My 2011 Study Tour

MY 2011 STUDY TOUR:
I am a young stud Angus breeder from "Hollywood Angus Stud", Peak Hill, NSW. I was awarded the Matthew George Young Stockman Award for 2010 at the Royal Melbourne Show. In April, I will be heading to Mexico and Canada for a four month study tour to get an overview of the beef cattle industries in these countries. I will be visiting a range of enterprises, including major shows, stud and commercial operations, and feedlots. I wish to thank the Ballarat Foundation for the opportunity to live my dream, and hope to share my experiences via this blog.

"LIVE YOUR DREAM"

"LIVE YOUR DREAM": THE MATTHEW GEORGE YOUNG STOCKMAN AWARD
The Matthew George Young Stockman Award was established as a sub-fund of the Ballarat Foundation in honour of Matthew George of Stockyard Hill, who was tragically taken in a car accident in 2007 at 21 years of age. Matthew had an absolute love of animals together with a thirst for knowledge and a passion for breeding. This annual award provides a young breeder aged 18 to 25 years with the opportunity to live Matthew's dream, and travel overseas to become an ambassador for the beef industry and study other beef cattle breeding programs and developments.
APPLY NOW FOR THE MATTHEW GEORGE AWARD 2011: Applications are now open for this year's Matthew George Young Stockman Award. This is an amazing award for anyone who wants to learn more about the beef industry. If you're aged 18-25, make sure you apply - the opportunities it opens up are just incredible! For application details, go to www.ballaratfoundation.org.au click on 'sub funds' & then 'matthew george award'. Applications close 30 June.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Branding at the Buckleys


This weekend I took a few days away from Remington to head north to John & Tracy Buckley’s Quarter Circle X Ranch, at Cochrane near Calgary, where they breed Beefboosters (hybrid bulls). This weekend was ‘Branding Time’ –a much cherished annual tradition! Around 60 family, friends & neighbours came together to partake in the event and branded over 600 calves. Each weekend around this time of year, the branding moves from ranch to ranch around the neighbouring area, combining work with a lot of fun and social activities.

Some ranches use horses & roping, some tables, but at the Quarter Circle X Ranch we worked in teams of 2 catching and throwing the calves by hand and holding them down while a number of procedures were carried out – branding with hot irons; injections; horns debudded; & heifers got a ‘woddle’ (this is a nick in the flap of skin under their neck that is used for ID instead of an earmark – it leaves a permanent little flap which can easily be seen). I was one of the catchers – ended up absolutely filthy, but it was great fun to be part of the event! The forecast was for a wet and possibly snowy weekend but fortunately it stayed beautiful & sunny and the wet weather held off till Monday when it rained all the way back to Remington.

Remington Ranch


Am having an incredible time at Remington!  The ranch is set in the rolling foothills of the Rocky Mountains and is so beautiful. There are still some snow drifts on the higher parts but the grass is starting to grow and everything is lovely & green. The weather can still be fairly inclement – you can get every season in one day, from warm & sunny to freezing with severe wind chill factors, which can be pretty tough on stock as there are no trees for shelter. From the workers lodge, I have amazing views of the snow-capped Rockies - the view changes constantly with different cloud formations and light & I never get tired of looking at it.

Since arriving I’ve been really busy. We’re doing lots of cattle work on horseback - their stud cows are still calving and we’ve been riding the calves daily & checking them. So much more fun than a four wheel motorbike! We’ve also been processing calves – tattooing & needling etc.
Currently Remington are in the process of breeding (joining) cows & we spent 3 days pulling CIDRs, heat checking & AI’ing Angus, Simmental & SimAngus cows. Some of the semen they used was from “Happy Vale Jumbo”, who was just the 7th bull in Canada to have semen collected (back in the 70s) & the semen was frozen in little glass ampoules, not the straws used today which I found interesting.
Remington are dispersing their entire registered herd in October this year and plan to breed all commercial cattle and focus on developing a branded beef product, so we’ve been busy starting to get organised for that as well. It will be an incredible opportunity to buy some really great cattle – I wonder how many I can fit on the plane with me when I come home??!! Might need a jumbo ….

It’s been great to help out with a range of management operations and see their facilities & how they manage so many cattle. I’m really looking forward to next week…

Saturday 21 May 2011

In Canada - Remington Ranch

I arrived in Calgary, Alberta on 12 March & was met by Leigh and Gary Rairdon who drove me to their ranch, Remington Ranch, in southern Alberta. The Remington family has been in the cattle business for nearly 50 years. Their operation consists of two ranches, the one I'm at in southern Alberta in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where grasslands make for magnificent cattle country, & the second is in southern Saskatchewan, with rolling hills and productive grain lands.  They run 900 purebred Angus cows, a small herd of Red Angus cows, and 300 red & black Simmental cows. They select an elite group of cows to produce red and black SimAngus cows and bulls, a cross trademarked as “Yieldmaster”. In addition, they run 1200 head of commercial Angus cows which are bred to Remington bulls. They produce all their own silage, hay and grain.

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Farewell to Mexico

I have learned so much in the month I have been here, not only about the beef industry, but the rest of their agriculture as well. I’ve also had time to soak up Mexican culture; to see ornate cathedrals & beautiful old buildings & explore some of the towns and villages around Tepa that are still very traditional; & to enjoy the sights, sounds and vibrancy of the marketplace filled with people, and experience ‘Fiesta’.


I want so say a huge thank you to Renato Gonzalez and his family, who hosted me for the month. They were all so fantastic and gave me an experience of life in Mexico that I will never forget! A special thank you to Renato for the opportunity to work with Mezquite's cattle at the Expo - it was a privilege to be part of such a wonderful event.

Everything must come to an end…


Both the Expo Ganadera and Tepa Fiesta finished on 8 May. I think after 2 weeks of festivities everyone was well & truly partied out and ready for a week of extreme sleeping! The closing ceremony for the Expo was a parade of all the grand champions livestock,  at which I got to lead Mezquite’s champion angus heifer.
My last few days in Mexico were spent at Mezquite’s ranch and touring around the local area. I visited two tequila factories – a must to visit in this area! Tequila is VERY popular – the popularity of Bundy in Australia has nothing on it in comparison!  Jalisco is the home of tequila and only the spirits produced here in its area of origin can use the name ‘tequila’. I was also given a tour of Mexico’s National Genetic Resource Centre which has just been built in Tepa. This centre acts as a ‘bank’ for future bio security and will house genetic material from seeds, forestry, microbiology, aquatic, avian & animal sources.

On Mexican TV!

This award has not only given me the chance to see different countries and their beef industries, but also the opportunity to develop personal skills and broaden my range of experiences, such as appearing on the Mexican TV program, “Ranchos de Hoy” (“Today’s Ranch”). This program airs on multiple channels in Mexico and aims to promote the development of Mexico’s agricultural sector. www.ranchosdehoy.com


Polo Rocha, the show’s producer and host, came out to Mezquite Ranch with a film crew to film a segment with Renato Gutierrez Gonzalez about their Angus cattle and the Livestock Expo. They also wanted to film a segment with me, talking about my study tour to Mexico, and describing what I look for in Angus cattle (via a translator, obviously!). Using line ups of Mezquite’s cows and heifers, they got me to speak about the structure of each one in detail. After a full morning of filming at the ranch, we continued at the Livestock Expo, where I had to assess the structural points of a red angus bull, as well as filming me preparing and fitting Mezquite’s cattle for the auction and judging. I had to film a promo for the show, saying something like ‘Don’t miss Ranchos de Hoy’ in Mexican  – which was very challenging!

Thursday 12 May 2011

Angus Judging: Fantastic Result!

The Angus show was held on Sat 7th May.  Around 80 head were exhibited across the Red and Black Angus with Carlos Ojea from Argentina the judge.  Had a very successful day – came away with 8 champion ribbons from 7 head including Grand Champion Red Angus female with a 9 mth old heifer (who was also the top priced heifer in the sale the night before), & Res Grand Champion Red Angus bull who weighed over 1130kg.  Congratulations Mezquite Genetics!  Once again Tera (a girl who helps Renato) and I were the only females in the shed!  I lead all the cattle for judging as well as helping prepare & fit them, which was fantastic.  
After the cattle judging they had a young handlers competition which was interesting to watch.  Angus is one of only a 2 or 3 breeds in Mexico with a youth program but is still only very small – had 9 competitors.  Really makes you appreciate the youth programs back in Australia!  After judging there was an Angus lunch although it felt almost like dinner – didn’t eat till 5.30 – still getting used to this!  Had the opportunity to meet lots of breeders – luckily most spoke a little English (would have struggled otherwise!)

Top Priced Female at Sale

For the first time at the Expo they held an Angus auction, since it was the national show & also run in conjunction with the national meeting.  Fourteen head were entered for the sale – both bulls and females - & all selling.  Very different to our auctions -  under coloured lights, finger food & drinks (lots of Tequila) were all provided at no cost!  Still getting use to Mexican timing – meant to start at 7 but didn’t get underway till after 9!  Mezquite Genetics sold two females – a black Angus heifer who brought $22000 peso, and a 9 mth old red angus heifer who topped the sale at $33000 pesos.  As an incentive, the purchaser who bought the animal that did the best in the judging ring the following day won prize money as well.  So not only did the Red Angus heifer top the sale, but she went on to be Grand Champion in the ring – great result for Mezquite Genetics and the new purchaser.  I even got a mention during the auction!  I lead both females and when the second heifer (the red angus) was being auctioned they commented on me being from Australia and for everyone to put their hands together for two beautiful females (had no idea what they were saying till after)...  Think I turned the same colour as the heifer when they told me!

Mexican Dancing Horses

I have seen many of the most beautiful horses during my stay in Mexico but this tops it off!!  The ‘dancing horses’ are the most stunning & incredibly powerful horses I have seen. I  not only got to watch 'the dancing horses' perform both in competition and display, but actually got to ride on two of them!  They were completely fitted for competition with magnificent saddles made with silver thread.  One of the ones I got to ride was Grand Champion Freisian as well as overall Grand Champion! The competition was great to see – they all danced to Banda music (Mexican music).    

Expo Ganadera Judging Competitions

This last week at Expo there were a number of cattle breeds being judged that I have never seen before.  These included Sardo Negro (above left) and Guzerat (above right),  both Cebu (Bos Indicus breed) cattle.  Interesting cattle – loved the skin colour on the Sardo Negro (Black speckles) & the horns on the Guzerat - & that was the best part of both.  They suit the tropical climate esp. on the coast. Also on display were Simmental, Limousin, Suizo Europeo (Braunveih), Brangus, Beef Master (on left) & Brahman. 
Also had the opportunity to go and inspect the carcases of the carcase competition bulls and heifers at the slaughter house in Tepa - great thing to see. The type of carcases they want are very different to ours - some dressed well over 70%; no IMF to be seen and very little fat, but a huge quanity of meat.  The grand champion carcase went to a black Limousin bull.  After the inspection they auctioned  the carcases - didn’t stay for all the sale but the first heifers were bringing around the $38 peso mark per kilo ($3.16 approx Aust) for carcase around 400-450kg dressed.  

Thursday 5 May 2011

Ranch Visits

 
Commercial brahman at Ovigenetics
During the week I visited three ranches. Rancho Los Fresnos, about 50 mins from Tepa, has a very different landscape - more arid, but beautiful with lots of hills and cactus everywhere.  The owner, Enrique Candiani & his daughter Marisa, showed me around their ranch where they breed registered Angus, commercial Angus and Simmentals as well as Quarterhorses.  Then, Alejandro Alvarez Gonzalez from Ovigenetics toured me around his ranch and gave me lots of information about livestock industries in Mexico.  He breeds registered Angus, Brangus, Brahman & crossbred cattle; registered sheep (dorper, katahdin and peliways); plus commercial ewes & feed lotted lambs. I also visited “Gena Agropecuaria”  who run 1200 registered Charolais – one of the biggest registered Charolais herds in Mexico – as well as Angus and Braunvieh (very popular in crossbreeding programs) www.gena.com.mx/. Many of these large ranches are involved not just with one type of livestock but run multiple operations – beef cattle, sheep, pigs, broilers & eggs, & agave (for tequila).
  
Touring around I’ve had the opportunity to see how varied agriculture is in this area of Jalisco. Dairying, broilers and egg production are HUGE industries here. Mexicans are the biggest consumers of eggs per capita in the world (the minimum salary is so low that eggs are the cheapest form of protein they can afford). They use the poultry manure from young chickens (which is very high in protein because young chickens are unable to process it properly) to feed to cattle, & manure from older poultry is used as fertiliser. 

Feeding on chicken manure

Livestock production in Mexico occupies 110 million ha and has more than a million permanent employees.  The majority of the livestock operations are intensive.  There is vast difference in production in terms of size, technology levels & organisation, with equally great variability in terms of the sharing of wealth generated. 3 companies provide 54% of chicken production; 10 companies provide 44% of egg production; and 7 companies or individual producers provide more than 35% of pork production. Annually Mexico produces: 2.8 million tonnes of chicken, 2.4 million tonnes of eggs; 1.78 million tonnes of beef; 1.18 million tonnes pork; 57 000t sheep, 44 000t goat; 21 000t turkey; 11 million litres milk; 51 000t honey. Livestock production contributes 44% of protein consumed (more than the world average).  In the last 10 years, chicken production has risen 48%, egg production 34% and beef 25%, while lamb and pork haven’t changed much. Beef production is estimated to rise in 2011 due to increase in price and number of producers along with increased demand for meat. Livestock industries use more than 20 million tonnes of feed grain (mainly sorghum and corn) and more than 4 million tonnes of oilseeds per year.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Viva la Fiesta!

The best part about being in Mexico this time of year is there’s so much going on with the Livestock Expo and the Fiesta in Tepa, ‘Feria Tepabril 2011’.  Every night there are things to see and do!  This week one of the major events of the fiesta was held – ‘Senor de la Misericordia’ - a massive parade through the city for three days, with floats, bands, lots of charros (Mexican cowboys), native music and dance. Soooo many people packing the streets & centre square - crazy for three days straight!!!  People sell things everywhere, from toys to chairs for people to sit on & all different kinds of food. The colours, sounds & vibe are amazing! There is 'Banda' music playing everywhere - on the street, in the open bars at Expo, on the back of utes (pickup trucks)!  Banda is a style of music very popular in Mexico but particularly during fiestas, with lots of drums, trumpets, cymbals, singing etc - the beat is crazy, so loud!!  People dance in the streets - on weekends during fiesta they dance all night in the centre square!  I got to watch a magnificent display of fireworks from the balcony of the presidential building in Tepa. The main catholic church where the fireworks took place around was all lit up in all different changing colours - stunning!!!!! 

Have also had the opportunity to see some sports that I’ve never seen before: Mexican rodeo - very popular, very competitive and great to watch with beautiful horses & sombrero wearing 'cowboys' ; Corridas de Toros (bullfighting)  - not for the faint hearted ; and Peleas de Gallos (cockfighting)!  Really enjoying immersing myself in the culture and seeing things I would never see otherwise in Aust!

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Charolais Judging & Hoof & Hook Competition

The Charolais judging took place on 28 April with about 60 head competing. I got to help prepare and show Mezquite’s two females in the show & placed 2nd in both classes.  I was the only female parading. Also, within the 'shed' they are all men working - except myself and one other girl who helps Mezquite. Very different to Australia! On Monday, we took the Charolais home and brought the Angus team in (red & black).  



I also watched the judging of bulls for a hoof and hook competition - very interesting!  In this area they don't castrate the bulls for meat production - they’re left as bulls and sold at mature age, 2-4 years!  The Mexican beef industry (esp here in southern Mexico) is very different to Aust: they use thin cuts & prefer lean beef from the hindquarters. Really just want QUANTITY of meat. They aim for carcases with high dressing %, as little fat as possible, good meat colour and tenderness - and not at all concerned about IMF! They like bulls because they lay down less fat than steers & also have more muscle.  Euro crosses like Limo & Belgian Blue are very popular because of their heavy muscling. There were some impressive bulls on display!


Coming up this week: The Expo continues till 8 May & this week will be a great opportunity to see more cattle with angus, brangus, limousin, simmental, beef master, santa gertrudis judging.  For anyone who is interested, the judging is livescreened on www.livestream.com/virbactv (Limo/Simm/Beefmaster/Suizo/Santas at approx 2am Aust time 7thMay; & Angus judging will be on at approx. 2am Aust time on 8 May) - sorry about the time!