Becxon Ag doubles numbers at Pakenham weaner sale

A Gippsland couple hopes their big draft of 300kg Limousin weaners will beat last year’s price at the annual Pakenham calf sales.

Alema Seebeck and Bradley Dixon plan to offer 550 weaners in this year’s calf sales at Pakenham. Picture: Zoe Phillips

A Gippsland farming family that has been selling cattle at Pakenham for more than a decade will trade under a new name and more than double its offering at the blue ribbon weaner sale in January.

Seebeck Pastoral at Shady Creek has been passed down to the next generation with Alema Seebeck and her husband, Bradley Dixon, taking on the business following the death of Alema’s father late last year.

The couple had already been involved with the operation but formally took the reins in 2021 and is now trading as Becxon Agriculture out of Seebeck Pastoral.

They will offer 550 weaners this year, including 250 Limousin steers and heifers, and 300 Angus steers.

Bradley Dixon and Alema Seebeck with their cattle. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The Limousin draft, from their own breeders, will be 12-18 months old and average 300kg, while the Angus steers, which are traded, will be close to finishing weights at 2.5 years, averaging 500kg.

Alema and Brad currently run 400 Limousin breeders and aim to trade 150 to 200 Angus steers each year on their 320ha property, located 20km northeast of Warragul.

The family has been running Limousins for 15 years, preferring the high-yielding genetics from Keystone Limousins in northern Victoria but Alema and Brad are open to the idea of crossing cattle.

“We are considering looking at expanding and it doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t do Limousin cattle but we are not closed to the idea of bringing in some more Angus or Hereford again,” Alema said.

“It is dependent on what we can find and what cattle are out there.”

Becxon Agriculture cattle. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The breeding herd is not self-replacing – cows are bought and sold on age and performance. Numbers are currently down due to high market prices and reduced opportunities to buy replacements.

“Most of the time it comes down to monitoring the market. Quality over quantity. That’s always been a big thing for us,” Alema said.

“We don’t need a huge herd. They generally do very well for themselves and we make sure we’ve got good quality and we don’t have more than we can handle.”

Alema said seasonal conditions in Gippsland had been very wet but the cattle looked good.

“Our country is very green and we have good feed. We are very lucky to be in the location we are,” she said.

“We don’t have the stress and worry of our property not keeping up with floods or drought. We are very grateful for that.”

The couple are optimistic about prices.

“My husband says he would like to see the weaner Limousin calves make a minimum of $2700 a head. That would be nice,” Alema said.

“Last year they made an average of $2200. These are a little bit bigger than our last lot and we only had 200 head in total last January.

“They are very good cattle and in very good condition but the market is what it is. The steers that are 500kg-plus, they will make over $3000 so you have to consider there is the difference in the two of them. It depends what the buyers want. You can’t read what the market will do but you can only hope.”