Kerry Pfeiffer - Adapt to survive and thrive
‘It is important to have balance in your life, to enjoy what you do and where you live, as well as finding ways to make a living.’ Kerry Pfeiffer, Candelo, NSW
Location: Candelo, NSW
Property area: 460 ha
Enterprises: Beef cattle breeding, opportunity feedlot
Goal: To maintain a healthy work–life balance
Livestock: 300 Angus cows
Pastures: Phalaris, clover, African lovegrass, microlaena
Soil types: Granite (class 3 land capability)
Annual rainfall: 650 mm (short term) 875 mm (long term)
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Graeme & Liz Cook - Capitalising on the benefits
‘We always have plans in place, for the short and long term, but it is terribly important to be flexible.’ Graeme Cook, Charleroi, VIC
Location: Charleroi, VIC
Property area: 490 ha (two properties)
Enterprise: Beef cattle breeding
Livestock: 300 Angus and Charolais cows
Goal: To grow a sustainable agricultural business using high quality genetics to produce high quality beef
Pastures: Phalaris, ryegrass, clover and cereal–pasture silage
Annual rainfall: 700 mm (long term)
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Cherry Macklin - Change management practices
‘On average, I probably attend a workshop, field day or meeting about once every three weeks.’ Cherry Macklin, Ashbourne, SA
Location: Ashbourne, SA
Property area: 225 ha
Enterprise: Weaner production
Goal: To produce outstanding quality sustainable beef cattle
Livestock: 100 Murray Grey and Angus cows
Pastures: Clover, ryegrass, phalaris
Soil types: Volcanic loam, sandy loam and non-wetting sand over clay
Annual rainfall: 500–600 mm (predominantly winter–spring)
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Leonard and Faye Vallance - Creating a farm business plan
‘If we hadn’t made changes, we wouldn’t be here today. Our business wouldn’t have been viable. We would be gone.’ Leonard Vallance, Tempy, VIC
Location: Tempy, VIC
Property area: 7000 ha
Enterprise: Steer production for domestic retail market
Goal: To increase emphasis on fodder crops for cattle production
Livestock: 400 breeders
Pastures: Cereal fodder crops, summer cereal stubbles
Soil types: Sandy loams (pH 7.0–8.9)
Annual rainfall: 275 mm
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Ross Wills - Diversify to reduce risk
‘You have to be able to be flexible on the land, and these recent dry years have really brought that home.’ Ross Wills, Mandurama, NSW
Location: Mandurama, NSW
Property area: 12 000 ha
Enterprises: Beef cattle breeding, feeder steers, cropping
Goal: To produce consistently high quality Angus steers
Livestock: 2500 Angus cows plus young cattle
Pastures: Shotgun mix of pastures, fodder crops
Soil types: Various soils across all properties
Annual rainfall: 300–800 mm
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Liz and Mick Grimshaw - Drought savvy business skills
‘The key is to find ways to contain costs, be part of a strong community network, and look after the land to maintain pasture health and top productivity, even under trying circumstances.’ Liz Grimshaw, Flinders Island, TAS.
Location: Flinders Island, Tasmania
Property area: 1400 ha (1100 ha arable)
Enterprises: Beef cattle breeding and trading, prime lambs
Goals: To maximise productivity and minimise input costs
Livestock: 500 Angus cows, 1500 Coopworth ewes, trade cattle
Pastures: Vic ryegrass, cocksfoot, phalaris, clovers
Soil types: Sandy loam over clays, some peat
Annual rainfall: 600 mm (short term), 700 mm (long term)
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Brett and Ruth Hall - Review (and modify) farm plans
‘We believe ground cover to be vital … not only does this prevent erosion, it also means the pasture is readily able to respond to rain.’ Brett Hall, Oatlands, TAS.
Location: Oatlands, Tasmania
Property area: 1517 ha
Enterprises: Beef cattle, Merino wool
Livestock: 13 000 DSEs
Pastures: Ryegrass, clovers, native poa, kangaroo grass
Soil types: From heavy black cracking clays to sandy soils
Annual rainfall: 535 mm (short term), 600 mm (long term)
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Todd and Anne Woodard - Set objectives but remain flexible
‘Having long-term and short-term objectives … means that we can make management decisions that move us towards meeting those objectives.’ Todd Woodard, Wrattonbully, SA
Location: Wrattonbully, South Australia
Property area: 2200 ha
Enterprises: Beef cattle, prime lambs
Goal: To run a sustainable business with respect to land, people and profit
Livestock: 1000 Angus cows, 3000 sheep
Pastures: Phalaris, cocksfoot, chicory, ryegrass, lucerne
Soil type: Loamy sand
Annual rainfall: 475 mm (short term), 600 mm (long term)
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John and Kim Pugh - The benefits of diversity and scale
‘Our operation is spread geographically and has a range of different outputs, which means we can choose where to focus our production to maximise returns and minimise risk.’ John Pugh, Narrikup, WA
Location: Narrikup, Western Australia
Property area: 7000 ha (two main properties)
Enterprises: Beef cattle breeding and finishing, cropping
Livestock: 2500 breeders, up to 10 000 feedlot cattle, 3000 prime lambs
Pastures: Kikuyu, ryegrass and clovers
Annual rainfall: 500 mm (down from 750 mm) at Narrikup, 350 mm (down from 500 mm) at Three Springs
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