IF there is a lack of confidence in the WA beef industry at the moment, it's certainly no where to be seen when speaking to Karlgarin lotfeeder Todd Fotheringhame.
Todd is passionate about feeding cattle, which is why he and his parents Keith and Jill, decided to build a 5000 head capacity feedlot on their farm.
At the moment, the Fotheringhames have a 600 head capacity feedlot, but it will pale in comparison to the new design which, if all goes well, will have cattle on feed by early next year.
But cattle haven't always been at the forefront of Todd's passions.
After completing high school at Wesley College, he moved to the South West where he designed and made furniture for two years.
Todd returned to the family farm in 2003 with the intention of concentrating on his furniture design and doing some farming on the side.
"The farming part-time thing didn't really eventuate, it's definitely a full-time occupation," Todd said.
"I soon found my passion for feeding cattle."
In 2004, the Fotheringhames gained accreditation with the National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme (NFAS) and in 2005, Todd said they began using nutritionist Rob Lawrence, Integrated Animal Production.
They treat their feedlot as a separate business to their grain production enterprise, but Todd said they really got serious about feeding cattle in 2007, when they changed some aspects of their current feedlot.
That included the adoption of bunk feeding and buying cattle on-farm in order to get straight lines of cattle, at the same time developing good relationships with producers.
"We were let down though, because we didn't have the space, we didn't have the opportunity to put on extra lines," Todd said.
During 2007, Todd was also elected to the WA Lot Feeders Association (WALFA) board and he spoke at last week's WALFA annual general meeting about his journey from starting out in lotfeeding to how they got to the stage of building a 5000 head feedlot.
He said in 2008, he went on a trip with Rob Lawrence to Queensland, looking at sizeable feedlots and different designs.
It was there where Todd became inspired to build their own bigger, better feedlot.
"I came back from Queensland all inspired and wanted to feed cattle on a larger scale," Todd said.
"It became apparent pretty quickly that we needed to change sites and start again.
"We needed a new site with better drainage and proximity to the feed shed."
They kick-started the process back then, but it took until February to get everything off the ground and last week, they began pouring concrete at the 10 hectare site.
Their Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) license approval process took six months, and they officially received works approval on November 16, 2009.
Getting the all clear from the Shire of Kondinin proved to be a little more challenging, but Todd said they were just pleased they could finally focus on getting their feedlot up and running.
After all the necessary approvals came through in February, they started construction and pushing gravel to compact the site, at a four per cent slope.
The pens will be 330 metres long, with 10 pens per row.
"There is a big emphasis on drainage with the new design," he said.
"But the main thing is we're saving labour units by investing in design, so essentially it will pay for itself."
Todd said they hoped to have cattle in the new feedlot by early next year, but in the meantime they will still have cattle on feed in the existing feedlot.
So why bother with all the hard work?
Because Todd sees a big future in the WA lotfeeding industry and he wants to play a part in it.
"I think WA has really good cattle and cattle producers," he said.
"We have access to a large tonnage of grain production and good quality grains.
"I am confident in the industry, you have to be.
"I think the gap between lamb and beef is closing so hopefully there is only one way for the beef industry to go, and that's up.
"And this year, feeding cattle is a lot easier than growing grain on 80mm of rain."
