New Angus stud keeping its focus on looking after their clients

As the green drought wore on in western Victoria, Fiona and Brad Marson at Angus stud Grassdale Estate adapted their selling terms to support their clients.

Angus breeders Fiona and Brad Marson have faced one of the toughest green droughts ever experienced in the Western District this year.

And like many across southern Australia, they watched as their livestock feed costs blew out as a dry autumn dragged into a dry winter.

But the young farmers have not let it slow down their new stud, Grassdale Estate Angus, and have adapted their selling terms to support clients.

Brad and Fi Marson, Grassdale Estate Angus. Pictures: Nicole Cleary

In three years of spring bull sales, the fledgling stud has cleared all 16 bulls on offer at each sale.

This year, to help out their clients, 80 per cent of which were repeat buyers, they offered the option of paying half now, and half in 12 months time.

“It has been an extremely tough year on everyone,” Brad said, “and several clients took that option”.

“We wanted to support our clients and offer them something back,” Fiona said.

“Cashflow is the biggest killer in a drought year and we all know how high the feed bills have been.”

A key focus of Grassdale Estate Angus is running the bulls in a commercial environment.

The couple farm on Fiona’s family property in the Grassdale district of the state’s far west.

Brad, originally from Manchester in the UK, worked at an Angus stud while Fiona managed her parent’s property.

Grassdale Estate spans 1200ha and runs 5000 composite ewes, plus a growing cow herd of 400, plus 100 registered, Angus cattle.

Brad and Fi met working on a Western Australian cattle stations, before returning south, and starting their family.

The focus of their stud is on breeding docile, efficient and moderate cattle that make their clients more money per hectare.

“Steers need to be on the hook by 16-17 months,” Brad said.

Since launching the stud, Brad said the best feedback they received was about how docile, and productive, the bulls were.

Growth and productivity are the focus. Picture: Nicole Cleary.

Embryo transfers have been used to leverage the most out of Grassdale’s best cows and increase the rate of genetic progress, Brad said, for both the stud and their clients.

Using Australian and US Angus genetics such as Ellingson Three Rivers, Pine View Mogul and Sterling Pacific, most recently, the stud is aiming to produce moderate frame, 5.5 score, mature cows.

The past three sales averaged $13,400, $5300 and $6400.

Fiona said given the difficult seasons, the prices and complete clearance results were “great, considering all of that, we were very happy”.

In line with the focus on running the enterprise with a sharp commercial approach, Grassdale Estate Angus also sets a modest reserve of $4500 per bull.

“If you set a reserve of $6000 that isn’t a bull produced under commercial conditions,” Brad said.

During the tough season, the maternal attributes of the cattle were tested, and Brad and Fiona said it was pleasing to see how well their cows had coped and the quality of the calves they were still producing.

“I think the calves this year are fantastic,” Fiona said.

Given the tough season, many producers, including the Marsons, would look to wean calves early to help cows get back into calf.

“In a year like this you want to see the cow giving all its got to the calf - so they are in their working clothes,” he said.

Looking ahead, Grassdale Estate Angus will slowing increase the numbers of sale bulls, but Brad said they were determined not to rush and to only offer bulls that met their breeding objectives.

“In the next two or three years will offer 35-40 bulls at our spring sale and will add an autumn sale down the track,” he said.

Looking at prices for finished animals Fiona said there was every reason to feel upbeat about the market trends. But, the challenge would be presenting “the right article” for sale during a tough year, and that was where moderate animals and efficiency would come into play, Brad said.