AS A mountain cattleman and a self-confessed Hereford man "as long as I'm alive" it goes without saying that Bill Flannagan has some very traditional farming values.
But tradition is just part of what is a detailed, forward-thinking farm management system.
After many years of prolonged drought and below-average seasons, Bill knows as well as anyone the challenges of making a quid in the beef industry.
That, he says, is what makes a strong farm management plan all the more important. Bill runs his 1215ha property at Omeo in Victoria with nephew Simon Lawlor and his wife Sonya.
The trio run 350 Hereford cows and up to 1000 first-cross ewes for prime lambs.
Beef is the main focus and they are not shy to spend money on top-quality bulls to continuously improve the herd.
This improvement program has taken them where few commercial beef producers would dare go.
Three years ago they embarked on an artificial insemination program using semen from purchased bulls.
While it is not cheap, Bill sees AI as an efficient way to improve his herd quickly.
"The whole idea is to try and improve the genetic base and it is also another form of insurance with these top-quality bulls," Bill said.
The herd is geared to produce weaners for the annual mountain calf sales in March and is based on Red Hill bloodlines.
Bill paid $18,000 for Cowboy Showman, which was reserve junior champion at the Hereford Nationals at Wodonga in 2005, and paid $16,000 for Cowboy Thunderbolt, which was junior and grand champion at Sydney Royal and Wodonga in 2006. Semen has been collected from both bulls and used extensively in the herd with great success.
July is a cold and difficult time of year at Omeo for joining cows but conception rates have been good.
"We select the better producing cows for the AI and they are fed very heavily so they are not under any stress," Bill said.
"They are selected for good temperament and are also handled very quietly."
Providing stock with adequate and good quality feed throughout the year is also a high priority.
Bill and Simon have a proven cropping program of turnips, oats and improved pasture that supplies stock with good feed at the right times, but can also be locked up to provide fodder later in the year.
They try to conserve plenty of fodder including pasture hay and lucerne.
Last year they received heavy rainfall in late November which "got us out of jail" and they were able to make 600 rolls of both hay and silage.
"We are now heading into winter with about 1000 rolls of both hay and silage all produced on farm," Bill said.
"We never buy any hay."
On hand are 25-30ha of turnips planted before Christmas and once fed off will be sown back to permanent pasture and followed up with fertiliser.
"We use these turnip crops into late June and July specifically for our joining and AI program," he said.
"When you have a good season and a big volume of turnips you can run big numbers for eight to 12 weeks and the cows really produce a lot of milk and the calves grow like hell."
Triticale was also planted last year. It was used as a green crop for feeding cows, with young calves, and then locked up for silage later in the year.
"If you can and are able to produce fodder yourself it is a big bonus," Bill said.
Bill has always believed in not letting cattle slip backwards in condition so he starts feeding early.
"You don't let them get to that stage where they are getting light because your conception rates at joining will be a lot lower," he said.
Keeping heifers in good condition and not calving them until three years of age is another key management strategy that helps boost conception rates.
"Our pregnancy testing is in the high 90s (per cent) which is very good taking into account the tough seasons," Bill said.
Heifers are the base of the breeding herd and 70 to 80 heifers are kept each year as replacements after undergoing a strict culling regime based on type, structure, temperament and suitability for herd improvement.
"We endeavour to keep the very best that we can and they have to be structurally correct, have good length, eye pigment, temperament and a good rich deep coat with plenty of bone," Bill said.
Those heifers are chosen and taken with their mothers to high country grazing leases where they remain until April when mustering takes place and the heifers are again subject to culling.
The final selection is yard weaned to quieten them down so they are easy to handle.
Weaning calves is another concept Bill and Simon have introduced this year in the hope of maximising returns.
"We agonised a lot over this because my philosophy is that there is nothing cheaper than milk, but the industry appears now to want these weaned cattle so it will be interesting to see what takes place at the sales this year," Bill said.
The 220 Hereford calves, including 150 dehorned steers and 70 dehorned heifers, May-June 2008 drop, will be all weaned and European Union accredited.
Bill hopes the extra work put into the calves will pay off. If not they might have to look at other selling options.
"You have to look at other options all the time because while we are breeding these calves for the mountain sales, they are not the be all and end all. We have to explore all alternatives," he said.
"If you are not getting a return then you've got to look at other options."
