Snapshot:

Bald Blair Angus is located East of Guyra on the Northern Tablelands of NSW.

We have an elevation of between 1280 and 1420m above sea level.

Area: approx 2000 ha over 4 properties.

Enterprises: Angus Stud, commercial Angus herd, crossbred and merino sheep.

How is your season going?

RAIN! RAIN AND MORE RAIN! Our thoughts are with all the farmers who have received much more rain than they need at the moment and are dealing with the aftermath or continuing flood situation.

So far this year we have received 309mm at Bald Blair and 130mm for March. This has set us up really well going into winter and it is just tremendous to see the dams full. The wet weather and long grass is not without its challenges, especially with animal husbandry issues with our sheep - namely flies and barbers pole requiring constant vigilance. 

Bull Sale update:

Our bull sale is locked in for 1pm on Tuesday 3rd of August on property at Bald Blair, Guyra. Link to Google Calendar

If you are unable to travel to Bald Blair, the bull sale will be live streamed with AuctionsPlus. This is the link for the sale https://auctionsplus.com.au/auctions/cattle/bald-blair-angus-2021-bull-sale/45302  We will upload photos and videos of our bull sale team closer to the date.  

What's on our plate:

2021 Bull Sale team -.We have not had the bulls in this month - they have been rotationally grazed in four mobs on abundant pasture; they have received their initial vaccinations for Vibrio, Lepto & Pesti. These bulls have already received Tick Fever Vaccinations. 

2022 Bull Sale team - We have not commenced weaning yet! Will get to it shortly - when the yards dry out. So these bull calves are still on their mothers and growing at a rapid rate.

Heifers have been pregnancy tested and treated with pestiguard, vibrio, flukazole c & 7in 1. We returned the stud heifers to Bald Blair and they are grazing on our steepest country- the side of the pinnacle out the back - ideal for heifer muscle development pre-calving. Our commercial heifers are at Kolora and while it is a lot flatter, this is the best place to manage them during calving from the end of July.

Pastures - sorghum update - we were to commence bailing the sorghum into silage this week, however the wet has put this back. We are good to go when it drys out a bit more.

Weeds management - black berries are our main focus at the moment and it is easy to see where we have been on the edges of the hills and where we still need to go.

Buoyant Livestock Prices - we sold lambs in Guyra upto $190 March, and are extremely happy with this result; cattle prices are booming also, and for all those with stock to sell what an amazing market to be selling into.  

Have you Preg tested your herd?

Preg Testing Results from our clients

Graeme and Sally Finlayson, East of Guyra: “Just wanted to let you and Sam know that this morning we preg tested a mob of heifers that the three bulls we bought from you were running with. We had an excellent result with 132 out of the 134 pregnant with one of the two empties having been pregnant but slipped. We are stoked with the result and just wanted to let you guys know.”

Family East of Tenterfield: “Boorook Station 94% of maiden heifers pregnant in a mob of 154 head.”

Bald Blair: We pregnancy tested our stud cows and first calf stud heifers and recipient dams on Tuesday 16th March across three sets of yards and two properties. The day went like clockwork, thanks to our team bringing cattle to the yards, drafting off calves and keeping the cows up to Nick Butcher who was doing our preg testing. It was a great day in the yards. Across the different mobs of cows we achieved a 92% pregnancy rate. Nice work cows!

We continue to concentrate our breeding goals around fertility and these cows have endured extreme climate changes from 2019 until now and to conceive again and raise a calf in these conditions makes our herd of angus cows one of our most important assets on our property, just like our sheep. Those remaining after the disaster of 2019 are the resilient ones.

What are Riparian Zones?

In 2019 we applied for funding with the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services to fence off a section of the creek flowing through Bald Blair - a riparian zone. While we were flat out during and immediately after the drought we have at last, utilised the expert fencing services of Taylor McDonald and his team to undertake this project. It is extraordinary to think that when we initiated the project we were in a dust bowl, now we have had to slash the fence line to enable Taylor to work along the fence line without drowning in grass! This riparian zone fencing is one of the most substantial paddock realignments we have done at Bald Blair in a number of years, and will dramatically improve the area along the creek and management of land. We are going to trial a variety of trees in these low lying areas before we plant out a large section, so we know what works first. We are really excited about this project and can’t wait to see the benefits in the long run, of a healthy river system on our patch of land and down through the catchment to the Clarence.

Do you do Soil Tests on your farm?

Meat and Livestock Australia case study on soil testing using our property Kolora as a case study.

https://www.mla.com.au/news-and-events/industry-news/the-right-stocking-rate-starts-with-a-soil-test/

All about the Cows

Did you see the story about the Bald Blair Angus herd in the Queensland Country Life ? If you missed it here is a link https://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/7124140/the-bald-blair-process/

Animal Welfare Project

We have signed up for an welfare benchmarking project which aims to develop a science-based, producer-driven tool to benchmark welfare in pasture-based beef cattle operations. The program will allow producers to objectively track changes in herd welfare over time, benchmark performance against comparable operations, identify areas for improvement and provide pathways for improvement. The research team have drafted a suite of measures to benchmark welfare and are currently looking for producers across Australia to trial the program on-farm. 

The team will need feedback from producers across a range of production systems to ensure the benchmarking program is a practical, effective and valuable tool for industry. If you would like to get involved in the on-farm trial, you can find more information at https://1drv.ms/b/s!AkXu4s_Pa6GLhiSwB7GWEVWiASEj?e=U2Go8t or feel free to contact Jess Monk with any questions (Jessica.Monk@csiro.au;

Do you have surplus Heifers that are JBAS 7 OR 8?

Do you have heifers for sale, and have a JBAS status of 7 or 8? If so we would like to talk to you about the possibility of purchasing them. Like many we are understocked and have the opportunity to purchase stock for the first time in a long time. Please call Sam on 0438 792 140 if you are keen to sell.

Are you going to Beef Australia in May?

Beef Australia - have you got your tickets! https://beefaustralia.com.au/

Angus Australia is heading to Beef Australia 2021 in May, and this year will be hosting a seminar for beef producers called ‘The Angus Influence – from Performance to Profit.’ The seminar on Tuesday May 4 will focus on producer profitability, the opportunities for Angus use in the north and features the experience of two producers implementing Angus genetics in their operations. Taking part in the event will be speakers Ian McLean from Bush AgriBusiness; Sam Crowther, Harrow Grazing; and Robert MacKenzie, Macka’s Pastoral and Macka’s Australian Black Angus Beef. Sam will preside over the seminar as master of ceremonies. 

What Podcasts are you listening to a the moment?

Behind the Beef Podcast with Angus Australia featuring the one and only Sam White. Listen to Sam talk about our story and also about Angus Australia. There is a good Q & A session. Let us know what you think and if you have any further questions. Follow this link https://www.angusaustralia.com.au/behind-the-beef-episode-6-who-we-are-and-what-we-do/ 

Thinking about a minibreak in the High Country?

Kelly’s Cottage Farm Stay https://www.baldblairangus.com.au/farm-stay-with-airbnb

We have hosted a range of visitors over the last month and here is what they had to say about their stay: 

This place is amazing!

My husband and I stayed at Kelly’s cottage the night of our wedding and the groomsman the night before. It was wonderful! Everything fell perfectly into place and we enjoyed the beautiful view the next morning from the verandah, having our first cuppa as husband and wife. Would highly recommend, Kirsty is wonderful and very thoughtful. - Mrs Dimond 12-3-21

Kelly's Cottage is a beautiful place to stay. In the country - very peaceful and relaxing. Kirsty was there to meet us on arrival and tell us a bit of history of the area. The cottage is very comfortable and well presented. It sits high on a hill and has great views out over the property.

If you would like to enjoy our farm stay too - check out our availability here https://www.baldblairangus.com.au/farm-stay-with-airbnb