COOLUP producer Peter McKean has always known he wanted to work with livestock and continues to enjoy running his cattle enterprise alongside his family.
Peter is originally from Queensland but moved to WA in 1974 after completing his Veterinarian degree.
When he arrived in WA he began working as a vet at the Pinjarra clinic where he remained for nearly 40 years.
Coming from a farm in Queensland, Peter knew he wanted to work with animals and eventually purchase his own farm.
"It's what I love, so I always knew it was a direction I wanted to head in," he said.
It was during his time working that he saved enough money to purchase the 312 hectares (770-acre) farm where he now breeds from 260 first and second-cross Angus-Friesian cows annually.
The farm is split into two properties one of which Peter and his wife Robin run themselves, while the second property is worked in conjunction with sons, Cameron and Curtis.
"The kids all have careers off the farm but they are involved with the decisions and some of the physical labour in between their day jobs," Peter said.
In the early days, the McKeans ran some Hereford-Friesian breeders but decided to switch breeds because they were prone to eye cancer.
Peter said both the Hereford and Friesian breeds individually are prone to eye cancer so when they were crossed it further increased the likelihood of them developing the issue.
It was because of this, they decided to switch to Angus-Friesian crosses.
"We mainly have first crosses but we also have a quarter to a third of second crosses just because they tend to be hardier and their breeding life lasts a little longer," Peter said.
The McKeans like the Angus-Friesian breeders because they can get the calves off early and they are generally docile.
"It's the mother's milk factor that allows me to get the calves up for sale," he said.
The bulls go in on the first of April until June 30, with calving subsequently beginning in January.
Eighty five per cent of their calves are born in January and already this year they have more than 100 on the ground.
The McKeans don't wean their calves but sell them straight off the cows between October 1 and November 15.
The reason they are sold in October/early November is because the grass still has plenty of energy in it which helps to reduce the likelihood of dark cutting meat.
The calves are marked at five to seven days of age and are given the same tags as their mothers before being placed in another paddock with more feed.
"I wait for a few days to make sure the cow doesn't get mastitis because once they are in the paddock you don't lose sight of them but you visit them less than when they're calving," he said.
The McKeans select their Simmental bulls from the Cowcher family's Willandra stud, Williams and get their Angus from the Golding family's Little Meadows stud, Dardanup.
When sourcing replacement cattle Peter said he either purchases pregnant females from the Boyanup saleyards or from local dairy farmer Tim Clune.
In addition, they also buy in unmated first-cross females which are about 14 months of age.
For their first year, the heifers are mated one month earlier than the main herd as this allows them extra time to recycle before they are added to the main herd in their second year on April 1.
As for selling his cattle, they are all sold through S & C Livestock, with the heaviest cattle going to Harvey Beef to meet the grassfed market, while the lighter weights usually go to Goodchild Meats after being slaughtered at Gingin.
To meet the Harvey Beef grassfed market the cattle have to be 210-290kg dressed weight, while the lightweights for Goodchilds are between 180-220kg dressed weight.
"Our heavy cattle average 250kg dress weight," Peter said.
The remaining tail end cattle that don't meet the weight categories are sold at the Muchea Livestock Centre.
The calves are weighed in mid September in preparation for sale.
Pregnancy testing is an important part of their operation and is done by Peter .
To make the process easier Peter said they pregnancy test, as the calves are sold, in groups of 20-30 at a time.
Peter said the average pregnancy test in calf rate for the area is about 96pc.
As well as empty cows the McKeans cull for lameness, mastitis and any other issues with udders.
Prices have reached great heights in the past 12 months and Peter said every farmer in the State should be happy at the moment.
"The money producers are receiving for their cattle is exceptional," he said.
With the prices where they are, it means that if producers are receiving good money for their cattle then they also have to be prepared to pay good money for restocking.
"There are not many people who are lucky enough to sell high and buy low in this market because it is such a tight turnaround."
Peter believes that the outlook for the market will remain strong predicting that prices will remain high for at least another year.
"From my observations, it looks like they'll stay where they are, it's not just going to drop overnight," he said.
He said it will be a steady decline but it won't decrease to where it was a couple of years ago because of low herd numbers in WA and high demand from overseas markets pushing it up.
"It's a hobby as much as a way of life and it pays the bills," Peter said.
According to Peter seasons in the Coolup area have been strong with plenty of rainfall to promote pasture growth for feed.
A mix of rye and clover pastures as well as hay are all grown on farm.
"I like Balansa clover because it gives us plenty of forage," he said.
When seeding the pasture varieties the soil is only scratched so the seeds don't get too deep.
On an annual basis, they cut 700 bales of hay and purchase a further 100 bales from locals to ensure they have enough feed.
"We like to see the shed still half full at the end of the season, I'd rather have too much than not enough," he said.
They also buy in about 40 tonnes of oaten hay from farmers in the Wheatbelt to help the calves grow quicker.
"We put that out from February onwards," he said.
Every three years the McKeans soil test their paddocks to get an idea of areas that may be deficient in certain nutrients.
To assist with pasture growth they lime their paddocks in April.
"We'd put out about 200 tonnes a year," he said.
In addition, they spread a mix of phosphorus, sulphur, potassium and nitrogen on their paddocks which Peter said is effective in encouraging grass growth.
The average annual rainfall for Coolup is 780mm but in the past few years it has been closer to the 750mm mark.
"Coming from Queensland this kind of climate is just fantastic," he said.
"You always get reliable rain, sometimes it might all come at once and other times it's a bit lean but you still get that 750mm a year and there's always grass in the paddock."
Peter said over the years you work out what works and what doesn't.
He is always looking to improve the farm operation and reads about how to improve productivity.
"I'm not a closed book and the boys and I are always exchanging ideas and learning about new ways to do things," he said.
As for the coming years Peter said he is not looking at slowing down.
"I have no intention of retiring from the farm anytime soon," he said.
