Male pushing the envelope
Belief in the economies of scale has seen exponential growth in the Male family’s NSW Riverina farmland.
VALUE adding is proving a boon for a fifth-generation farming family who see a bright future for agriculture.
The farming partnership of brothers James and Greg Male and their wives Geraldine and Dianne run a mixed-farming enterprise of predominantly dryland farming and prime lambs on the family’s nine dryland farms in the NSW Riverina.
Looking to the future, the Males have progressively expanded their holdings with the purchase of neighbouring properties as opportunities presented themselves. Their farms at Yerong Creek and 80km further west at Urana total 5058ha and are farmed as one, trading under the Elamville business banner.
The Males share farm and lease an additional 2023ha around Henty and Yerong Creek, bringing their total footprint to more than 7000ha.
James said their eight employees were critical to the business.
“They are all local people and are contributing to the fabric of the community,” James said.
The expansion, driven by the brothers’ bid to achieve economies of scale, has dramatically bolstered their livestock and cropping enterprises, which this year see 5463ha of crops planted and about 6000 ewes lambed down.
Sheep numbers have doubled over the past three years and the area cropped has increased exponentially. James said the expansion had provided the opportunity to further diversify with a new development on the radar.
“Our father could see the benefit of scale and we believe there is real benefit in it as well. We have expanded from 971ha in 2002 to 5058ha now with 2426ha of these at Urana,” James said. “With the cost of modern plant and equipment we see it more difficult to run a traditional family farm and that is why we have adopted a model that captures the benefits of scale and yet still being family-owned and operated.”
WATER WORLD
THE operation is self-sufficient in feed and water with dams and bore water for livestock and town water for domestic use.
Crops grown include wheat, canola, lupins, barley and oats. Wheat and canola are generally marketed off the header with the barley, oats and lupins used in the family’s own feedlot. James said in a normal year wheat would generally yield about 3.5 to four tonnes a hectare at Yerong Creek and 2.5 to three tonnes/ha at Urana.
The adoption and utilisation of grazing crops has dramatically increased stocking rates on the properties and has proven to be a critical component in their overall strategy.
The Males deliberately avoid using contractors, preferring to have their own equipment for all aspects of their enterprise. “It is critical to have the jobs done when we need to and then we’ve also got no one else to blame if there is a stuff-up,” James said.
This year’s cropping program got under way in early March following a perfect early autumn break and will be completed by the end of this month.
The sheep flock comprises first-cross and Merino ewes mostly joined to Poll Dorset rams. Most are spring-lambing ewes and marking rates of more than 120 per cent are normally expected.
The lambs are weaned at 12-15 weeks before being finished on improved pastures, grazing crops or grain in the feedlot.
Additional lambs are purchased as opportunities present themselves to finish either on crops or on feed.
The feedlot has origins from a Nuffield Scholarship James completed in 2011, which took him to the US, France, the Middle East and New Zealand, where he toured feedlots including one of the world’s biggest at the time, a 10,000-head facility in the US state of Colorado.
James said the scholarship provided a great learning experience to see how farmers around the world managed lamb weights, feed and contracts.
NEED FOR FEED
THE Males’ feedlot, with covered feeders, was developed over a number of years and built by the brothers and thei employees. It lines both sides of a farm road and is a big hit with the sheep who are on easy street with plentiful tucker on tap.
James said the feedlot was now an integral part of their farm management.
The family produces all the feed used in the feedlot which in recent years has consisted of canola silage, barley and lupins.
“It has evolved over the years from using self-feeders to now using a bunker system with our own total mixed ration,” James said.
The lambs are marketed in conjunction with Riverina Livestock Agents Pty Ltd of Wagga Wagga. While the Males engage contract shearers for the wool clip, they do all the other jobs themselves.
Reinvesting in the property is a priority. In the past three years the brothers have installed several new sets of sheep yards, constructed a network of internal roads for access and installed a big water infrastructure project.
“We are committed to be as efficient and productive as we can be and good infrastructure is a key to this,” James said.
A new agricultural endeavour about to take shape on the Males’ farm is generating some excitement in the district. It is a 1200-sow “farrow to finish” piggery, approved late last year by Lockhart Shire Council to be developed over the next five years in partnership with local farmers.
“The piggery is another part of our vision of diversifying and value-adding what we produce on the farm.
“We plan on getting the first 300 pigs stage under way later in the year,” James said. “We will effectively be value-adding the cereals and lupins we produce and using the straw and effluent on the paddocks.”
With Greg’s son Josh and his young family also involved in the farm, the Males’ proud farming legacy looks set to continue for another generation or two.
“I am really positive about agriculture. It is a great industry to be in,” James said.
MORE ON FARM
Berwyndale Pastoral: Cotton farm embraces new opportunities
Marmon Hill tops the chops
Few know the secret to successfully breeding prized first-cross ewes better than South Australia’s Ian Farley. And here he shares what he knows and how he got there.
Fruits of family labour pay off
The bank was set to foreclose when Helen Aggeletos took over her family’s citrus business in South Australia’s Riverland. Read how she turned it all around.