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By: Richard Bentley
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Source: Rural News Management - 18 December 2007
Improved pasture management, a healthier fertiliser policy, and a new automatic cattle weighing and drafting system combined with superior strategic management have led to a "brilliant" season so far for David and Suzanne Quantock.
Farming at Mt Somers on 760ha of gently sloping land near the Canterbury foothills, the couple's business is primarily focused on finishing beef cattle but also incorporates deer, elk and, from time to time, sheep.
Their regime represents a dramatic change from a few years ago when sheep were the dominant profit centre. Cropping was also an integral part of the farming mix, with deer and cattle being less important.
"We realised that our system had got too complicated, and through eCOGENT we analysed the profitability of the two classes of sheep, three classes of deer as well as cattle, and we could see that cattle would do best on our pastures and would be simpler to manage," says David.
"Two years ago we sold all our sheep and reduced the numbers of deer, and began to focus on supplying finished cattle to a meat company."
There are two distinct phases to the Quantock's annual cattle programme. In spring as soon grass as begins to come away, they start buying and getting "a feel for the market", preferring beef cattle that can be finished before Christmas - summers are dry. By October they are fully stocked, and they start sending stock away as soon as the optimum profit point is reached.
"Generally we de-stock in December, and when the feed comes away in late February or March we start feeling the market again and buying stock for finishing by May, but have the flexibility to quit in April or June as the weather, markets or profit dictates," says David.
"We buy cattle in the 440 to 460 kg range, but we are also prepared to buy other stock if we are on track for a feed surplus and there is a profit in them. We have just bought 3000 ewes with lambs at foot, and are using dairy grazers to top pastures."
Focusing on profit is made possible through eCOGENT analyses that allow predictions of feed demand and availability and consequent profit from different classes of stock - currently almost 9c/kg of dry matter eaten for beef and around 21c for the recently bought sheep. As a result, total profit is increasing dramatically.
There are four keys to the success of their beef operation. One is maintaining the correct pasture covers, and so far this season they have been able to keep within the targeted 2000-2200 range.
Being able to get the right stock at the right time is also critical to the operation, so the second key to success is developing a good relationship with a reliable stock agent who understands what you are trying to do, says David
Recording cattle growth rates is the third key. David has recently installed a Prattley 3-way Auto-Drafter with TruTest electronics and Allflex tag reader. Cattle are weighed and given an EID
Making the system smart enough to cope with stroppy new arrivals without weight or tag reading errors has been a mission, and David credits Graeme Ward of Prattley Industries Ltd with its successful development.
"My young son Job and I have drafted 103 cattle in 38 minutes. Now that we can weigh stock accurately the kill sheet weight band has narrowed right down and we are maximizing schedule returns," he says.
"The unit can capture much more information, and it has huge potential for use with eCOGENT to work out profit per kilo of dry matter eaten, which stock do best on which paddocks, tracing bloodlines, and so on."
The fourth key to success is fertiliser. In the early 90s they switched to a fertiliser mix based on finely ground lime flour with elemental sulphur, a little urea and some trace elements. That improved pasture quality and animal performance rapidly, so they continued the regime for about eight years before reverting to conventional soluble phosphate mixes.
Two years later David began to notice a general deterioration in pasture quality and stock health, particularly in the deer, and so 18 months ago he changed back. This year, he says, the Brix levels of pastures are averaging 10, double last season's figure, reflecting the change but also better pasture cover management. To bolster summer clover growth he topdressed earlier this month with 170 tonnes of what he calls a "biological mix" of lime, magnesium and other trace elements.
The emphasis on fertiliser and pasture management is aimed at improving soil and pasture quality and production, while the focus on involving the right people and the right technologies is an essential part of strategic management
Suzanne Quantock credits eCOGENT, and Peter Floyd, in particular with giving them the management information and confidence they have needed to make their business really profitable.
"It's not about analysing the last couple of years' financial reports and saying this is what you need to do. You focus on your whole business with your vision, goals and objectives so you know why you are in this business," she says.
David agrees."We initially thought that we were grass factory, but now we realise we are actually a source of healthy food for the world. I think that's where farmer thinking has gone wrong - they see themselves as commodity traders producing large volumes of sheep meat, venison and beef. Seeing ourselves as food producers opens up many more opportunities for sustainable farming and sustainable profits."