FarmStyle Member Question (Starting out in beef cattle)
15th June 2010

I have 6.5 acres of land with 5 acres good pasture and 1.5 light bush and a dam. The house and sheds are on another acre or so. Could give me a rough idea on how many full size cattle I could run and miniatures as well? I currently run two poll hereford heifers for meat. I would like to start getting into something a bit more specialized such as Belted Galloways? What is the best way to start a herd?

FarmStyle Expert Answer

 The number of animals that you are able to run per hectare will very much depends on the rainfall, soil type, and pasture species. As a general rule of thumb you should be able to run 1 minature breeding cow per ha or 2.5 acres and one full size cow per 1.5-2ha or 4-5 acres. That would be based on improved pasture species, that are fertilised and rotationally grazed (grazed and then rested). At this stocking rate you will still require fodder supplement (hay or silage) at times of the year when there is no rain or when there is minimal pasture growth like winter.
 
There are a number of ways you can start your herd, these include:

• Buying pregnant females in calf.
• Buying a cow/heifer and a bull, in some areas smaller farmers have pooled their money together to buy a bull, or you may be able to lease one from a neighbour.
• Buying a cow/heifer and doing AI (Artificial Insemination), this is a good method if you do not wish to own a bull, however can be expense and is not always 100% successful.

There are a large number of small cattle breeds, the Belted Galloways are based on Scottish genetics and are a productive and versatile breed. The Australian Lowline breed is also popular, it was based on the Angus breed and was started on a research station in central New South Wales. Further information on small cattle breeds can be found in the book Smalll Cattle for Small Farms. 

If you have your heart set on one particular breed, I would contact your that particular breeds society (Australian Galloway) and they may be able to put you in contact with a stud or commercial breeder in your local area that has females for sale. 

FarmStyle Member Question (Making money from small cattle)
20th May 2010

I have 20 acres and would like to run cattle over 15 acres of it. Primarily their function would be to replace lost soil condition after 2 years of hay harvest. This replacement would be in conjunction with a biannual fertiliser program and pasture resting (from hay). Would cattle serve to a degree, alongside a spray program, to reduce weeds such as blackberries and thistles?  I'm leaning towards small breeds because of my land size and to avoid the winter pugging/bogging that the larger breeds seem to cause. Would 6 breeders and a bull be in the vacinity of low stocking rate? What could I expect given an outlay of $10,000 including stock and loading facilities, could this cost be repaid in 4 years selling to the local "home grown" market at $5 per kilogram hung? My breed of choice at this time is highland.

FarmStyle Expert Answer

Many small land owners like the smaller cattle breeds as they can run more head on a smaller area, they are easier to handle, often require less equipment, are generally easier on farm maintenance (fences) and as you suggested are better on wet soils, being lighter in weight cause less pugging.
 
The number of animals that you are able to run per ha, very much depends on the rainfall, soil type, and pasture species. As a general rule of thumb you should be able to run I minature breeding cow per ha or 2.5 acres. That would be based on improved pasture species, that are fertilised and rotationally grazed (grazed and then rested). At this stocking rate you will still require fodder supplement (hay or silage) at times of the year when there is no rain or when there is minimal pasture growth like winter. If you are looking for a conservative stocking rate I would start with 3 breeders (plus progeny) and a bull. You will need to carry their progeny for at least 12-15 months before they are big enough to kill. You can easily increase your numbers if you find that you have plenty of grass throughout the year.
 
Regarding the return on your $10,000 investment, there is no chance that you will repay that type of money in 4 years. If you run 3 breeders and they each produce offspring, you will need to carry them for a minimum of 15 months to get them up to a weight of 250-280kg. If you kill them at 280kg and they dress 55%, of that 55% around 70% is useable meat (less the fat and bone). Each animal will produce 110kg of saleable beef, at $5.00/kg that's $550 per animal or $1650 per year.

FarmStyle Member Question (Looking to Purchase a Farm)
15th April 2010

Hi, please advise how many cows (breeders) or steers I would require to earn $50,000 (gross) per annum. As, I would like to purhase a farm. Any books or web sites appreciated.

FarmStyle Expert Answer

Thanks for the email. To earn $50,000 gross per year from breeders you would need at least 100 cows. That is if you sell the progeny as vealers (weaned off the cow), at around 9 months of age, 250kg liveweight and average $500 per animal. Under this system you will need to consider replacement heifers, ideally you should  keep a proportion, 20% of the best female offspring or buy in heifers to replace your cows as they get older, less productive and are culled from the herd.
 
To earn $50,000 using a trading operation will very much depend on which market you are going to target. If you background steers for a feedlot, the dollar margin per head is less but you turn over more animals per year. For example if you buy in animals at 220kg and put on 150kg of live weight, this would equate to $300 per head if beef is worth $2.00/kg. Compare this to the export market, where if you buy in animals at 220kg and grow them out to the heavier weight of 550kg you have the potential to earn $540 per head with beef worth $2.00/kg. Remembering that the export target market will take much longer to achieve and that animals grow slower as they get older, with muscle weighing more than fat. 
 
A steer or heifer trading operation is much more efficient than a cow-calf operation. In most cases it is possible to produce double the amount of beef per hectare.
 
A good book on beef cattle, even though it largely discusses small cattle is, Small Cattle for Small Farms, the other guide worth purchasing is Beef Agskills, you can purchase both of these from our bookshop.

FarmStyle Member Question (First Cattle Purchase)
8th March 2010

It has been wonderful to find you, we are the tree change demograpgic. We have 320 acreas just out of Tenterfield.
 
We have just purchased our first 20 angus steers.What should we be doing first up? Drenching? What with and how? Spraying fly? Pink eye prevention? Anything else?

FarmStyle Expert Answer

Welcome to FarmStyle Australia and congratulations on the tree change. When the cattle arrive to your farm or there-after complete the following:

1) Drench. There are two ways to drench cattle, the first is using an oral drench, the second is using a back-liner. I recommend you use the back-line method if you have not drenched cattle before as this method is much easier and safer. Drench volumes are rated according to the animals weight, with the back-line method you simply pour the required amount of chemcial along the length of the animals back. If you have a cattle crush you could use this to complete this procedure, if not, get the animals tight in the race and stand on the railing and access each one. You can purchase a combination drench (one that covers a broad spectrum of worms and also lice, you will find that lice become active after the first frost). This chemical can be purchased from your local rural retail store.
 
2) Vaccinate. Vaccination is a cheap form of insurance that protects your animals against a number of diseases (black leg, pulpy kidney). Animals should be vaccinated and then given a booster 4-6 weeks later. Vaccinations are administered as an injection (just under the skin, generally on the side of the neck). If you are unsure of this, you could ask a neighbour or local cattle farmer with experience to help. A cattle crush will be required for this operation. Use a 5 in 1 vaccine, you can also purchase this from your local rural store.
 
3) Pink-eye and flies. Pinkeye is a usually a problem when there is lots of tall grass, when it is dusty and there are lots of flies, these conditions often occur in mid to late summer. If you have these conditions pinkeye prevention (using the vaccine) is recommended, prevention is always better than cure.

3) NLIS transfer. Make sure the cattle you have purchased have been transferred from the seller to 'you' the buyer, this is mandatory under the National Livestock Identification Scheme. Each farm has a PIC (Property Identification Code), which is used during the transfer. If the stock have been purchased privately, the seller will need to do this. If the stock were purchased through the sale yards, your agent should take care of this for you.

FarmStyle Member Question (Selling Lucerne Hay)
10th February 2010

I have 1000 small bales of prime grade lucerne hay to sell – do you do any trading? If not, can you point me in the right direction?

FarmStyle Expert Answer

We do not do any trading ourselves but a good website that I can recommend is Feed Central. This company trades in hay, silage and other products. They only deal in truck loads and charge $200 to inspect and grade the hay before it is listed for sale. If you sell your hay exclusively through their website you get most (75%) of the inspection fee refunded, they charge $15 per tonne when it is sold. Click here to visit the Feed Central website.

The alternative option would be to list it in the FarmStyle classifieds section of the website, it is free to list and the listing can stay there until it is sold, click here, log in and complete the form.

FarmStyle Member Question (Alpacas and Stock Grids)
29th January 2010

Will a grid stop alpacas? I know they work for cattle. Unfortunately I cannot find out whether or not a grid will stop our alpacas from leaving the property.

FarmStyle Expert Answer

A stock grid will stop alpacas from leaving your property, you will need to ensure the grid is dug deep enough so that the alpacas feel that there is a gap underneath, hence they are frightened to cross. Most grids that are not dug deep enough (the gap between the top of the grid and the ground is shallow) or have weeds growing through them run the risk of livestock walking over them, I have seen this with both sheep and cattle. The only reason an alpaca would cross a grid is on the off chance that it became extremely frightened.

I have spoken with an experienced alpaca breeder who has a standard stock grid at the front of their farm which fronts onto the highway. The paddock gets stocked regularly with high densities of alpacas and they have never had any problems with them crosing the grid.

There are two ways to install the grid, you can either a) dig a hole (0.25 - 0.4m deep) which is half the depth of the grid and use the soil from the hole to slope the road up to the grid. You can also dig out a smaller hole underneath the grid to act as a silt trap, this will also help give the appearance that the hole is deeper making it less likely that livestock will cross.

Or b) you can sit the grid on the road and back fill soil around it. Most people use the first option as it is easier to dig a hole and use the soil from the hole as back fill rather than cart all of the soil from another location as back fill.

The grid should sit firmly on a concrete base, click here to view some useful pictures that will help visualise this process.

The spores of C. chauvoei survive well in the soil.

A veterinary surgeon should decide whether or not clinical cases infected with clostridia species should be treated or humanely destroyed.

Treatment of Bacillary Haemoglobinuria with penicillin can be attempted. Treatment of clinical blackleg has met with little success, but intravenous hyperimmune serum together with an injection of crystalline penicillin both intravenously and into the wound has been shown some success. Treatment of malignant oedema can also be attempted with antibiotics and local treatment of the wound with hydrogen peroxide or other oxidising disinfectants. The use of herbal and homoeopathic treatments of wound may also be attempted (Elliott and Pinkus, 1993).

Vaccination

Since Clostridia are ubiquitous in the environment, the most effective way of controlling clostridial diseases is by vaccination. The veterinary surgeon or the manufacturers' datasheets should be consulted for their proper use. If clostridial disease has been a problem on the farm, prevention should be included as part of the herd health plan. Use of vaccine can also help prevent disease in young stock by passive transfer of immunity via antibodies in colostrum from vaccinated dams.

The organic standards permit the use of vaccination in cases where there is a known disease risk. Single vaccines are preferred to more complex multiple vaccines unless such cover is specifically required. Vaccine choice and use should be agreed with the nominated veterinary surgeon to ensure adequate disease protection during the conversion period with, where possible, progressive reductions in use as the organic unit becomes established. Only healthy animals should be vaccinated

For more information click on Organic Production Systems And Severely Parasitised Animals.

FarmStyle Expert Answer

By the time you spray or cultivate your paddock in preparation for sowing it will be into late spring/early summer. This is an ideal time for planting a summer forage crop. A couple of good options for sheep are millet (12-15kg/ha) or Superdan 2 (5-8kg/ha). Both can be planted around mid October once the ground temperature warms up to 16 degrees at 9am in the morning. You should start grazing the crop at around 1m in height which will be 8-12 weeks from sowing. Both of these crops have fine stems and can be easily made into hay or silage. Sow the seed with starter fertiliser, (Starter 15, Granulock or DAP) which will supply the crop with a combination of nitrogen, phosphorus and Sulphur.
 

FarmStyle Member Question (How to make $20k from 27 acres)
10th July

We are fairly new to this game, we have 27acres just out of Singleton, 2/3 of our property is heavily timbered, we are on tank water only no irrigation, we have 1 dam. At the moment we have a few Dorper cross lambs in a smaller yard, a Friesian heifer and a horse, some dogs. I would like to know what the most viable thing is for us to farm. I would like to be able to make at least $20,000 turn over from our block p/a but at the moment we seem to be just putting more into it and not getting anything back. Our fences are not suitable for sheep or goats and our soil is not terrific. To start with we don't have much to invest. Any ideas?

FarmStyle Expert Answer

Thanks for the question a tough one to answer. For you to make $20,000 in turnover and with the other limitations you have suggested you will need to look outside the traditional agricultural enterprises and get involved in something boutique. A few suggestions (there are others) that may be worth some further investigation include, snail farming (Heliculture) and worm farming.

A snail enterprise can be set up cost effectively by purchasing a basic shade house . There is a business in the Hunter Valley called Snails Bon Appetite which provides a snail grower kit, advice and also a market for the snails.

The other option would be worm farming (water will be required for this enterprise). This produces a number of saleable products including worms, vermi-compost (organic material which has passed through the worms stomach), and also worm juice. There will be some costs associated with this as you will need to set up the worm beds, purchase the organic material and then harvest the worms. Like any good business you will need to make sure you have a secure market for your product before you produce it. I hope this has given you a few ideas worthy of some further research.

FarmStyle Expert Answer

Yes, it is too late to plant oats for grazing, ideally if you want grazing from oats in your area they should be planted in March to mid April. When oats are planted at the correct time of year they are normally ready to graze in around 12 weeks. If you plant oats now the ground temperature is cold and they will take a long time to germinate and establish. Also, once an oat plant grows through winter they vernalise (receive their cold requirement to go reproductive) and will shoot straight up to head in the spring providing little feed.

You should start and plan now for next year and have your paddock prepared early so you can get your oats in on time. If this sounds like a long time to wait you also have the option of sowing a crop such as brassica in the spring or millet/forage sorghum in the summer.

FarmStyle Member Question (In's and outs of lucerne)
8th May 2009

I have been speaking with my neighbour, who is about to sow some lucerne for me. He has told me that my soil is not suited to lucerne. Why would this be and can i do anything about it?

FarmStyle Experts Answer

There could be a few reasons why your neighbour suggests that lucerne is not suited to your soil. The most likely reasons are:
Soil pH, lucerne prefers a soil pH of 5-6.5 in Calcium Chloride with aluminium of less than 5 %. A current soil test will be able to tell you if your soil is within this range. You should also test the subsoil 15-50cm as some soils have an optimal pH in the top soil, however are acid at depth. Lucerne has a tap root and on these soils will grow well for a few years until it reaches the acid subsoil and will then die.

Water logging, lucerne is highly susceptible to water logging. I can hear you saying but it never rains, well when it does it pours. Lucerne therefore requires a well drained soil; if it gets waterlogged (wet feet) for a prolonged length of time it will die.
What can you do about it?

The most common way to increase soil pH is through liming; ideally lime should be spread and then incorporated into the soil. Rates (2.5-5 tonnes per ha) vary according to your existing pH and how much you need to raise it to the optimal levels. Different soil types also impact on the amount required, clay soils require more and change slowly where as sandy soils require less but change faster. In some cases soils can be so acidic and require so much lime that you are better off using acid tolerant plant species.

Drainage can be can harder to fix, you can try and deep rip your soil (don’t do this if you have rocks) by using an agroplow or yeomans plow. These have large tines which sweep through the soil at depth breaking up any clay or hard pan which may be causing the water logging. Have a dig with a shovel down to at least 50cm, if there is a hard pan present you should see roots of plants going out a right angles. Before you go spending money on deep ripping, get a soil test done to make sure your soils pH is okay for lucerne. You can get a free soil testing kit from your local DPI office or customer service units.

FarmStyle Experts Answer

Short term ryegrass would be fine to use especially if you plan to cut hay or silage in the spring as its main growth period is autumn, winter and spring. As you know most of the species which grow in your area are summer growing so improving the winter production of your pastures is a real key, ryegrass is a good choice.

Companion species you could sow are white clover (prestige and trophy) and herbs (tonic plantain), these species will help improve the overall quality of the pasture along with growing on the shoulder of the seasons when your ryegrass will be slowing down.

You should spray the paddock out and then direct drill or at  a minimum mulch (slash or mulch the existing grass before broadcasting the seed) sow it. Use a generous (125kg/ha) rate of starter fertiliser with nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur at sowing time. After 8 weeks, post sowing try and give the paddock a light graze which will encourage your ryegrass to tiller out (thicken up).

A mix you could use would be:
Crusader Ryegrass 20-25kg/ha
Trophy White Clover (Coated) 1-2kg/ha
Prestige White Clover (coated) 1-2kg/ha
Tonic Plantain 1-2kg/ha

FarmStyle Experts Answer

The majority of Australia’s soils are deficient in both phosphorus and sulphur; it would be likely that you need to use sulphur at sowing, however the only real way to know is to conduct a soil test.

Sulphur is available in two forms, (elemental and suphate), elemental sulphur is the bank you have in the soil, and this form needs to be broken down to an available form for plant uptake. Sulphate sulphur on the other hand is already in a form ready to be taken up by your plants, most soils have a mixture of both. The majority of starter fertilisers use the sulphate form of sulphur so it is immediately available to the growing plant.