Whyalla Feedlot general manager Tony Fitzgerald addressing an audience of 500 attendees at the Texas Angus ‘Nothing But Beef’ on-farm field day near Warialda, NSW, last Thursday.

CONSISTENCY – not maximum growth or chasing extremes – is the single biggest factor between cattle that excel in a feedlot environment versus those that don’t, a large audience of cattle producers heard at Texas Angus’s ‘Nothin’ But Beef’ field day last Thursday.

That was the repeated message from senior leaders of NH Foods’ large vertically-integrated supply chain from Whyalla Feedlot general manager Tony Fitzgerald and Oakey Beef Exports general manager Brett Williams to NH Foods export sales manager Anthony Naticchia and brand partner and internationally renowned chef Jason Roberts.

Tony Fitzgerald manages one of Australia’s largest single individual feedlots, the 75,000 head Whyalla Feedlot near Texas on the Queensland/New South Wales border, which supplies around two-thirds of the cattle processed each week at NH Foods’ Oakey Beef Exports plant.

Speaking during a panel discussion moderated by Queensland Angus breeder and National Farmers Federation president Hamish McIntyre, Mr Fitzgerald was asked the key traits he and his team look for when sourcing cattle for Whyalla.

“I go back to the old days of my father saying consistency always wins, and that’s what we’re looking for in feeder cattle,” he said.

“Not the biggest, not the smallest, we want that consistency, and we want those cattle with their working pants on.”

“Our core job is to ensure that we get the right cattle for the brand, and we make sure those cattle are set up to succeed,” he said.

Yard weaning

Among management practices discussed, yard weaning was among the strongest recommendations.

Properly weaned cattle consistently outperformed their unweaned counterparts after entering the feedlot, and he said NH Foods would not purchase cattle that have not been through an appropriate weaning program.

“It has been proven time and time again mathematically that the cattle that are yard weaned are set up better going into the feedlot.

“As a procurer of cattle we won’t buy cattle that aren’t yard weaned or haven’t been through some sort of weaning process.”

Temperament

Good handling and quiet cattle was another recurring theme.

Mr Fitzgerald said temperament was no longer simply a welfare issue but one with measurable production benefits.

“It is mathematically proven that those better handled, better temperament cattle are the ones that perform well in the feedlot.”

Balance

While acknowledging the increasing value of genomics and Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs), Mr Fitzgerald advised producers not to chase single traits at the expense of overall balance.

“The list of tools that we have to select bulls now is amazing,” he said.

“I’m a great fan of genomics… but for me it is about balance.

“We’re all in pursuit of extra growth, and we all need that to survive, but we’ve got to be careful.

“You can’t take on one trait without adversely affecting another.”

He said maintaining moderate mature cow size while still achieving commercially attractive growth remained an important breeding objective.

“We don’t want D9s running around the paddock and fuelling those, as opposed to a D4 that can raise a good medium size calf. So it is like anything, and it is genetics in general, it’s about the balance.”

Whole-of-life management shows up in the chiller

Preparation before cattle ever entered a feedlot had a direct impact on carcase performance.

“I’ll go back to the point about whole-of-life preparedness,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“We can see the cattle that have been prepared well, they’re the ones that go on to do the best performance in the chillers.”

Repeatability drives premium brands

Across the discussion, all NH Foods executives repeatedly returned to one word: consistency.

Mr Fitzgerald said Angus genetics had earned their place in premium grainfed programs because of their repeatability.

“I like to know that when I open up that packet of meat it’s going to be good, and it’s not going to be disappointing.”

Mr Naticchia said that same consistency underpinned customer confidence in premium export markets.

“They want consistency. They don’t want a mystery box when they get it. If they’re going to pay top money for it they want to get that consistency, and that’s across all markets, across everywhere.”

Chef backs consistency message

Restaurateur Chef Jason Roberts reinforced the consistency message.

Chef Jason Roberts

He said the food service industry was currently suffering with higher labour, food and real estate costs, with “very low margins in the restaurant world right now”.

For that reason being able to source consistent, repeatable quality product had never been more important.

“The reason I love Angus Reserve and the Angus product is because it’s just consistent.

“I get consistency from the steak that I eat today, to the steak I’m gonna eat in Texas in two week’s time to the steak I had three years ago as well. I know it’s reliable.

“I know that personally because I work with the brand. I know that I can call Brett Williams up there and say, mate, when was the kill? How long has it been stored for? I know I’m going to get minimum three weeks in the bag.

“So, for me, the reason I love this product is because the relationship I have, not only with the producers, the abattoir, with Brett, with Tony, Nadine, with everyone who’s involved, that’s what makes this product good for me.”

Practical advice for producers

Asked to leave producers with one piece of advice, Mr Fitzgerald emphasised the importance of using systemised management to control what can be controlled.

“We can’t always control the weather, but we can be very clinical on how we manage our cattle,” he said.

“It starts right back at the bull selection, be systematic how you manage those cattle, put a date on the calendar, mark those calves at the right time, measure those calves and the rest pretty well looks after itself.”