ROGER and Lou Lindberg were far from home when they decided in 1968 to move from North Dakota, in the United States to Augusta, Western Australia, to build a cattle enterprise.
When they arrived in Perth they found out that land was best value in WA's South West.
They were shown a property that was owned by a logging company which was all uncleared bush, making it difficult to see the land.
Unsure of the property's potential the Lindbergs thought about it and left to return to the US, only to find their flight was delayed due to a strike at Perth Airport.
Taking advantage of the delay, they decided to visit the property again, this time viewing it by boat on the Blackwood River.
Once they were back in Perth they found that their flight had further been delayed and they would have to stay for a few more days.
So after a third and final look at the property, the Lindbergs decided to sign an option to purchase the land document before they finally flew back to the US.
It wasn't long after returning to the US that they decided to sell their business, including their potato farms, machinery and warehouses, to purchase the property and move to Augusta.
When they arrived the land clearing began and they started breeding Shorthorn cattle.
Roger was passionate about his cattle breeding and meticulously recorded everything in his red ledger book.
Later in the 1990s the Lindbergs got into leasing land for blue gum plantations.
After decades of working the farm, in 2011 Roger handed over the reins to his son Steve giving him his red record book.
"One day dad turned to me and said it's your turn now," Steve said.
"I always liked the country and farming life so I was ready to take over."
Since that day Steve has continued to manage the farm alongside his wife and children.
Hebron Farms consists of 175 hectares of land dedicated to pasture and 500ha of blue gum plantation.
The Lindbergs grow a variety of pastures including ryegrass, clover and kikuyu and have also trialled Gaton panic and millet for summer feed.
The herd is made up of 83 cow/calf units and the Lindbergs aim to increase to 90 head next year.
They also have four bulls, and run a small herd of yearling steers.
They will build their numbers gradually by self-replacing as they reclaim the blue gum area for more pasture.
Steve said they have an excavator which they have modified with a ripping tooth and hydraulic grab so they can pull the stumps out and stack them for burning.
"It's a slow process with each stump taking two minutes," he said.
When Roger started running cattle he chose Shorthorns but later in 2000 he sold them and purchased some Murray Greys, which they continue to run.
When sourcing their bulls they have used bulls from Monterey and Bundaleer studs and Steve said they have been impressed with both.
According to Steve, the Murray Greys have shown great growth rates and carcase size, which he attributes to a combination of good cow breeding stock, higher performance bulls and supplementing cattle with multi-minerals.
"The bulls are very quiet natured," Steve said.
With the ground becoming very wet in winter he is particular about hoof shape as they can become deformed quickly if they are too shallow.
This means both cows and heifers with deformed hooves are culled.
They also cull for temperament, carcase depth/ size, smooth shoulders and calving ease.
The bulls are joined with the cows on June 21 for a 10-week period, while the heifers are put in two to three weeks earlier so that they have a head start on the following year to get pregnant.
The main herd starts calving on the first of April so that the calves are dropping onto autumn grasses.
"It's a nice time of year to work and the ground isn't too muddy for inspecting the calves," Steve said.
The cattle are 100 per cent grassfed and Steve said they always have ample feed well into summer without needing any hay supplementation.
To help with pasture growth Steve said he had applied mineral sprays.
When it comes to animal health treatments the Lindbergs use Beachport Liquid Minerals in their water troughs and give the cows Multimin injections at calving and joining to keep their mineral levels up.
To mitigate against kangaroos eating their pastures Steve has constructed a six kilometre perimeter fence.
"It has netting which is underneath the surface because the kangaroos will try and dig under it and it has been working quite well," Steve said.
He has been experimenting with poly pipe fencing as well which has been very effective as it can be electrified, is strong and doesn't rust or rot.
Steve is always looking for new ways to improve their operation, including new management strategies.
To do this he has taken some courses on grazing management to learn the latest techniques to better develop the pastures.
They are running a regenerative grazing trial which Steve believes is good in theory, but said it doesn't suit the climate.
"This practice is not ideal for us, particularly with hot dry summers when the pastures don't grow as much, but in general I think the more rotational grazing you can do the better production you'll have," he said.
As for rainfall, Steve said they received plenty during the growing season but it dried out in late spring just before hay season.
Depending on the markets, the Lindbergs usually wean in early February and sell the weaners soon after, allowing the cows to dry up and be ready for calving again.
The Lindbergs pregnancy test each year in December and cull anything that is dry.
Weaners are typically sold at the Boyanup saleyards, however in 2019 they sold their heifers to China for a breeding program.
The bigger weaner steers were sold at the February sale and weighed up to 370 kilograms, while the smallest steers were kept until they are 18 to 20-months-old with the last group averaging 463kg.
This year they also carried 15 steers until late spring and sold them through the Boyanup saleyards.
