WITH a keen eye for cattle and reputation for their well sought after Angus breeders, Mark Harris and his family are showing that the Angus breed is the way to go.
Mr Harris farms alongside his wife Peta-Jane, daughter Beige and son Josh at their property, Treeton Lake.
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The property spreads across 170 hectares of prime, well-pastured cattle country at Cowaramup and an additional 140ha at Dardanup, and the Harris family is proving that their Angus genetics are improving year-by-year.
Their decision to switch over to Angus and start their own breeding herd almost 15 years ago has been a very rewarding one.
The reason for the switch all those years ago was simple.
Why compete against other farmers at sales for stores when you can breed your own?
Nowadays, the Treeton Lake properties are home to 190 breeders, their offspring and 160 yearling heifers prepared as future PTIC breeders.
Mr Harris said the rewards from farming Angus cattle were both financial and professionally satisfying, seeing quality cattle out in the paddocks.
"They are so marketable and there are so many options for their offspring," Mr Harris said.
"Whether they go to feedlots, grass fatteners or interstate, they are always well sought after."
Mr Harris said the breed did so well in the South West and were such easy-doing cattle with good milk production.
An ideal breeder at Treeton Lake is an animal with a good temperament, good feet and a big, roomy frame.
Since the establishment of their breeding herd, the family have been rewarded with selecting quality sires and seeing the progeny grow as a result.
"Each year I find that bulls and genetics are getting better and better," Mr Harris said.
"Here in the South West, we have access to some of the best Angus studs in the State."
With a combination of natural breeding and artificial insemination used over the herd, finding the right sires to complement the breeding of the females is crucial.
Bulls are sourced from Mordallup Angus stud, Manjimup, Boyanup-based stud Black Market Angus, Arkle Angus (formerly known as Cherylton Angus), Munglinup and Little Meadows Angus stud, Dardanup.
The AI genetics are sourced through the Nutrien Livestock Breeding team, and the most recently used sire was Coonamble Nic Nat N439.
Both visual appraisal and estimated breeding values are considered when selecting bulls along with assistance from his Nutrien Livestock agent Chris Waddingham.
"The EBVs are a good guide for us, but visually we want something that has good structure, feet and temperament while maintaining a nice square shape and muscular rump," Mr Harris said.
"We also use yearling bulls over our heifers."
Each year the Harris family naturally joins 40 heifers to bulls and artificially inseminates an additional 120, while all cows are joined to bulls.
"Only our first calvers go into the AI program," Mr Harris said.
He said the AI program ensured the calving period was much shorter and easily managed.
The AI heifers are inseminated on May 23 and backed up by bulls for nine weeks.
The bulls go out on May 25 for a nine-week joining period with the cows.
"About 50 days after AI, the heifers are pregnancy tested and dated by Mick Clews from Herd Health Services," Mr Harris said.
"This way, we can identify which heifers are in calf to AI or bulls and ear tag them accordingly."
Heifers are then pregnancy tested again six weeks after the bulls come out to confirm AI and bull mating dates.
"Any empty heifers are sold to Western Meat Packers or Harvey Beef," Mr Harris said.
The calving season begins within the first few days of March, with the AI heifers' calves being the first to drop.
"The heifers' calving period will usually only take four days to complete and the cows are usually done by mid April," Mr Harris said.
In the form of health treatments, post-calving the newcomers will receive a Multimin, 7in1, NLIS tag and an ear tag.
The heifers' calves at the Dardanup property will be weaned in late November, along with the other Treeton Lake herds in Cowaramup.
All calves are trucked to Dardanup and weaned in small holding paddocks for five days on hay and water.
"We find that weaning at that eight to nine month-old age works well," Mr Harris said.
"It's works in perfectly, timing-wise for the weaner sales and it starts getting dryer in the December period so by that age the calves can feed on their own without their mothers."
Mr Harris said that each year the steer calves wean at anywhere between 330kg and 460kg, normally averaging about 375kg.
Leading up to the weaner sales, all the heifer progeny are retained and the steers are prepared for the mid-December weaner sales at the Boyanup Saleyards.
"This year we sold 80 steers in December and they averaged 378kg and $1770 a head," Mr Harris said.
The heifers retained at the Dardanup property run on irrigated pasture, silage and hay.
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Mr Harris said the heifers were then mated at 13 to 14 months old.
"We retain 20-25 heifers as replacements for our herd and then the rest we sell as PTIC heifers in the Nutrien Livestock and Elders mated heifer sales at Boyanup in January," Mr Harris said.
Along with joining our own heifers, the Harris family also buys in 70 heifers annually, from two producers and these are also joined.
The bought-in heifers are predominantly sourced from the Boyanup Saleyards, or from Independent Rural Agents Pemberton Elite Weaner, Vealer and Breeder sale.
"So basically 70pc of the heifers that are in the sales are our own breeding and the remainder are ones that we have bought in and mated," Mr Harris said.
The family has had an excellent run with the heifer sales annually in Boyanup since 2012 starting with the Inaugural Landmark Specially Selected Breeders sale.
From selling PTIC heifers in 2012 for $1600, the family can vouch that the cattle prices, along with their Angus genetics, have increased significantly.
"Last year we sold heifers for $4700 and this year they went for $4200," Mr Harris said.
The positive feedback and return buyers keep the Harris family on their feet and always paying close attention to the needs of their clientele and the improvement of their herd.
"We are constantly trying to improve our bull selection for heifers and make sure that we are getting a low to medium birthweight bull, but at the same time make sure it has good growth genetics so we can guarantee a quality calf," Mr Harris said.
Maintaining a disease-free herd is important to the Harris family and as a result, it has continued to uphold its JBAS-8 accreditation.
All heifers on the property are ear notch tested for Pestivirus before joining.
"This is really important," Mr Harris said.
"Although we haven't had any cattle with Pestivirus in five years since we started testing, we are still very aware that it is possible.
"If we are supplying replacements to other farmers I want to ensure that they are getting the best possible product, disease free that won't affect their herd."
The heifers at Treeton Lake are treated twice with Pestigard before joining.
"This means it gives the heifer the best possible chance that she is pestivirus free and will not pass anything onto her calf," he said.
The cows in the breeding herd receive an annual Pestigard vaccination before joining.
In the form of summer feed for the cattle, each year, 60ha of the Dardanup property is reserved for hay and silage crops.
In conjunction, the pasture improvement is upheld annually by seeding the hay and silage paddocks every April with seed from Bell Pasture Seeds, Elgin.
"Rob Bell makes up a blend of clover and ryegrass suitable to our properties," Mr Harris said.
"The best rewards from breeding Angus cattle is their temperament and easy management, as well as the quality people we have met from stud breeders and commercial breeders sharing their Angus knowledge and guiding us along the way."
