The Boundary Rider’s Report February 2025

Welcome to the February Boundary Rider’s Report. We really appreciate you being here.  We have a few changes with the Bald Blair Angus team. Thank you to Mick Rouse for his hard work at Bald Blair over the last couple of months - we wish him and his family well with their next chapter.  We welcome Sam Savage to the team this month and look forward to having him on board for the year ahead.

Female Sale

SAVE THE DATE: Proven Breeders Sale Tuesday 8th April 2025

We will be selling proven breeders from our Bald Blair Angus stud herd at 11am on Tuesday 8th April 2025 on property and live streamed on Auctions Plus.  These proven breeders from our stud herd will be 5 & 6 years old HBR and APR Dams.  Please save the date and we will have more details to come and keep an eye out on the website.

If you would like to be added to our female sale catalogue mailing list please forward your postal address to Kirstywhite@baldblair.com.au. 

Bull Sale

SAVE THE DATE: 1pm, Tuesday, 5th August 2025 

Bulls all going well in preparation for this year's sale.  100 bulls on offer. 

More information will be available on our website as we get closer to the sale.

Calendar link: https://www.angusaustralia.com.au/event/bald-blair-angus-bull-sale-5

If you would like to be added to our bull sale catalogue mailing list please forward your postal address to Kirstywhite@baldblair.com.au. 

Season

While the creek has stopped flowing, we have been fortunate enough to have been under an amazing amount of rain, over 100mm at Bald Blair for the month of January.   Our other properties have also had good storm rain,  up to 150 mm.  Within a short distance from Bald Blair there has not been a lot of rain at the head of the catchment, hence the creek stopping flowing.  We have had massive grass growth as a consequence, soil moisture is good and very hot days.  This is a contrast to our colleagues down south who are dealing with very dry conditions and we are thinking of them.

Market 

The markets are holding up, the throughput is massive, in terms of slaughter rates week to week.  The international market for our beef remains strong and the dollar favourable.  Any shift upwards in the market at this time is dependent on general rain down south and in southern Qld.  There are a lot of cattle coming to the market.   There remains a lot of uncertainty geo politically and the landscape in terms of tariff policy of what may or may not happen.  Keep breeding cattle. Check out https://www.mla.com.au/prices-markets/cattle/nyci/

Thank you bidders and underbidders on the 35 PTIC heifers we purchased from the Moffatt family that were joined to Bald Blair bulls and offered for sale on AuctionsPlus cattle on Friday, 24th January.  The heifers have gone to Dorrigo. 

What's happening around the farm.

All Lambs have been weaned and shorn.  All heifers have been Pregnancy tested with reasonable results, averaging between 85 and 90%. 

Weed spraying continues, I do not think our Quick spray unit has had more use than this year. We are now adding blackberries to the work schedule - starting with drones and moving onto the Quick Spray.

Our Autumn Stud herd is currently calving, with exciting new calves hitting the ground, progeny of HART Network and Connealy Craftsman.

We have updated our Gallagher TWR-5 and also installed their not so new Animal Performance software on our phones and laptops.  This enables us to sync the TWR-5 to the cloud and then sync our phones and laptops to get the latest weights.  Great back up for the calf book, with tagging calves and also easy for a conversation to the agents as soon as the stock is weighed at the yards down the road, while Sam might be in the office.  Gallgher was very helpful with the transfer of the data and any tech issues we experienced with this.

https://am.gallagher.com/en-AU/Products/Animal-Performance

Pastures

Paddocks are currently being fallowed, and sprayed for emerging weeds in preparation for new pastures, to be sown later in February.

Sheep

We have shorn the lambs and they are making good weight gains on the pastures at Kolora.  We are looking forward to off loading a few at the upgraded Guyra saleyards soon.  Photos above of the three generations of wool presses at Bald Blair woolshed. The new TPW Xpress, the supplied by Grazcos, Maclodge Major Pinner and the more antique timber press in the corner covered in dust.

Loading Cattle

Have you ever been at the loading ramp with a yard of cattle and a truck ready to load and tried to work out how many steers to put in each pen? 

What happens when you are sharing a truck with other vendors and don’t want to mix the stock in the same pen.

“Like the 3 bears. Not too loose and not too tight. They need to be just right.” Peter Dundon, MLA 

There is a loading densities table on the MLA’s Transport Hub to assist with getting the load right and here is the link.

https://www.mla.com.au/extension-training-and-tools/resource-hubs/transport-hub/

COURSES

Instinct Stockhandling School 

Chook Kealey has been conducting stock handling schools throughout Australia since 2002 providing practical tools to create lasting change that can be implemented immediately.  Working with stock can be easier, safer, more enjoyable and productive when we understand the instincts. Both theirs and ours.  Instincts are the foundation of these methods and understanding them gives participants the knowledge and skills required to work with a different perspective.

Venue: “Strathbogie” 105 Gordons Road  Emmaville NSW 

Dates: Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th March  2025

Time: 8am - 5pm each day

School Pricing

$880 per person (gst inc)

$440 per person under 16 yrs (gst inc)

Host: Michael Fitzgerald

Phone: 0439847344       

Email: strathbogie@aminyapastoral.com.au

https://instinctstockhandling.com.au/

Guyra Adult Learning Association (GALA)

https://www.gala.org.au/short-compliance-courses.php

GROW – Generating Regionally Outstanding Women

Tocal Colleges’ rural women’s management program. With support from the NSW Department of Primary Industries Farm Business Resilience Program, another round of the GROW program - a fully accredited professional development program for women in NSW agriculture is available.

Delivered by trainer Bec Fing of House Paddock Training and Consulting, the GROW program is run over 5 months and contains 2 modules;

- Module 1 - Personal development, communication and leadership

- Module 2 - Staff management and WHS

The course is a fully online series of webinars supported by an online portal of content rich information.  If you have previously missed out on GROW due to location or logistics, NOW is your chance, with this FULLY ONLINE intake! 

There are fully funded positions available for women in agriculture in NSW who meet the eligibility requirements, but spots are strictly limited, so apply today! Applications close on 10 February or when the course is full! The course kicks off 24 February!

For more information visit

https://www.tocal.nsw.edu.au/courses/short-courses/business-management/grow

To register today, apply at

https://nswtrade.wufoo.com/forms/m1kt9n9q1ls2ipm/ 

 
EVENTS

Guyra Lamb & Potato Festival

Congratulations to the amazing team of the Guyra Lamb and Potato Festival on  another huge event.  Sam volunteered for the Guyra Show team on Saturday 18th and the wet, windy and cold weather did not deter the demand for lamb and gravy rolls (Arthur’s favourite), lamb roast and pavlova.  All proceeds go back to the Guyra community groups that volunteer their time to make and serve meals in the “Gazebo”.  Local grazier Frank Presnell was the brains behind the festival, with the aim of capturing travelers on the New England Hwy attending the Tamworth Country Music Festival.  Many of you will remember Frank as he cooked the BBQ at the Bald Blair bull sale for many many years. 

Carbon EDGE workshop

Location: Tamworth, NSW

Date: 27–28 February 2025

Carbon EDGE is an exciting two-day training program for the red meat industry, providing participants with an understanding of the opportunities for emissions reduction and carbon storage activities in a livestock grazing business. You will use your own information to develop an action plan for your business as you learn about the practices and technologies that could reduce your carbon footprint and improve sustainability and productivity.

CLICK HERE:  Event Management

Guyra’s Got Talent

Cancer research fundraising event - talent show and auction.

Saturday 1st March

Guyra Bowling Club

Tickets for sale at CT Electric

Feeder Steer School 2.0

We are proud to be sponsoring the Feeder Steer School in Armidale next week.  This is a great initiative and we encourage as many as possible to support these local events.  When I first returned home this was one event that I got a lot out of. 

Tickets have sold out - 250 participants attending!

The Feeder Steer School will be an immersive three-day conference from 10 - 13 Feb at UNE.

Guyra Show

21st & 22nd February

http://www.guyrashow.guyra.net/

World Angus Forum 

We have a really interesting memento from the First International Angus Forum in Sydney, March 1969.  It is a silver boomerang that was presented to Richard H White Esq - President of the Australian Angus Society. 

In 1969, the Society celebrated its Golden Jubilee and celebrated the registration of its 1000th member, who was Mr H.J. Smedley of Wodonga, VIC.  In March of the same year the first International Angus Forum was held in Sydney, organised with by the Society.  The event was held to celebrate 50 years of the society and was host to 427 delegates from nine countries and had 613 attend the Forum Dinner Dance that took place during the event.  This event marked the formation of the World Aberdeen-Angus Secretariat, and gave stud and commercial breeders, scientists and leading authorities in meat trade at the time to come together to discuss their views of the industry they were part of.

The Forum was opened by the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Roden Cutler with an official welcome from the president at the time, Richard White.  Mr Smedley was honoured during the Forum Dinner Dance for his membership and its milestone to the society.

The period of 1945-1969 drew to a close with a half century milestone for the society, and a 1,056 strong membership, an all-time peak for the society.

Angus through the Ages Part 2: 1945-1969 - Angus Australia

Save the Date: 7-8 May 2025

Bonus 8 Day pre-tour starting 29 April 

(including a visit to Bald Blair on Monday 5th May !)

Extra Bonus  7 Day post-tour until 15 May

Calling all cattle enthusiasts and breeders to the 2025 Neogen World Angus Forum! This event unites the global Angus community to share knowledge, promote the breed, and advance cattle breeding and management, plus also to have a good time. Hosted by Angus Australia, it’s an unmissable opportunity to celebrate, learn and catch up with international friends breeding Angus Cattle.  We look forward to showing everyone around here while visiting Bald Blair.

More information: CLICK HERE

Here is a video of Sam talking about the WAF: https://fb.watch/wd8R3Ie1ey/

LISTENING

Podcast: Humans of Agriculture with Michael Crowley, MD Meat and Livestock Australia

In this episode, Oli sits down with Michael Crowley who recently took up the top job with Meat and Livestock Australia. They dive into Michael's history with AG, the time he ran 100 km for mental health, and his dream of passing on a sense of stewardship to the next generation. He's a big-picture guy. As Managing Director, he is privy to talks around tech in Australian farming, trade relationships, and developing sustainable practices for the future.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5RVhIkWng3FcsRh4acgtIt?si=KKHw-BkUTJedwvrw6HpNjQ&t=2430

Behind the Beef Podcast

Reference to AngusTrek visit to Bald Blair as part of the World Angus Forum

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/behind-the-beef/id1501463241?i=1000680784304

WATCHING

The Bank of Dave

Bank of Dave is a 2023 British biographical comedy-drama film directed by Chris Foggin,[1] written by Piers Ashworth and produced by Matt Williams, Karl Hall and Piers Tempest. It stars Joel Fry, Phoebe Dynevor, Rory Kinnear, Hugh Bonneville, Paul Kaye, Jo Hartley and Cathy Tyson.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_Dave_(film)  Now available on most streaming services. 

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan on Prime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ryan_(TV_series)

READING

Australian Gospel by Lech Blaine: https://lechblaine.com/2024/12/03/australian-gospel/

Not Just the Wife of the General Manager by Sally Warriner https://sallywarriner.com/

SOCIAL MEDIA

The Electric Postman - aka champion Ben Jackson https://www.instagram.com/electricpostman/

Thank you for reading The Boundary Rider’s Report, we really appreciate you being here.  Please touch base with us if there is anything you want to have a chat about - we really enjoy hearing from you.

Sam & Kirsty

samwhite@baldblair.com.au 0438 792 140

Kirstywhite@baldblair.com.au 0427 722 908