Increase throughput by reducing herd age - Murray Haigh
Increase throughput by reducing herd age - Murray Haigh - Beef CRC - Beef Genetic Technologies
 Murray Haigh has been a member of CQ BEEF ‘Mackenzie River Beef Profit partnership’ group for the past four years.He joined with the aim of finding out whether the decisions he was making about his business were having a positive impact. “The business has always been on my wife’s side of the family, so beef production and the sector in general was quite new to me,” he said. “We were making decisions every day and we wanted to be able to measure the impact of those decisions and the health of our business.” Mr Haigh said the resources which are made available to members of the group allow him to determine whether they are heading in the right direction. “We have millions of dollars tied up in our land and we only get a one or two per cent return on our investment,” he said. “Being a member of the BPP helps us question why we do certain things and drives us to get a better return on our assets. In other words, it makes our asset work for us.” Mr Haigh said a majority of the cattle they breed are sold direct to the meatworks, with the main target being the Jap ox market. “We send all of our steers direct to the works. We mate our heifers when they reach 300 kilograms and all the empty cows and heifers are kept for a further 6 months to put on extra weight before we cull them,” said Mr Haigh. Mr Haigh has never been a part of a group before joining the BPP. “I did do a week-long ‘Grazing for Profit’ course run by agricultural consultants RCS. That was where I was first introduced to the ‘Profit Probe’ tool,” he said. An in-depth financial evaluation tool, Profit Probe analyses all of the businesses financial data and provides information about your Gross Margins, Expense Ratios, Return on Assests and Liabilities. “This tool was also offered to us as an incentive when we joined the BPP. It just helps us focus on the things that really matter at a financial level.” After using the information generated from ‘Profit Probe’, Mr Haigh said they have begun concentrating on getting more cattle flowing through the business. “We’re focusing on breeding more steers as opposed to just buying them in and fattening them on this country,” he said. In previous years, the Haighs have had a lot of country leased out. But over the past 12 months they have decided to stock it themselves. Mr Haigh said they have almost doubled their return on investment. |
 “One of the things we found out by analyzing the business was that we could get a better return on running our own cattle than agisting the land out,” he said.“Agistment only gave us about $2.50 per head per week, whereas running our own cattle gave us a return of between $4 and $5 per head per week.” The Haighs have also increased cattle throughput by reducing the age of their breeding herd. While most people wait until their heifers are 2 years of age, Mr Haigh said they’re mating heifers at 12 months of age. They have begun using supplements to get the heifers to the 300 kilogram mark before putting the bulls in with them. He added that gives them a better chance of getting in calf. “The first year we did it, we just turned the bulls out with the whole mob. They ranged from 220 kilograms through to 350 kilograms,” he said. “The lighter ones didn’t stand a chance of getting in calf so the supplements help reduce the gap.” He said getting more of the heifers to 300 kilograms has helped improve their calving percentage from 60 per cent to about 76 per cent. “We worked out that we needed a 12 per cent better calving percentage to pay for the lick that we were putting in them,” said Mr Haigh. “This increase doesn’t take into account that they have more weight on when you sell them so you get more for them, it’s simply covering the cost of the supplement.” Mr Haigh said it was through discussions with other group members that they decided to implement a more rigorous management program. They now weigh the heifers before joining. “We first cut out those heifers which have no chance of getting near the 300 kilogram mark. Then in November we weigh them again to see if any more need to be cut out.” “The ones that are cut out are then kept for a further six months before we sell them.” He said weighing the cattle has helped improve their profitability. “Most people hold onto their heifers for two years hoping they will give them a calf. Then when they don’t, they hold onto them even longer before they sell them,” he said. “Making our decisions earlier means more cash flow for the business, which makes more sense.” Mr Haigh said each year has been quite different so they haven’t yet been able to compare their Gross Margins across years. But he is confident this year will see an improvement. “If you know what the base level is you continue to measure your progress, you will, over time, see an improvement,” he said. “But if you have no idea where your baseline is then it’s hard to see any gain or even be aware you might be going backwards.” Mr Haigh said being a part of the Beef Profit Partnership allows him to explore different things that could help improve profitability. “I am a strong believer in cash flow and keeping an eye on costs,” he said. “The changes implemented in a business need to be planned, rather than just doing something ad-hoc.” The Haighs even investigated growing leucaena to help finish their cattle. “I attended a three-day course where I was taught everything there was to know about establishing, growing and maintaining leucaena. But I soon realized it wasn’t for me,” he said. “I think you need to be a farmer to get leucaena established or need help from contractors as there is a lot of work involved in growing it.” Mr Haigh said while he may have implemented some of the changes without being a part of the Beef Profit Partnership, he can’t deny the group has helped him become more focussed on the business. “It actually makes you think about the improvements that you have made and what you can do to make even greater gains,” he said. “The networks that you develop and the resources available allow you to evaluate new opportunities. We don’t want to stagnate but keep improving. Without the group I don’t think I would have done that.” |
| For more information contact David Hickey, QLD PI&F, CQ BEEF Mackenzie group, Tel: (07) 4936 0217 or email David.Hickey@deedi.qld.gov.au |
