Hereford infused cattle are proving fit for purpose in a semi-arid environment and commanding up to a 15c/kg premium in the market place for one Queensland family.
Trading as Ballater Pastoral Company, Alastair Anderson, his wife Lyn, and son Steven, run 800 Droughtmaster and Hereford/Droughtmaster breeders on 14,980 ha 110km southwest of Hughenden.
They use Hereford bulls in a terminal crossbreeding system, turning off both F1 steers and females into the store markets for feedlot buyers. The Andersons are finding the crossbred is sustainable and fit for purpose in the challenging environment.
Both red coated breeds have complementary traits with the crossbred benefiting from additional weight gain in the calves through hybrid vigour while the red baldy stands out to buyers in the saleyards.
The family sold 15- to 18-month-old Hereford/Droughtmaster and pure Droughtmaster steers in a special Blackall weaner sale with the crossbreds eliciting a 15c/kg premium over the straightbreds.
Set in a 350mm rainfall zone, the station comprises open downs country with pastures of Flinders and Mitchell grass and was drawn in a ballot by Alastair’s father, Ronald, in 1935.
Alastair has subdivided the station from an original four paddocks into cells ranging from 1214ha to 2429ha, complemented by central laneways for ease of management.
The family lost around half their herd in devastating floods in 2019 and are still rebuilding their numbers off the back of good seasonal conditions.
They find the Hereford/Droughtmaster cross resilient to the challenging semi-arid to arid climate and gives them market flexibility.
Ronald had always been a keen Hereford producer, changing from sheep to cattle in the 1950s, using genetics from southern and central Queensland. He was proud to win the carcase competition at Townsville show with pure Herefords against the Bos indicus.
Over the years Alastair had transitioned to using Droughtmaster genetics until he received a market signal.
“Jack Burgess, GDL Blackall, suggested I go back into using Hereford bulls over the younger Droughtmaster heifers to meet that Blackall market,” he said.
“The buyers prefer the baldy faced crossbred cattle. Recently I had six decks of cattle go to Blackall with one pen of 24 Droughtmaster steers standing next to a pen of 24 Hereford cross, all of similar weights. The crossbreds sold for a 15c/kg premium.
“The Hereford is adding weight and carcase quality – the feedlot buyers like the softness and finishing ability of the crossbred cattle.”
At the 2024 Lambert Infused feeder and weaner sale at Blackall saleyards in September, Ballater Pastoral exhibited the winning steer and heifer pens under 300kg with Hereford cross cattle, and sold them for the top weight for age price of 396c/kg or $1123.
Alastair likes the quiet temperament of the Hereford, and sources bulls from Lambert stud.
He studies the BREEDPLAN estimated breeding values before inspecting the bulls for body length and muscle pattern.
“The buyers like that long carcase and I also like to see a good butt shape. I look for calving ease, a lower birthweight, above average 400-day growth, and the rib and rump fat,” he said.
He finds the Hereford bulls adapt readily to the semi-arid environment and is impressed with their longevity and fertility. The family began joining Hereford bulls to 120 heifers and have now increased that to 270.
Heifers are classed on structural soundness and body length, joined at 14 months to calve as two-year-olds, with the herd averaging a 96 per cent calving rate. All F1 females are sold at Blackall weaner sales as feeder heifers at 12 to 15 months of age.
The herd comes past the yards four times a year with the calves being yard weaned for 10 to 14 days before growing out on pasture.
“The marketplace is certainly giving us the signal we are doing the right thing by using Herefords,” Alastair said.
Alastair Anderson, third from left, and Steven Anderson, right, with his winning pen at the Lambert infused weaner sale
