Herefords driving business resilience and sustainability in the Red Centre

Rebecca Cadzow doesn’t even turn a hair at driving a road train of Hereford steers on a 9000km return trip from paddock to feedlot.

Although born and raised near Armidale, in northern NSW, she has spent her adult life helping to run an 11,000 head herd of Poll Herefords in one of Australia’s more challenging environments 200km northeast of Alice Springs.

Rebecca has worked alongside her husband Steve Cadzow to drive sustainability, productivity, environmental resilience and profitability on Mt Riddock Station.

The 2700sqkm station is split by the spectacular Harts Range and measures 160km long.

Set in a 300mm rainfall zone, Mt Riddock is home to a Poll Hereford herd of 4500 breeders established in 1961 by Steve’s parents, Dick and Ann Cadzow.

The arid rangelands are predominantly red sandy loam soils supporting some Mitchell grass plains and predominantly buffel grass.

Dick and Ann were passionate about Hereford genetics and sold bulls privately throughout the Northern Territory to repeat buyers under the stud prefix, Corkwood, based on Sevenbardot and Merawah blood lines.

After the couple’s passing, the stud was disbanded but the recent purchase of a property at Uralla, in the NSW New England, will enable the establishment of a nucleus herd of elite stud females for herd bull production under the Corkwood prefix for Mt Riddock.

“Our eldest daughter has completed an artificial insemination (AI) and pregnancy testing course while studying equine veterinary science – she is investigating the ideal Hereford genetics for the stud and will carry out the AI work in the stud heifers,” Rebecca said.

The family has added Days Whiteface bulls to the herd in recent times and ex-stud cows are used to breed the herd bulls. They have culled the herd heavily on Mt Riddock to now have a highly fertile and functional female, capable of surviving in the arid environment and raising progeny suitable for the feeder market.

“I really like a clean, neat and tidy herd and it’s nice to look into a yard of 1000 to 2000 beautiful Poll Herefords,” Rebecca said.

She said the breed’s resilience, adaptability, fertility and doing ability suited the station’s environment.

“We have a few rotational paddocks that when the buffel grass is optimal, even in a bad year the cattle are averaging 0.4kg of daily gain and in a good year it can be well over 1kg a day.

“We put the frame on the cattle so they can walk between watering points.”

The Mt Riddock herd is European Union accredited and turns off milk tooth steers and surplus heifers at 420kg liveweight for the EU feeder market, primarily to Princess Royal Feedlot, at Burra, South Australia, or heavy grass fed two-year-old bullocks to South Australian processors.

“Last week, I was in a road train and my husband the other, and we did 9000km for the week. I’m sure there are other wives driving road trains on the stations, but I get the job of going everywhere,” Rebecca said.

“We make sure the cattle have been fed oaten hay (sourced from SA and NT) and have electrolytes before transport. The feeder steers and heifers are trucked to Alice Springs, weighed and fed overnight, and then transported 1200km to the feedlot. They are unloaded at the feedlot by mid-morning the next day.

“Princess Royal love the temperament of the cattle, their ability to settle and grow. They know they will get the weight on the frame. They are usually our first-round weaners aged 10 to 12 months.

“When selling over the hooks, we ensure the cattle are well hydrated – we cross-load as soon as we arrive in Port Augusta, not waiting until the next morning. We get the cattle straight to the processor at Naracoorte to ensure MSA compliance and consistent carcase quality.

“Hereford beef has high eating quality; the breed’s temperament is beautiful, and the cattle are adaptable to arid conditions – one year we had 25mm of rain for the year and yet the Herefords hung on.

“Our carcase weights for both our steers and cull cows are good. The cows are loaded at 14 to 16 a deck and they are well over 850kg liveweight.”

The commercial herd requires up to 40 new bulls a year and the Cadzow’s select on average birthweight, above average 200- and 400-day weights, above average frame score, and structural soundness.

Retained heifers are vaccinated for pestivirus and treated for lice and worms at weaning and run with the bulls for eight weeks at 15 per cent to increase conception rates. Empty heifers are sold to the feedlots.

Steve and Rebecca had been juggling three stations, a helicopter mustering business and Rebecca’s full-time teaching career in the indigenous communities when they decided to undertake a life audit in 2010, paring their portfolio down to the single station and one helicopter.

“The life audit was the best thing we ever did – we got our succession sorted with Steve’s parents and sister. The new block at Uralla is part of our succession plan for our children,” Rebecca said.

When it comes to sustainability at Mt Riddock, it started with Steve’s father Dick, a passionate Landcare advocate who transformed the station’s eroded soils and rabbit infestation.

“Steve is passionate about his Landcare, slowing water down to make the most of rainfall and encouraging a diversity of native species,” Rebecca said.

Mt Riddock was one of the first pastoral properties to implement rotational spell grazing after receiving a Centralian Landcare Management Association grant.

The shift to increased productivity, profitability and sustainability was dramatic.

Thousands of ponding banks were created along survey lines to slow runoff, retain soil moisture and promoting native pasture growth.

Twelve smaller paddocks, each measuring four square kilometres, were fenced off with cattle grazing each paddock for a maximum of 21 days before the pasture is spelled for 10 to 12 months to allow grasses to seed and rehabilitate.

The smaller paddocks also allow for controlled matings of heifers to increase conception rates.

“The pastures were just buffel grass but now there is up to eight to 10 different species of grasses. We have also observed an increase in biodiversity of small reptiles and birds,” Rebecca said.

“By removing the cattle, even if there is no rain event, there is still a growth event with the plants making use of the soil moisture. The rejuvenation time is phenomenal compared to continuous grazing.

“We ensure there is at least three years’ worth of feed in front of us at any given time to increase business resilience during drought, and if the forecast is for dry conditions, we start destocking in a big way.

“The carrying capacity has increased from 100 cows (continuously grazed) to over 2000 steers rotationally grazed each year.”

The cattle are given urea and pre and probiotic lick blocks to increase digestibility of the native pasture.

The family has invested heavily in technology including walk over weigh scales and automated drafting systems allowing controlled mating, calving weights of heifers, and average daily gain of weaners.

“The walk over weigh system allows us to identify a sick animal and gives us a chance to see how the cattle are performing on the feed as a whole herd,” Rebecca said.

“We can identify the heifers which have calved or are late calving and cull any poor performers. We are tough when it comes to cull rates in the heifers, anything dry in the first and second round at pregnancy testing is gone on the truck. As a result, conception rates are 85-90 per cent.

“The cow herd comes through the yards twice a year with calves branded and weaners removed, and cows preg tested.

“Calves are born in November/December, branded in March/April and weaned in September. The calves are put through a weaning program in the yards, educating them with horses and a helicopter, and fed Rhodes grass hay.”

On Mt Riddock checking water troughs could mean a 400km trip over rough terrain. A Remote Livestock Management System now couples existing communication technology with satellite imagery to monitor bores and water troughs.

There is no longer a full time bore man and all staff can check water levels via telemetry on their phones or iPad.

“The first bore we put a telemetry system with a remote stop-start function on was 90km from the homestead and it paid for itself in under three weeks in diesel, labour and vehicle costs,” Rebecca said.

“Every bore at Mt Riddock is now on the telemetry system and solar powered. We can check the bores and walk over weigh systems from anywhere in the world, giving us peace of mind about the water and stock.

“All of this data helps us make informed decisions, enabling us to work to sale dates, ensure the stock are on a rising plane of nutrition so they are fertile and growing, and provide our feedlot buyers with average daily growth so they are better informed.

“Our aim is to produce the most kilograms of beef in the shortest amount of time.”

The station is run with five full time labour units in addition to Steve and Rebecca.

“Our herd is now sustainable genetically as we have culled anything not superior enough to be there. We are continuing to install new watering points, stock yards, lane ways and fencing to increase the business resilience,” Rebecca said.

“Laneways stretch from one end of Mt Riddock to the other, and all of the yards are connected so if we do have an area that is not sustainable or coping with the season, we can easily destock that area in a day.”

Rebecca said a key to a sustainable business model was a succession plan where everyone at the table was respected and heard.

“A big part of the dynamics of a family enterprise is having those conversations together. We are thankful for the legacy we can carry on because of Dick and Anne.”

Rebecca is looking forward to slowing down to have more time for her hobbies of cheese making and competitive cutting.

Over the horizon, the Cadzow’s are planning to attend the World Hereford Conference in the USA in 2025 to bring back the latest innovations in the breed.