Genetic Investment
Buchan Station owners pushing forward with genetic investment to improve their Angus herd
Buchan Station owners pushing forward with genetic investment to improve their Angus herd
The limestone country of Buchan Station is a significant advantage for producing well bred cows with plenty of milk and 400-450kg weaned steers for the feeder market.
Bryan and Vicki Hayden bought Buchan Station 25 years ago and trade in partnership with sons, Sam and Paddy.
Full time employees are farm managers, Lance and Lyric Anderson, and pasture manager, Ean Free. The Heyden family provides workforce support at critical times.
Despite regular droughts and two bushfires burning the property, the Hayden family has invested in herd and pasture improvement.
"The property is capable of running 600 cows and calves, with a flock of Australian White sheep. We're at capacity now for livestock numbers," Bryan Hayden said.
"Buchan Station is set in rolling basin country with a four kilometre frontage to the Buchan River. The property is split in half by the permanent Tara Creek.
"It's main attributes are the red soil over limestone country, and 100 per cent secure water."
Secure water supply has enabled Buchan Station to be improved with an extensive reticulated trough system supplementing an array of dams. Water security is important because some of the property is inaccessible except by horse, hiking or helicopter.
A water license enables two centre pivots to irrigate 41ha of improved pasture, for hay and silage for weaning and winter feeding.
Across the property, an improved ryegrass and clover pasture mix is supported with native grass.
The herd is split-calving and has benefited from ongoing strategic investment of predominantly Milwillah bloodlines.
"The purebred cattle always win in the market.
"The Milwillah bloodline means the calves seem to be born small, but their growth rate is phenomenal. It's a combination of genetics and the limestone country their mothers are grazing.
"Every couple of years we buy the very best bull we can find and put him through most of the herd."
Heifers may be joined to that bull, or a low birthweight bull.
"We think our heifers are better to be grown out a bit further. The delay means the heifers are bigger and they get back in-calf with more success for the second joining."
Surplus heifers are sold pregnancy-tested-in-calf.
The Hayden family has collaborated with Will Caldwell of Milwillah Angus to push production. They invested in Millwillah Renegade 1033 and his calves out of heifers landed on the ground in December after a gestation length of -8.7.
"That's amazed us. It was an experiment that Will told us they were trying to design and they've got it right.
"We had live calves on the ground and early calving. We were very strict with the AI dates and natural joining. We knew exactly which were 1033's calves.
"The early calving gives that calf extra time on the ground and the growth rate takes off quickly."
Last year Buchan Station also incorporated embryo transfer into their breeding program, and so far the results are promising, Mr Hayden said.
"We're aiming to radically improve the female side of the herd, and produce some herd bulls for backup to the AI.
"We selected cows we know are good mothers to be recipients. We set aside a small herd of 20 cows in the first round.
"We're in the process of selecting the cows we want to flush for the next round. We'll use semen from Milwillah S23, a very good bull that we can use over our 1033 heifers and in the ET program.
"It's a learning curve for us, but we've kept the herd pure Milwillah genetics from a group of foundation cows.
"That history gives us the benefit of experimenting with that group of cows."
Source: Stock & Land