A POTENTIAL shortage of good-quality beef breeding cattle was one of the reasons Gippsland farmer Kevin Clark took the opportunity to switch from F1 females to Angus at Euroa last week.
Mr Clark, and brother Darren, who is a Landmark agent at Leongatha, bought 25 Angus cows, due to calve in spring, for an average of $714.
They are to replace F1 Friesian-cross cows Kevin has opted to sell due to poor returns for milk vealers.
After selling the F1 cows, he expects to have changed over to a beef herd for about $100 a head.
"You've got to run F1 breeders like milking cows, and even the good vealers don't make much in the flush of the season," he said.
Darren said that at least with beef cows there was a two-way option, as the calves could always be sold as stores if they didn't make slaughter grade off the cows.
And he also expects the cycle of demand to turn for beef cattle.
"It goes in cycles, and we are banking on better demand for beef cattle in a few years due to a shortage of cows and calves," Darren said.
Kevin said the cows will be rejoined to Charolais bulls to take advantage of the price premiums paid for well-shaped European-cross calves.
