Second cross cattle the focus at Walpole

The 283 hectare (700 acre) property was first acquired by Carol's parents Dave and Patsy Anning and now they run a herd of 210 breeders on it.

Of that, a third are Angus-Friesian and Murray Grey-Friesian cross and the other two-thirds are mostly second-cross Angus along with some SimAngus.

"We put Angus bulls over those first-cross cows to breed our own second-cross females," Wayne said.

He added they don't want to breed a purebred herd because they like having the early growth rates that the crossbreds provide.

"The main benefit of the crossbreds is the early growth rates," he said.

When sourcing their bulls the Dumbrells have used many studs over the years including Angus bulls from the Diamond Tree stud, Manjimup, Coonamble stud, Bremer Bay and the Quanden Springs stud, Redmond.

They have also previously bought their traditional Simmentals from the Willandra stud, Williams, for many years though they have now changed to Black Simmentals and purchase them from the Introvigne family's Bonnydale stud at Bridgetown.

The change to Black Simmentals came after they decided they wanted to run only polled cattle.

Wayne said due to a limited number of polled traditional Simmentals in the State there was a lot of competition on them which meant they became expensive to purchase.

"We just wanted polled cattle," Wayne said.

So with the polled traditional Simmentals costing too much money the Dumbrells decided to purchase some Black Simmentals instead.

When it comes to their breeding herd the Dumbrells only started breeding second-cross cattle four years ago but they have found that their workload has been significantly reduced as the first crosses required more food and were generally higher maintenance.

Wayne said this was because the first crosses produce more milk and as a result their fertility was not as good compared to the second crosses.

"The second cross animals are a lot hardier," he said.

"The second crosses are also easier to manage and their calves are easier to market as we can sell their calves at lighter liveweights.

"Our target for the feedlot is 320 to 380 kilograms, while the first crosses need to be 460-480kg for Woolworths.

"It means we can reduce our workload a bit so we are not so stressed about feeding and moving the cattle all the time and it means we can run a few more head."

The females are joined with the bulls from April 20 for about three months which means the operation begins calving around Australia Day.

Wayne said that their calving has been moved later over the past few years because they were originally trying to capture the higher prices from Woolworths early in the season (mid-October) but said the price advantage was no longer there.

"We were receiving 10 to 15 cents a kilogram more selling them early and then as it got closer to Christmas the price would drop as everyone else started selling their cattle," he said.

"The prices aren't there anymore so we might look at pushing calving back even later," he said.

When it comes to culling Wayne said he mainly selects for temperament and age.

Generally they sell their cows when they reach 10 years of age and the bulls at five years of age.

"We don't tolerate any bad temperament cattle and hopefully we select the right bulls to maintain that trait," Wayne said.

"Calm cattle are more productive.

"We just want good production value out of cattle and to keep improving our genetics."

The Dumbrells like to hang onto their empty cows until April when the price goes up and in the meantime use them for chewing down their paddocks early in the year.

"So we put them in the paddocks that we don't want to calve cows in as there might be a bit of bush or swamp so we tend to keep them in there and chew it down to stop it getting rank," Wayne said.

This means that when the opening rains start there is fresh new growth.

"We use them as a bit of a tool actually - a pasture management tool and sell them when the season breaks," he said.

The Dumbrells have been selling their first-cross, milk-fed vealers to Woolworths for several years but this year have started to sell more of their cattle to lotfeeders.

"For a 380kg steer, it was worth $200 more going to the feedlot than it was to go to Woolworths which is quite a difference," Wayne said.

Despite the price competition from lotfeeders the Dumbrells still maintain a small contract with Woolworths for their calves out of their first-cross cows.

Their first load in 2020 to Woolworths averaged 251kg dressed weight while their second draft averaged 230kg.

Long before Wayne and Carol took over running the farm Carol's parents were selling their cattle to Woolworths.

"We have always been with Woolies," Wayne said.

With all time high market prices Wayne said the prices producers have been receiving were unbelievable.

"It's been huge," he said.

He said the prices have been boosted by the Eastern States trying to restock after many months of drought.

Wayne said it's hard to predict what future market prices will be like.

"I don't know if these prices will last, it might plateau but I hope it doesn't go backwards," he said.

According to Wayne Woolworths is the biggest player in the milk-fed vealer market with only a few other companies selling milk-fed vealer products such as the Dardanup Butchering Company (DBC) and Goodchild Meats.

"Woolies are certainly the volume buyers," he said.

All of the Dumbrell's feed including pastures and hay is grown on farm.

Of their land, 40 hectares (100 acres) is dedicated to hay crops with 600 rolls being cut annually.

Their pastures are predominantly clover and rye with some Kikuyu.

"It's all retained on the place unless it's a really poor year - then we might buy in some hay," Wayne said

Wayne said he has noticed that the seasons have shifted saying that the season used to break at the end of March but in the past few years it has started closer to May.

"It starts later but it also rains more into September/October now where it didn't before - so everything is shifting a bit," he said.

Last year (2020) was a good season for the Dumbrells, with plenty of pasture growth to set them up nicely for the new year.

"It was very good for us," Wayne said.

Due to the high amount of rain they receive, annually averaging 1100mm, Wayne said the only downside was that it was difficult for themto make good hay.

"It is hard to make good hay here but the cows will eat it," he said.