"Jack of All Trades"
Another busy 2 months have passed by since our last newsletter.
Each day the first job for the girls is to tend to our animals in the feedlots making sure they are as healthy as they can be with feed bunks cleaned, fresh food supplied and waters checked. Then, as per normal, every day is full to overflowing with many other jobs.
We have had a trip to our property at Yaraka to wean the calves off the cows and preg test to see how many are back in calf. It was great to find we had 97% back in calf. The weaners have been brought home, bull calves have been marked and the heifers are growing. We wean them in the yards using hay and feedlot ration for approx 3 weeks. We then bring them in and out of the yards each day to get them used to being handled by humans, motorbikes and dogs before we let them out onto grassy pastures to grow.
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Our New Project
As I write this newsletter we are commencing a very large capital works project. Dan has built many sheds in the past but this time he and the team (girls included) are taking on Goliath. We have started building a commodity/animal shed, which, when finished, will be 230 m long and 48 m wide. Yes, huge! We have enlisted the skills of Dan’s sister and brother-in-law to also help on this mammoth project. Today they are pouring the footings. 48 holes to fill – 600mm holes, 3m deep! As I write we have completed 22! Nearly halfway.
The project is a very significant investment for our family business. The purpose of building this roof structure is all about animal welfare and optimising weight gains from the commodities fed to finish our cattle. We are aiming to produce more beef in a shorter period of time.
We want to ensure that consumers understand that all our cattle are born on grass, raised on grass and after growing to a set weight, enter the feedlot so they can be fattened in the shortest period of time to meet market requirements.
Our main market is a supermarket chain, and we are required to deliver the same size carcass every week so that you, the consumer, can purchase the same size steak every week. By finishing our beef in a quality feeding system, we can achieve consistent quality product with optimum productivity.
When we are finished we will be putting our cattle that are currently in the outdoor feedlot undercover, which will decrease any incidence of weather-driven events like heat and rain. We will capture all of the water and be able to use this to put back through the feed system. We aim to increase weight gains in a shorter period of time, using less resources (feed commodities and water) and we also aim to install solar on this roof and become a producer of power.
So, in short, our title “Jack of all trades” is referring to the many and varied jobs we do each and every day.
Keep an eye out through our social media as we share updates on the construction, and all the machinery that the girls have the skills to drive and maintain!
There are only 2 Pink Beef Box deliveries before Christmas!
Our next delivery is October 7th - 9th.