Simple motto drives beef profits higher for Edge family

The Edge family has figured out how to produce more beef per hectare more for less cash. See how they do it.

Beef farmer Owen Edge at Carapook, near Casterton. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Over the past eight years, the Edge family at Carapook has finetuned its grass finishing operation by zeroing in on key profit drivers – genetics and pasture.

In doing so, it has provided more scope to increase stock numbers, produce more beef at lower cost, and helped alleviate some of the impact of beef market price fluctuations.

Their aim was to maximise the cheapest form of feed – grass – and more efficiently convert it to kilos of beef turned off per hectare.

“We had Olsen Ps (soil phosphorus level) of six and it has fairly significantly lifted to 12-plus where we can hold better pastures in the soils now,” said Owen Edge, 34, who farms with his parents Edwin and Linda Edge.

“It was basic but something we were missing.”

Beef farmer Owen Edge at Carapook, near Casterton. Picture: Nicole Cleary

The family renovated paddocks and applied fertiliser in accordance with soil testing indications to ensure nutrient levels were at a peak across their 2000 hectares of breeding country between Coleraine and Casterton.

They are still working on the best pasture varieties but predominantly favour phalaris and clover.

The Edges currently run 1200 spring and autumn-calving breeders.

Each year, about 600 steers and 200 heifer calves are taken through to kill weight, 650kg-700kg, 18 to 20 months, and sold direct to Teys grass-fed beef program.

“Last year we hit pretty good prices over the hooks we averaged $8.70/kg carcass weight,” Owen said.

They purchase three to five Angus bulls a year from The Glen Angus at Walwa – paying up to $14,000 for a bull at the sale earlier this month, higher than the $10,000 top they paid last year.

They also purchase bulls from Barwidgee Angus and Lindsay Murray Greys.

The Edges’ breeding herd was originally based on Murray Greys but the family now use 80 per cent Angus bulls.

For heifers, the Edges chase low birth weight bulls and for the main herd they look for good growth traits and 600-day carcass weights as well as moderate birth weights, docility and structure.

“The growth is helping us hit target weights so we can turn them off before the next summer hits, which is ideal in our system here,” Owen said.

Maintaining a low input, low cost system is imperative and weaning spring calves on to silage and then a sorghum crop has proven successful in the past few years.

“We are learning about feed wedges and we are getting smarter about it,” Owen said.

“The five to six-month-old calves go into the sorghum crop in mid-February until mid-May and last year I costed it out at $50 per tonne of dry matter if I grew a 6t/ha crop of sorghum.

“It is a cheap way to go in terms of holding stock over and keeping them ticking along to turn off at the end of the year.”

The Edge family are grass finishers near Casterton. Picture: Nicole Cleary

The Edges do trade some cattle if seasons permit and prefer to sell over the hooks wherever possible.

“Because we are mixed colour we try not to sell as many through the yards because we get punished a bit,” Owen said.

“Instead we try and value-add the bottom 10 per cent so rather than take them to the market we try and take them through to a lighter kill weight and still make reasonable money.”

The Edges operation continues to evolve and grow with hopes of calving down 1300 breeders next year. Stocking rates are currently 15 DSE/ha and their target is 16-17 DSE/ha.

“Our operation is simple. Feed them well. Look at weight for age. Don’t over complicate it,” Owen said.

Despite the recent downturn in market prices, Owen remains confident about the beef industry going forward.

“Food is always going to be in demand,” he said.

“Drought will be the biggest driver of price in the next few years and it is out of your control so you just have to produce beef as cheap as possible – that’s our end goal and we are always trying to improve that.”