Three years ago Oodnadatta (SA) cattleman Andrew Clarke of Allandale Station put out 15 two year old bulls following seasonal rain. Six were never seen again presumably overcome by tough conditions.

That was a game changer for the manager of the 5000sq km cattle operation located 1100km north of Adelaide and 600km south of Alice Springs.

Swinging to yearling bulls have been the answer. Of the 36 yearling Angus bulls purchased over the past couple of years, only one has broken down.

Allandale Station today runs 4700 head including 2500 breeders. The station was originally Hereford, but over the past decade has moved more towards Angus genetics, with half the breeders now black baldies and half Hereford. The Angus infusion has assisted mothering ability.

“We just couldn’t put up with the mortality rates in the older bulls we were buying,” Mr Clarke said.

“The two-year-old fed-up bulls couldn’t handle coming from small holdings into paddocks 20 to 60km across, and having to walk 6km a day for a feed and a drink.

However, Mr Clarke believes there is still a place for white faces in the sandy gibber country with ‘three to six inches of rain a year and a 440kg feeder steer target market.”

His search for yearling Poll Hereford bulls led to Lachy Day of Days Whiteface, near Bordertown, SA, where he was able to source some younger bulls.

Usually Mr Day sells 18-20 month old bulls at the family’s February sale and two-year-olds at the annual Wodonga and Dubbo multi-vendor sales. That is a successful formula, as his 38 on-property bulls this year averaged $9100 and the 10 two-year-olds at Wodonga and Dubbo averaged close to $30,000.

Mr Day understands why some buyers want yearling bulls, but has limited numbers available.

“I even use two-year-olds myself to shorten the generation gap,” he says.

Last month Allandale station went all the way to Ben Nevis stud near Walcha in NSW to buy six yearling Angus bulls at auction.

They weren’t the only ones wanting Ben Nevis yearlings, as 75 sold in a 100pc clearance for an average of $8180, claimed as one of the top results for a bull sale this past spring, for sales with a yearlings-only catalogue.

The obvious vendor benefit from selling yearling bulls is that they don’t need to be maintained for that costly extra year.

But according to the principals behind the 70-year-old Ben Nevis Angus operation, Erica and Stu Halliday, the benefits to the buyers are much greater.

According to Erica, bulls are meant to work as yearlings at the time when they are capable, fit and agile enough to learn their trade.

“Instead, what we do in Australia most of the time, is put them in a paddock with other bulls and feed them for sale.

“Out of sexual frustration they then learn to fight and bully, and then go out to work when they are big and heavy. This explains why the incidence of breakdown in two-year-olds is 30pc higher than bulls used as yearlings, based on DPI research,” she said.

“As a result yearling bulls get significantly more calves on the ground per lifetime, as they have a proven longer working life due to less breakdowns and have the additional year they are put out as yearlings. This significantly reduces the cost per calf.”

“Anecdotally our clients – and it’s also true in our experience – find yearling bulls easier to manage both in and out of the cow herd. I think this is because they haven’t been taught to bully and fight out of frustration,” she said.

The following are some hints from Erica and Stu Halliday of Ben Nevis Angus on managing yearling bulls:

 

“Nature intended British breed bulls to work at 12-14 months of age. This is when they become sexually mature but they’re still light and agile so they can learn their new trade without a high risk of injuring themselves. This is not the case for bulls first used as two year olds who are often fed up to big weights for auction and therefore run a higher risk of injury while gaining sexual experience. 

Lower cost per calf: According to research by NSW Agriculture in the 1990’s bulls used as yearlings not only have a lower incidence of breakdown or injury but a proven longer working life. This equates to more calves over a longer period and lower costs per calf.

Easier to manage: At Ben Nevis we have been using yearling bulls for over 20 years.  Our experience is backed by our clients and suggests that bulls used as yearlings are much easier to manage both in and out of the cows. Why? We believe it’s because they are out working as their testosterone kicks in instead of being in a big mob with other bulls learning to fight and bully out of sexual frustration.

Am I not pretty enough?  Because yearling bulls are working and still growing (they can get a little too enthusiastic about their work) they can come out of the cows looking ragged. Rather than a bad sign it’s a good sign that he had been working for you. They don’t need special treatment, just a good paddock and a dose.  If not fed up at this stage (i.e. put on rye grass) then he will still eventually recover but probably won’t make his mature weight potential until he is three or four years of age (if at all).  The up side of this is that less stress is placed on his skeleton for life so he will always be more agile and less injury prone

In the words of reputable cattle producer and educator Sandy Yeates, “If our beef industry is to make progress, we must purge our minds of the belief that a bull has to be fat and well grown to be any good. The value of a bull should be measured by the performance of his offspring, not on what he looks like.”

Can I reach a cow?  Short answer is yes, but the laws of physics apply and you should use well grown yearling bulls.  Most of our bulls go over cows.  Angus by nature have high libidos and are very resourceful.

Heifer bulls:  Just because he is a yearling does not make him a “heifer bull”.  As with any bull his effect on calving ease is determined by genetics for birthweight and shape and other factors like nutrition and environment. However suitable heifer bulls used as yearlings will mean less injuries in heifers as well, due to their lower weight and they can be used over heifers for more years as they take longer to reach their mature weight.

Health:  Not everyone can produce yearling bulls.  It is critical that the bulls are rigorously culled and well grown and that they are tested for reproductive soundness. To ensure this, employ a disciplined weaning, nutrition and bull education program to ensure they are:-

• Extremely docile and manageable
• Well grown (averaging 500kgs + at 12 months); and
• Sexually mature with scrotal >30cm at 12 months and semen tested.

Guidelines for use:

Don’t put yearling bulls out with older bulls or bulls that are significantly bigger in size in the first year.  These bulls could significantly injure yearlings while learning to serve.

In our commercial herd we put groups of yearling bulls out together and often put 4 brothers in with a mob of 100 cows.  This has improved not only our conception rates in some of our steep, rugged country but also increased the uniformity of our calves and reduced the calving spread.  Despite the large distances and terrain there is always one on duty.

Other guidelines:

• Join to no more than 35  females in the first year and normal levels thereafter
• Join for no longer than 6 weeks
• Make sure he is up to date for Parasites, 5 in 1
• Added boosts come from Selenium, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin A, D and E shots

Eventually your yearling bull will grow into a bull we can be proud of because of his calves, his contribution to your gross margin and his dashing good looks.  With the money saved this can be put towards buying an even higher performance bull in the future and maximising genetic gain.”

 

More yearlings at Coffin Creek

In August, Nigel White’s Coffin Creek Angus sale at Mudgee, NSW, averaged $9032 for 31 bulls, in a 100pc clearance. All but three were yearlings. The average was up 71pc on the previous year’s result.

“I’ve always believed in yearling bulls – you get more genetic progress,” says Mr White.

He said younger bulls use muscles chasing cows and develop better and stronger, giving them greater longevity.

 

Brahman Week breaks all records

While the past week’s sales were few in number, it contained Australia’s, and possibly the world’s, largest single breed sale, Rockhampton Brahman Week, which grossed a staggering $9.67 million for 823 bulls which averaged $11,750.

Sale records were broken for the gross, average and top price of $150,000, which came for a poll Red bull on the final day of the three-day extravaganza last Wednesday.

This top money came for the 23-month-old Jomanda El Toro 802 bred and offered by Max Johnson and family from Grafton, NSW. The new owners of this NCC Casablanca 1541 (IVF) (D) son are Darren and Sue Kent, Ooline Brahmans from Goovigen in Queensland’s South Burnett.

Overall the 491 Greys in the sale averaged $11,329 while the 332 Reds averaged $12,372.

“The tough period we’ve been through overt the past couple of years has highlighted the Brahman’s ability to survive under pressure, and there is a definite move to increase the Brahman content in northern herds,” said Brahman Breeders Association’s general manager John Croaker.