First calves born in Australia by the new outcross sire from Netherton, Blackford Scotland.
'E15'
By Netherton Lord Jordan
By Talooby W39
(pictured right)
Talooby is one of only two studs to have semen in Australia!
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Second OAM for family
Story by The Mudgee Guardian and The Weekly, By CONNIE STEVENS
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| Image: Bulls-eye. Peter Grieve with two of his prized bulls, Barristerí and Anzac |
Bylong Valley Angus breeder, Peter Grieve has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the Australia Day Honours list announced today.
Mr Grieve received his award for service to primary industry through the promotion of the Angus cattle breed.
In 1993, Mr Grieve's father Ronald received an OAM for services to primary industry and services to the community.
Mr Grieve said he never thought he would receive such an award."
It is a great surprise, but a nice one,
Often country people are under represented for these awards so I am pleased for country folk generally that I have been recognized," he said.
Mr Grieve said his property, 'Talooby' was first settled by the Grieve family in 1936 and Angus cattle have grazed there since 1953.
The stud operation was founded in 1969. It's a very strong and sound country for cattle and the Angus breed has a flexibility and hardiness to it and has done well here".
Angus is now the major variety for the temperance breed industry right across southern Australia.
"We use around 4,000 acres for 350 breeders including 30 red Angus and run eight to ten bulls for that herd with a little AI as well," he said.
Mr Grieve said the popularity of the breed had grown enormously over the past 25 years.
Over that time we have seen the numbers go from 7,000 and now itís more like 47,000.
It is by far the most popular temperate breed of cattle in Australia.
"This is also reflected in the fact that the Angus Society in Australia is the second largest in the world after the United States," he said.
Mr Grieve spent 25 years on the Angus Society Board and is now a life member.
His commitment to the industry will be recognised in April when he officially receives his OAM from the Governor General.
Talooby Bulls to $7500-
The land Newspaper, Brad Wilson - September 11 2008
Talooby Angus bulls sold to $7500 in a total clearance of 52 bulls, to average $4173,
up by a massive $940 on last year’s sale average, in the first open cry auction for the Grieves family, Talooby, Bylong,
last Friday.
The Grieves family usually sold bulls by the Helmsmen sale system, but switched to the auction style for the first time this year.
The new sale ring was a buzz with a blend of repeat and new buyers, and combined with the steady rain, all contributed to the successful auction.
Nearly all the 21 registered buyers took a share of theoffering, with bulls travelling locally as well as to Coolah, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah and Mendooran. Repeat buyer and general manager of Minnamurra Pastoral Company, Dennis Power, Gunndah, bought 10 bulls, including the $7500 top priced bull, to average $5700.
“The Talooby bulls are good middle of the road cattle and are great heifer bulls. They will be joined to mainly our heifers in the Western country”. Mr Power said.
Minnamurra joins 5500 predominately Angus commercial cows on country at Bylong, Gunnedah and Walgett.
The Spicer family, “Wangabutta”, Coonabarabran, purchasers for 22 years, averaged $5111 for which their draft of nine bulls, which topped at $6500.
“We were chasing growthy bulls. We find the Talooby cattle perform well, are fertile and handle all conditions”, Noella Spicer said.
The Spicer family joins 1100 Angus commercial cows, aiming for the feeder steer markets.
Volume buyers included Forgacs Holdings, Collaroy Station, Cassilis, where manager, Pat Deighton, averaged $2850, for his draft of ten bulls, while Blackwell Pastoral Company “Glendale”, Rylstone, paid to $6500, to average $5333 for three bulls.
Buyers of the Red Angus bulls included David Jones “Hawthorne”, Binnaway, who averaged $3500 for two bulls, while Michael and Jenny Millner, Blayney also purchased two Red Angus bulls to average $3500.
The sale was conducted by Elders and Andy McGeoch was the auctioneer.
Fertility and Versatility
‘Budden’ in the Bylong Valley of NSW has been using Talooby Bulls for 20 years. Manager Rick Cook, runs the 3,000
acre cattle operation which turns off steers for either the local butcher trade or the feedlots depending on the season.
“Fertility is our main priority and the Talooby genetics have proven their worth. Last year we preg-tested 117 heifers and had 2 empty. We retain the Talooby females in the herd because of this fertility and their ability to turn off cattle that suit both the domestic and feedlot market,” said Rick.
Profit From Versatility - Ben Simpson
The last 10 years of variable rainfall and seasonal variations has proved difficult for many farmers but the benefit of having moderate cattle and mature cow weights with fattening ability off pasture has been a profitable decision for Andrew Wallings.
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Andrew Wallings with some 600 kg rising 2yr old Talooby breed steers on oats destined for the EU Market. |
Andrew and Sandy Wallings run Wallings Pastoral Company with Andrew’s parents Helen and David. The enterprise, established in 1972, covers 3,300 HA and three properties in the Bylong Valley one hour east of Mudgee. The herd of 700 breeders is comprised of Angus females 50% pure with the other 50% Charolais infused and black baldies.
The enterprise, in addition to the 700 breeders, opportunity trades 200 to 400 head depending on the season and also makes 1,000 bales of silage, 3,000 large square bales of Lucerne and 100 tonnes of wheat annually. The highly productive farm remain profitable understanding the genetics that suits their environment and selecting for profitable traits rather then breeding for extremes.
Turn off from Wallings Pastoral Company comprises 300 to 350 head annually to the local trade and another 300 to 350 head going to the EU or to Cargill at 280 to 350 kg carcase weight. “Our steers are killable at 450kg but because of the genetics we use, we are able to take them out to over 650kg. This gives us safety against season and price variability,” said Andrew.
“The returns from heavy cattle are very good if you can get the weight, fat and colour correct and in today’s market you can not afford to have a genetic base that varies or does not suit your environment,” said Andrew. “For our enterprise fertility is the first fundamental. With this trait firmly established in the herd, we then concentrate on turning off kg’s of beef.”
The Wallings Family began using Talooby Angus bulls in 1982. “ I was after fertile, easy doing cattle that were able to with stand seasonal and market variability and that crossed well with other breeds,” said Andrew. This has proved a wise decision for Andrew especially after the 2006 drought (the driest on record) when he returned a 95% preg-test rate across the herd.
The cattle from Wallings Pastoral Company are killed and they receive a price over the hook. For this reason temperament and nutrition are important to avoid dark cutting. Andrew feeds silage to their yard weaned cattle and they then go on to crop for their fattening time.
“ We have been happy with the performance of our Angus cattle to date,’ said Andrew. “ The Talooby genetics have provided us with a fertile moderate base that is versatile. I do not like breeding for extremes as extremes can lead you down a path that is hard to escape from when thing get tough.”
“I would like to see a wider gene pool developed for the Angus breed in general with less single trait selection, said Andrew.
Talooby Marketing Day Results - Click here to view gallery
The challenge of producing beef in a world with increased demands on resources was the
topic of discussion at the Talooby Angus Field-Day held on Friday 11th of April. More than 80 people attended the event which included speakers leading in various fields of expertise.
Ben Simpson discussed the broader issues of the increase in global C02 emissions and the large increase in the demand for Bio-Fuels and Ethanol. He then spoke of the possible effects of this on beef production. "If the demand for fuel is predicted to be 87 MB/d (million barrels per day) grain will increasingly be used for fuel production rather than cattle fattening. We therefore must be breeding cattle that can fit into a climate of reduced grain resources whilst still maintaining quality," Ben Simpson said.
Michael Kiely, one of Australia's leading experts on Carbon Credits, spoke on the need for farmers to be involved in carbon sequesting as it is the only environmentally viable option that be implemented immediately. "Trees and other forms of carbon sequesting take many years to start working effectively, as soil farmers we can start reducing carbon in our atmosphere immediately," said Mr Kiely.
The next to speak was John Feehan. A world expert in dung beetles, he described the powerful attributes to having dung beetles in a grazing operation. "Not only can beetles increase the fertility of your soils, they will be influential in the future of reducing CO2 in our atmosphere by burring carbon under the soil.
Jason Strong from Catapult Genetics spoke about the company's recent developments in its search for Marbling, Tenderness and Feed Effeciency Genes and the potential to predict an animals performance before expensive feeding regimes begin.
Brett Littler, Beef Cattle Officer NSW DPI, spoke on what market specifications a suitable for a sustainable beef operation. This speak included live cattle assessment where the attendees were asked to asses cattle based on weight, frame size and fat. " The future of the industry's market specifications have and will continue to change and breeders are advised to breed cattle that have a flexibility to fit a range of markets to suit," said Mr Littler.
The day was wrapped up by Talooby's genetic consultant, Mr Dick Whale, Independent Breeding Services. Mr Whale stressed the need for producers to breed cattle with low cost of production whilst still maintaining high quality meat characteristics. "The world economic and environmental climates are constantly changing and producers should be aware for these changes from a global, not and local point of view. The genetics for the future are the ones that will be able to provide a low cost of production yet still keep quality Australian beef exports on the world stage," said Mr Whale.
Mr Peter Grieve, Talooby Principal, was happy with the day and the amount of people who turned up. "We understand it is harder these days to get people to attend field days due to people's increased time constraints. We selected speakers who we felt had something to say on the future of the beef industry and could offer intelligent views. We were very happy with the number of people who attended and hope they all received and insight into the beef production for the 21st century," said Mr grieve.
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Talooby Marketing Open Day
11th April 2008
10am
Key Industry Speakers including:
Michael Kiely, John Feehan, Ben Simpson, Jason Strong, Brett Littler & Dick Whale
Rsvp Essential
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Steers "Peter" and "Ron", Donated by
Talooby Angus
to Mudgee High School. |
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BIG BOYS SELL WELL ON SLIGHTLY IMPROVED MARKET - CASSIE HOUGH
Two massive beasts were sold this week at the Mudgee sale yards.
Weighing 965kg and 955kg empty, these four year olds from Talooby Angus Stud towered over the other cattle at the yards.
They were held on because one was a rogue and the other hurt himself in the yards just before sale according to Mr Grieve.
These cattle were born in 2003 and have seen the fluctuation of the seasons living through two droughts.
Owner, Peter Grieve, was pleased with the 145.2 c/kg paid by AMH Dinmore for these eight toothed steers.
“The market was somewhat dearer, better cattle sold well,” said Mr Grieve.
The introduction of a new buyer and the mild autumn that has delayed the onset of cold weather so far and may have buoyed prices according to Stock and Station Agent, Chris Schmidt.
This week saw light feeder cattle (280 – 370 kg) reach 194 c/kg while the heavier feeder cattle (440 – 550 kg), usually destined for export, only made 178.2 c/kg.
This is a reversal of the trend from a couple of weeks ago.
A contributing factor to this may entry of US beef back into the Korean market, general uncertainty surrounding the Korean beef trade which may have reduced demand and the additional influence of the strong Australian dollar.
“A big clean up around this time of year is generally expected with people selling cattle off fodder crops and general destocking in preparation for winter, but we haven't really seen that” said Mr Schmidt
“The relatively low yarding for this time of year is indicative of low stock numbers in the region,” Mr Schmidt said.
“We are largely resource depleted with not enough growth and not many fodder crops being sown,” he said.
The last fall of rain and the uncharacteristically mild autumn is the last chance for farmers and graziers in the area to get some growth before the onset of winter. Pic mg080507/DSCF0444 – Massive four year old steers bred by Talooby Angus Stud sold well on the back of a slightly revitalized market this week.
