WITH more than 50 years of Angus breeding infused into their herd, the cattle bred at the Neville family's Old Bambun Grazing property at Gingin certainly stand out from the pack.
But it's not only the history behind the cattle which makes them special, it is also the focus on the herd's breeding and management programs by the Neville family that have delivered the results.
Steve and Irene Neville along with daughter Megan and son-in-law Leigh McCallum are passionate about breeding a quality Angus product to ensure the long term viability of their family farming operation and it is why their Angus herd is one of the picks in the State's north.
So when the family was invited to supply the Angus heifers for this year's Farm Weekly- WA Angus Breeders WIN 10 Angus Heifers and AFGRI Equipment John Deere ride-on-mower competition, Mr Neville was both taken aback and excited by the opportunity.
"We are extremely honoured to be asked to be part of the competition and feel privileged to be able to supply the heifers," Mr Neville said.
"It has been a wonderful competition over the years and has certainly provided great promotion for the Angus breed.
"So to now be named as one of the heifer suppliers alongside some of the State's leading commercial Angus herds is something very special to us."
This year the competition's overall prize pool is valued at $25,400 (inc GST) and for the first time there will be two chances to win.
The first lucky winner drawn will take-home 10 of the Neville family's 2019-drop purebred, unjoined Angus heifers affectionately known as the 'Gingin Goddesses', valued at $15,400 (inc GST), plus thanks to Farm Weekly and AFGRI Equipment, a John Deere E140 Select Series, ride-on-mower valued at $5000 (inc GST), delivering a prize totalling $20,400 (inc GST).
And to further add to this year's competition, there is another prize opportunity again thanks to Farm Weekly and AFGRI Equipment, with the second winner drawn receiving a John Deere E140 Select Series, ride-on-mower, valued at $5000 (inc. GST).
The competition, now in its 13th consecutive year, is a joint promotion of the Angus breed between WA's biggest selling rural newspaper Farm Weekly and WA Angus breeders, which has seen more than $145,000, worth of prizes distributed over the period.
Heifers from Keysbrook, Gingin (twice), Coolup, Wagerup, Denbarker, Esperance, Kojonup, Lake Grace, Wilga, Kalgan and Pemberton have been won by 12 lucky Farm Weekly annual subscribers.
WA Angus Society chairman Mark Hattingh said the competition over the past 12 years had been a real success and every year it just seems to get even bigger.
"As a breed society we feel very privileged to be involved in such a long running competition with Farm Weekly, most competitions run for just a few years but this one continues to stand the test of time and grows each year," Mr Hattingh said.
"We are very grateful that Farm Weekly came to us all those years ago and asked us to be involved and for all the work they put in.
"This competition is a win-win for everyone involved and has certainly been a great promotional tool for our breed at a very opportune time.
"It just continues to grow each year in terms of not only the support we receive from our members and Farm Weekly but also the entries the competition receives.
"When it comes to prizes on offer for this year's competition producers won't be disappointed.
"The heifers come from an excellent breeding herd at Gingin and will provide a great opportunity for anyone interested in Angus cattle to win some really impressive heifers.
"Plus this year the competition will also give away two John Deere E140 Select Series ride-on-mowers."
AFGRI Equipment Australia marketing and small ag manager Jacques Coetzee said AFGRI was very proud to be sponsoring the John Deere E140 ride-on-mowers for the Farm Weekly/WA Angus Breeders competition.
"We are always looking for opportunities to get involved with the local communities and this sponsorship ties directly in with that," Mr Coetzee said.
"We have a close relationship with Farm Weekly and jumped at the opportunity to be part of this great initiative.
"The mowers will just make life easier for two very lucky Farm Weekly subscribers.
"They are the top of the line of the E100 class ride-on-mowers and truly make mowing a pleasure.
"The John Deere E140 has a 22hp engine with two pedal forward/reverse hydrostatic transmission and a 48 inch deck.
"To top it off it comes with a two-year/120-hour (which ever comes first) warranty.
"Who ever is fortunate enough to win the mowers, will be more than pleased with how they perform."
The Neville family's passion for the Angus breed and the cattle industry is evident and it's a passion that has been passed down through generations.
Mr Neville's love and involvement in the cattle industry began in the 1950s as a youngster on the family's dairy farm west of Wanneroo road at Wanneroo, which was run by his father and nanna.
The historic Buckingham House which is now used by the Wanneroo Shire for education was the Neville family's home until they built a new house on Wanneroo road in early 1960.
Mr Neville alongside his father and brothers rode horses tending to the herd that ran from Wanneroo road to Burn's Beach.
After the dairy herd was dispersed Mr Neville continued his involvement in the cattle industry running a feedlot and herd on a 40 hectare property at Mariginiup, while also working at the Midland saleyards and running a stock carrying business.
But his real start in the cattle industry occurred in 1984 when he purchased his first block of 40 hectares and leased another 162ha at Gingin and the rest they say is history, with the operation expanding from there.
When Mr Neville purchased this land he met local cattle farmer Matty Dewar, who was well-known to many as a knowledgeable stockman.
"I knew of Matty and had had a bit to do with him, but when I bought my first property in Gingin he came and made himself known to me and he offered his guidance and advice," Mr Neville said.
"We developed a great friendship over the years and I will be forever grateful to him for passing on his knowledge to me.
"He was the perfect mentor for me and guided us in our selection of beef cattle for the property and in return I was able to help him out with work he could no longer manage on his own."
This long standing friendship saw Mr Dewar bequeath part of his land and Angus herd to Mr Neville when he passed away in 1997 and to this day he still doesn't know how he ended up with such an extraordinary gift.
Mr Neville said Mr Dewar had been running an Angus breeding herd for more than 50 years and so to be gifted 400 breeders from his herd was a very good start for their operation.
"That gift really provided us with a good foundation herd with proven genetics to start breeding from," Mr Neville said.
"Our herd has developed into what it is today from those original cows."
Today the family runs an Angus breeding herd of 650 cows and 80 replacement heifers plus 180 calves which are run through to yearlings on just over 1400 hectares - and they won't be fluctuating from Angus.
In Mr Neville's own words "the Angus breed is unbeatable" and that is why they have stuck with it for more than two decades.
"When I was running the feedlot and a small herd at Wanneroo, I always liked the breed but I couldn't afford to buy them, they were always that bit dearer, there was always something in my head way back then they were the breed to have," Mr Neville said.
"It's no different now, there is always demand from buyers for Angus cattle."
Over the years the family has occasionally introduced other breeds including Limousin, Murray Grey and Simmental over a small percentage of their breeding herd as a bit of a trial but in the end they kept coming back to their beloved blacks as they like their uniform colour and market versatility.
Mr Neville said it was the market versatility of the breed which really sets it apart.
"You can sell them as weaners or yearlings and to a range of buyers including lotfeeders, abattoirs or live export and receive a premium price," he said.
"You're not locked into one option when it comes to selling them."
While the market versatility is the biggest trait the Neville family likes about the breed there are also a number of others including their maternal virtues, do-ability and large genetic pool.
"They handle our conditions extremely well irrespective of the season and always produce a good calf for sale," Mr Neville said.
"There is also such a big genetic pool to choose from within the breed, so you don't need to go to another breed if you want to add something different to your herd.
"They really are just a standout breed."
Since daughter Megan and son-in-law Leigh moved back to the property with their children Caleb, Annabelle and Lucas in 2013, the family has been gradually building the herd up to its current number.
The Nevilles did get up to running 600 breeders in the early 2000s but as a result of a few dry years they had to cut their numbers back.
"We got back to about 420 to 430 head for a couple of years but mostly averaged just over 500 head and were starting to think about scaling back and retirement," Mr Neville said.
"But then Megan and Leigh came home and it gave us a new lease on life and encouraged us to increase the numbers again.
"It has been a pretty full on period not only on the cattle side of things but also in terms of pasture and property improvements."
While the size of the breeding herd may have fluctuated over the years the type of female they want to breed, the bloodlines they use and their breeding program hasn't.
The herd is based on Ardcairnie and Koojan Hills bloodlines with the Nevilles having sourced bulls from these two studs for close to 20 years.
When it comes to buying bulls they are more than happy to pay good money for bulls that suit their needs as they want to produce quality cattle.
Mr Neville said in terms of selecting bulls they look at both their physical attributes and figures.
"We want bulls that are structurally correct with very good feet, a nice head and a good temperament," Mr Neville said.
On the figures side they look for bulls with good calving ease, a mid-range birthweight, high 200 and 400-day weights, a mature cow weight less than 100, a high eye muscle area and a high Angus index.
Along with buying in new bulls each season, the Nevilles also retain 80 to 90 heifers for their breeding herd as replacements.
When it comes to selecting their replacement heifers they want deep, stretchy heifers with good volume, excellent feet and a good feminine head but most importantly, like the bulls, they must be quiet and have an excellent temperament.
The quality of the heifers they are breeding has been recognised by others in the industry including in the annual Gingin Heifer Competition which they won in 2015.
Mr Neville said their aim was to breed a good deep cow which was very feminine and had good mothering ability.
In terms of their breeding program, joining starts in the first week of June so the calves start dropping in early March.
The cows are joined at a rate of one bull to 40-45 cows for a three month period and heifers are joined for just six weeks in small mobs of about 30 head with one bull used per mob.
Mr Neville said in comparison to other operations in the Gingin area their calving is earlier than most.
"Our aim is to get the calves down before it gets too wet, as we have a lot of flat land that can go under water," Mr Neville said.
"Back when we used to get more rain it used to get very wet here and I noticed the calves weren't doing as well when they were born in July, so I moved the calving forward and I have kept it there ever since.
"While this earlier calving gives the calves more time to get up and going when it's dry, it does mean we have to do a fair bit more supplementary feeding."
Maintaining the fertility of the herd is also a must for the Nevilles and as a result anything not in calf at pregnancy testing is culled.
The Nevilles pregnancy test their heifers in early October while the cows are tested in January after weaning.
When it comes to marketing their calves, for a long time the Nevilles targeted the yearling beef market but now they sell their calves as both weaners and yearlings.
"We used to keep everything through to yearlings and up until 2010 we had never sold a weaner off the property but a run of dry seasons forced our hand," Mr Neville said.
"That dry period really made us look at how we marketed our calves.
"We now sell our best calves as weaners and then grow the rest out to yearlings.
"By doing it this way it allows us to run more breeders on the property despite the tougher seasons."
As a result of this marketing strategy the operation has already sold calves from this year's drop.
It sold 80 heifers in October to a China breeding heifer order and 100 steers averaging 311kg liveweight in November which went to a feedlot for a live export order, while another line of more than 50 steers will be sold in January at about 350-360kg liveweight.
Mr Neville said their aim was to basically sell half their calves straight off their mothers.
"Anything that doesn't make the weights or is younger is weaned in December and we take them through to yearlings and sell them the next spring to abattoirs at about 18 months," he said.
In terms of the weaning program in December, the Nevilles yard wean them for eight to 10 days and then run the calves in small mobs around the yards until they settle down.
They are then run in larger steer and heifer mobs.
This year they carried 220 head through to yearlings and sold them in September.
Health treatments and ensuring there is always plenty of feed on hand are also important parts of the management program on the property.
In terms of health treatments all the replacement heifers prior to their first joining receive Ultravac 7in1, Vibrovax and Pestigard and then from there on annually they get 7in1 and Pestigard prior to joining, while the bulls are annually treated with 7in1, Vibrovax and Pestigard.
When it comes to the feed side of the equation they also have good hay and pasture management programs in place, because with their early calving extra supplementary feeding is required.
The natural pasture base on the property is a mix of Kikuyu and clover and this has been subject to a focus of pasture improvement since Megan and Leigh have returned in terms of both fertiliser application and reseeding.
Mr McCallum said in the past seven years they had regenerated 150ha of pastures on the property with a variety of clover and ryegrass mixes.
"We also experimented with a few different perennials as well in the past couple of years," Mr McCallum.
"In terms of fertiliser Steve had a good program in place but we have just tweaked it slightly.
"We have changed product and now use a slow release type to fit in better with our management program.
"Using the slow release fertiliser now means we get it out in February and it's another job that is out of the way before calving starts."
Another change which has been made in recent years to their farming program has been the type of hay they cut.
The family used to cut pasture hay but with the drying climate they noticed the amount they were cutting was dropping off and about seven years ago they ended up running short.
When this occurred it made them explore other options and now they cut about 600 bales of oaten hay annually.
Mr Neville said the year they ran short of hay he was talking to local David Roe, Gingin, about it and he told him about the Vasse oats they were growing for hay.
"From that conversation we decided to grow some Vasse oats for hay and we achieved some good results," Mr Neville said.
"On the back of this trial we have continued to grow Vasse oats for hay and we now grow and cut 22ha.
"You would have never thought of growing oats for hay 20 years ago because it was too wet but as the seasons have dried out we have been able to do it really successfully and have cut up to 12 tonnes to the hectare in the best year."
Another improvement to the operation over the past few years has been a new set of cattle yards installed in 2017 by DSY Engineering.
Mr McCallum said their old yards were in need of much repair and weren't pleasant to work in.
"They were going to cost too much to repair and with cattle prices, being as good as they have been, we decided it was time to reinvest in new yards," Mr McCallum said.
"I think it's the best investment you can do.
"We designed the yards in consultation with DSY and they are designed to reduce the stress on both the animals and the people working the animals in them.
"They have certainly made jobs in the yards easier and more pleasant to do."
For example they used to dread weighing the calves in the old yards, so they didn't do it a lot.
Mr McCallum said now a weighing job which used to take half a day in the old yards only takes a couple of hours in the new yards and as a result they weigh their cattle a lot more to track their daily weight gains.
"As we are weighing a lot more now we are keeping a closer eye on our cattle and making sure they are going forward and putting on weight for sale," he said.
"So while the yards were a big investment at the time, they are now helping us with our bottom line in terms of our efficiency in the yards and ensuring the cattle are ready for market at the right weights."
Farm Weekly general manager Trevor Emery said the WIN 10 Angus Heifers Competition was Farm Weekly's longest-running competition, now spanning 13 years and Farm Weekly was pleased to again be partnering with WA Angus breeders to bring the competition to its readers.
"The competition has always been about offering some of the best commercial Angus genetics from within the State and we think we have achieved this over the years, which is a credit to the breed and WA's Angus breeders," he said.
"This year's offering of heifers will again not disappoint in terms of quality and having viewed the herd two weeks ago, there is no doubting they will grow out to be fantastic breeders in the future."
Entry coupons for the competition will be published in Farm Weekly each week for nine weeks starting today and concluding on Thursday, February 13, 2020.
Entries close with the last mail on Friday, February 21, 2020, with the prize draw taking place at the Farm Weekly office on Monday, February 24.
To be eligible to enter, readers must be a current annual subscriber to Farm Weekly or become a new annual subscriber to Farm Weekly before the competition concludes.
Subscribers can enter as many times as they like, subject to the terms and conditions of the competition and provided the entry is on an original entry coupon. For ease of entering the competition, multiple original entry forms can be forwarded in a single envelope.
