Page 91 - Hereford Magazine 2021

Steve and Bec Cadzow, Fran Cooper, and Abbro Woolnough visit Locharburn Herefords as part of the World Hereford Conference.

sometimes from Jim Gunn’s Sevenbardot stud in Queensland. technology.
Quiet temperament and good fertility are two of the top “We’ve integrated a lot of technology in ways that a lot of
reasons for liking Herefords, as well as structure. “Herefords people haven’t been able to because of our scale of operation.
have to have the leg underneath them to walk distances Things like telemetry, walk-over weighing, and the automated
between waters, which are mostly about 6 to 8km apart.” drafting unit have really benefitted the station.”
Normally, the station carries about 10,000 head of cattle with Although delayed by the reduction in cattle numbers,
about 4500 to 5000 breeding cows and heifers. But drought they’re working out ways to utilise information.
has seen those numbers drop to 4500, with 2500 breeders. “Every day the cow or the heifer has to walk over a weighing
“They’re probably in the poorest condition since we’ve platform to get to water, so their average daily weight gain is
been here. It’s not a look we’re used to. We’ve cut the monitored. It’s set up against an algorithm or formula to say
numbers back and have hardly touched them. We weaned how much of that is her and how much is her calf. When she
them when we had to and that was it. We tried to lighten the calves, obviously she has a dramatic weight loss and we can
numbers as much as we could on all the waters, took them identify her calving date and relatively, within a few kilos, how
away from areas where they were starting to die, and kept the heavy her calf is. It is in the trial phase and if the next seasons
lick blocks up to them.” go as they should, we will be building up those cow and heifer
What they call waters are underground bores, the majority of numbers again.”
which kept up with demand, despite the drought. Normal rainfall The couple started working with a local land care group
is 275mm a year, although 2020 ended up gifting 300mm, with about 25 years ago in an effort to improve and protect the
228mm falling just after they returned from the conference. land. Some of the tools are planting native grass species and
“We only had 50mm in 2019, with the biggest fall being using different grazing methods.
10mm. The drought was three or four years in the making. “Our main issue is degradation from water. We want to hold
The year before we had 100mm and about the same the year as much moisture as we can and to keep soil where it is.”
before that. We slowly reduced cattle numbers over that time. They work around several indigenous communities on the
If it hadn’t rained when it did last year, we would have been station, as well as fenced sacred cultural areas.
close to closing the gate.” “We’re lucky, we have great traditional owners; they keep us
He’d like to get numbers back to where they were. in the loop.”
“We don’t need a lot of rain; we have good grass growth and Steve’s father moved to the Northern Territory in 1963,
we recover really well. We just need it at the right time.” originally buying a station called Phillip Creek. He sold it to
Temperatures in the region range from a winter average buy Mt Riddock in 1986, and Steve and Bec took over in 2010.
of 22 degrees Celsius to the low to mid-40s in summer. Staff They have a 99-year lease in perpetuity.
go around watering points once or twice a week, depending Steve has worked there most of his life, with stints away
on the weather, as well as checking them regularly on their on other stations. Bec is a primary school teacher, who also
phones via telemetry. teaches secondary science as well. They have three daughters,
One thing Bec says keeps the farm ahead is their use of aged 17, 15 and 10.

Year 2021 HEREFORD MAGAZINE 89
World Hereford
Conference 2020
Queenstown NZ