road.

The property spans 1700 hectares and hosts two centre-irrigation pivots, supplied with water from the nearby Latrobe River which contours along the southern boundary of the operation.

The Ridge was once part of a large pastoral holding leased and later owned by William Essington King in the mid-1850s whose firm, John King & Co, ran 7000 cattle across almost 43,000 hectares on the Rosedale and Scarne runs in Gippsland.

Tim's great-grandfather, John William Bowman, bought the property in 1878, but it was later sold in 1931 before Tim's father, Leo Bowman, bought it back in 1964 where it has remained in the family since.

The property, now owned by Tim and his wife Julie and their son Glenn, varies in elevation from 60 metres at the south-western ridge-line and back down to almost sea level on the lower country along the Latrobe River.

Glenn said the property "blends itself nicely" with mainly sandy loam soils, along with river silt country and heavier clay-type soils.

"When it's a dry period, the morass country comes into the fore and when the floods come through, the higher kicks in so you've got that happy-medium and it tends to work well together," he said.

At Rosedale, cattle are rotationally grazed each week on new pasture.

Cattle are grass-fed and aided by the two pivots, which in the past have watered lucerne and a variety of cash crops, while a second 120-hectare property at Neerim South, Crystal Brook, is home to the Ridge View Hereford stud herd and the Glenn's progeny of yearling bulls.

The bulls are grown out for the annual March sale.

Ridge View Hereford stud was founded in 1997, which preceded Bowman Angus in 2012, and today, both studs operate under Bowman Performance Genetics.

"We're aiming for the hybrid vigour of the Black Baldies, so you get the extra 7 per cent efficiency, they've got higher daily weight gains, they're more fertile, get their calves off faster and finish quicker," Glenn said.

"The grass finishers down in South Gippsland are telling us that these cattle are coming off and finishing faster than other cattle due to their higher weight gains.

"In the feedlots, they're the last to go in and the first to come out and that's the feedback we're getting."

The Bowmans' annual steer draft in 2022 averaged $2500, and that figure could be as much as $1200 down at the same sale next week.

However, Glenn said the decision to consign the bulk of his cattle was a part of a long-term plan to lock in return and loyal buyers.

"We could have staggered the sale of our cattle, but the purpose of this is to showcase our genetics over large lines and to attract buyers like Princess Royal and Box Plains," he said.

"Those buyers in particular are looking to secure large lines of cattle and not just two pens at a time."

In the past, Box Plains, a bullock fattening operation in Tarwin Lower, has bought a bulk of the steers, while SA-based feedlot Princess Royal has dominated the Bowmans' heifers pens.

"Box Plains know how well the cattle do ... and they are right into the data side of things and daily performance gains," Glenn said.

"They run a good, professional system to see exactly how cattle perform on farm, and then also they get the feedback from JBS."

Glenn said the Bureau of Meteorology's confirmation of an El Nino had "spooked" many people in the cattle industry, but the short-term outlook in central and South Gippsland was promising.

"We had a good few inches in a downpour a couple of weeks ago and that set everything up," he said.

"The follow-up rain this week will move us forward quite nicely, and some pockets of South Gippsland are quite wet and just starting to fire up now."

Despite the downturn in prices, Glenn said the decision to sell cattle in early-November was necessary to make way for the 2023-drop calves which had started to hit the ground.

"Personally, I think the market has bottomed out and is moving forward, there are a lot of positive signs in the industry," he said.

"The market is what it is and all we can concentrate on is doing the best we can at this end and getting them ready for the market and ensuring the genetics are right for the next buyer."

Glenn said he relied on the Meat Standards Australia framework to assess the performance of his cattle, with a particular focus on intramuscular fat, eye muscle and daily weight gains.

"Basically, we want all those traits wrapped up in a good, high-indexing animal," he said.

"We aim to put on two kilograms a day and these cattle are steaming ahead now.

"It's a vital testing ground for my genetics because I'm using what I'm also supplying to the commercial breeders out there and we're getting the results here that buyers want."

The draft will include 250 Angus and Angus/Hereford-cross steers and 150 heifers.

The cattle will be sold at the Victorian Livestock Exchange at Leongatha on Friday, November 10.