AFTER 380 millimetres of rain since the beginning of January, veteran grazier Jim Salisbury is feeling optimistic about the year ahead.
The 81-year-old carried several hundred weaners through the dry weather at his property, Landsdowne, Beaudesert, thanks to the fact he could farm hay on one of his blocks.
Now the veteran beef producer is also feeling buoyed by the demand for Australian grassfed beef in America. "It's really good news," he said.
"We've been behind everything else going ahead.
"If you want to buy anything it's a lot dearer now than it was even 10 years ago, but the price of cattle hadn't lifted at all.
"Now that it has, it gives us a bit of a start to try and get ahead again."
Mr Salisbury said the welcome rain had given him a reprieve from feeding his cattle, both Brafords and Droughtmasters, which he sells either as stores or directly to feedlots.
"I would say we are in for a good season and a good market," he said.
Like many others, Mr Salisbury said he was more or less trying to break even to cover expenses and had not yet sold any cattle this season.
But he said that was a move that could pay off with the steady rise in cattle prices.
"I'm not getting any younger," he said, so the focus was on keeping the enterprise less labour intensive.
The property has been in the Salisbury family since 1876 and Mr Salisbury's grandson, who is still at school, is showing a keen interest in the business.
"It is something to look forward to have someone like him to
carry on the business," Mr Salisbury said.
