Business Feature
Griff and Janet Symonds manage Mt Flora Station which sits between Nebo and Moranbah. Together with head stockman Matt Garside, the team completed their 11-week mustering in November 2016.
Mt Flora employs a number of Jackaroos and Jillaroos to assist with the muster and safety is a key focus, particularly when yarding stock.
“We’re a commercial beef herd operation, with around 7500 Droughtmaster and Brahman-cross adult breeder cattle,” Griff said.
“We’ve got a crew of new staff and they’re very capable, but they’re still learning. Our old yards were fairly labour intensive and you needed to spend more time in with the cattle.”
Griff contacted ProWay Livestock Equipment after seeing their cattleyards near Emerald and Dingo.
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“There’s a number of ProWay yards that I’ve delivered to and I was very impressed with the construction quality and safety aspect.
“Now that we’ve built these, stock work is much safer and more efficient because they’re able to work the cattle without getting in with them, particularly in the working area. I think that tends to let them build confidence in themselves and develop their cattle handling skills.”
First round mustering will go from late February through to May this year. A good 2016 season for buyers means demand has improved.
“We try to work to our buyers requirements and a lot of the steers and the heifers have gone back into the Western areas around Longreach to restockers.”
ProWay worked closely with Griff to design a system that suited his needs.
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“It was an excellent experience. Initially we were looking at building something ourselves with a fairly traditional straight race, but we’re very happy that we went this way. The safety and stock flow benefits are clear.”
A captivating video showing the new yards in operation was popular on ProWay’s Facebook page with over 100,000 views. For more photos and videos of the new yards, head to www.proway.com.au/mt-flora-station