Producing a consistent product is the aim for Tracey and Joanne Gowen
Tracey Gowen aims to breed consistent Angus cattle with high marbling.
CREATING a consistent product that performs well every time is the goal for NSW Angus producer Tracey Gowen.
Tracey and her mother, Joanne, run a self-replacing Angus enterprise on 1340ha, spread across two properties at Uralla and Walcha on the state’s Northern Tablelands.
The Gowens have owned the Uralla property for 40 years, adding Walcha 10 years later for the geographic spread.
Operating their 600-head herd, 400 of which are breeding females, across the two properties takes some of the risk out of the weather.
However, this year they have been feeding cattle on both properties, ramping up their efforts in June.
OLDIES ARE GOLD FOR CHANGING PALATES
“It’s about 4-6C hotter at Uralla in summer than at Walcha, and we’ve been noticing it the past few years,” Tracey said.
“You learn a lot about nutrition, feeding and budgets in drought. We’ve got feed budgeted from what we have on farm through until October.”
Uralla has an average annual rainfall of 760mm, while Walcha generally receives 920mm, and the pastures are a mix of native and improved pastures with cocksfoot, fescue, prairie grasses, ryegrass, clovers and herbs.
Breeders are run at Walcha, while steers and heifers are run at Uralla.
While the area was once all sheep country, Tracey said they had run only Angus cattle for the past 20 years with genetics including Kilburnie, Wattle Top and Bald Blair used in the past.
And while overall genetic gain is important, marbling is one of the key traits they select for.
“Marbling is becoming more and more prominent (for processors and consumers),” Tracey said.
“We still don’t get paid for it (marbling), but I believe we will in the future.”
GROW FOR IT
TRACEY said they did not select the biggest cows because they were high maintenance, but do chase good growth rates.
“We are looking for 200, 400 and 600-day weights to be increasing, alongside good eye muscle area, and rib and rump fat,” she said. “We try to balance it out, but IMF (intramuscular fat) is becoming more and more prominent.”
The Gowens have a partnership with Kilburnie Angus at Walcha, where they sell bull progeny of Kilburnie females they have bought back to the stud.
Cows are naturally joined, however the first-calving heifers are artificially inseminated.
“It sets them up to be calving as early in the calf season as possible and then early in subsequent years, it also gives us a more even spread,” Tracey said. All females are pregnancy tested six weeks after the bulls are pulled out, with the empties sold. Bulls are also semen tested before joining. Tracey said as part of that they were looking to put a more elite group of cows together with genetic information.
“We are putting together an elite group of cows and using artificial insemination to potentially then sell our own bulls,” she said.
However, Tracey said they were focused on “genetic gain” for the entire mob. Heifers calve in June and cows follow in July. Ensuring female nutrition was adequate is important. Usually the heifers are put on to oats or a permanent pasture once they start calving.
Birthweights of the calves out of the heifers are recorded.
FEED FOR THOUGHT
THE heifer weaners are often sold to F1 Wagyu programs, either direct or through AuctionsPlus, while the steers are usually marketed direct to feedlots.
“We often get repeat buyers, and if we can sell direct, we can avoid extra handling in saleyards or on trucks,” Tracey said.
All progeny are yard-weaned for a week, which introduces them to bunk feeding, and being weighed and circulated through the yards helps to quieten them more.
“For steers that end up on feed, being yard-weaned gets them socialised and used to feed, but it also gives them better immunity too,” Tracey said.
She said the cattle were moved fairly routinely so they became used to people, but they horses were used most of the time as it was a quieter and more relaxed experienced for humans and animals.
Breeding a consistent cattle line is important for the Gowens.
“We are still selling animals and more often than not we are selling them as a cohort rather than an individual, so we want consistency. We want everything to mature at the same rate,” Tracey said.
That means heifers reach puberty to be able to joined at 12-14 months and calve at two-years old.
“It’s not about selling the most for us. It is about producing animals that look good and perform well,” Tracey said.
MOB MENTALITY
WHILE they do not have an official cell grazing program, the Gowens are moving towards this with larger mobs in smaller paddocks. The cattle are moved regularly and it promotes better pasture use.
Joanne and Tracey run the properties together, with Tracey, a veterinarian, returning home almost two years ago from working at a practice in Western Australia.
She still works as a locum vet in the area.
Tracey is a finalist in this year’s NAB Agribusiness Rising Beef Industry Champions initiative, which aims to empower and support young, passionate members of the beef industry.
She said being involved in initiatives and committees off-farm “is good to help you see out from what you are doing day-to-day”.
“You see the big picture and recognise how things might impact the industry and the only way to change things is to get involved.”
A member of the Future Farmers Network, Young Graziers Network and Ladies in Livestock initiative, Tracey is also doing a Masters in Agriculture to further her knowledge in agronomy, pastures and financial planning.
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