NORTHERN NSW beef producer Matt Ehsman is a firm believer in maximising the productivity of his family’s cattle operation by ensuring a cool and calm approach to handling livestock.
Mr Ehsman runs a cattle breeding and trading operation that includes the 740 hectare home property property Trevallyn at Delungra, additional country at Inverell, and Wallangambon, a 5300ha breeding operation in the Maquarie Marshes.
However, applying the logic of a minimal stress approach is often easier said than done, considering the business buys in significant numbers of cattle from a wide variety of sources. Fortunately, Mr Ehsman is highly skilled at working teams of Kelpie dogs.
“Stress directly limits productivity and that directly impacts of the profitability of any cattle operation,” Mr Ehsman said.
“We avoid negative consequences by using suitable dogs that provide the necessary amount of control without applying any more pressure than is necessary.”
The Ehrmans focus on buying in 180-200kg young cattle which they grow out to feeder weights. However, they will take advantage of any opportunity including PTIC heifers and old cows.
Meeting the nutritional requirements of the cattle is also central to the low stress approach.
In addition to pasture and forage crops, the cattle are fed a supplementary ration containing a mix of wheat, barley straw, Riverina’s Bosse Beef liquid supplement, and the Alltech products Optisync, Yea-Sacc, and Mycosorb A+.
Mr Ehsman works closely with Alltech nutritionist Toby Doak to fine tune the performance of the herd and reduce the cost of gain. A purpose built manure sieve is used to monitor grain processing and fibre digestion.
Tony Grob from Riverina Stockfeeds in Warwick also analyses the grain and ration.
Optisync is a controlled release nitrogen source that enables the rumen to utilise coarser feeds over up to a 12 hour period.
Yea-Sacc is a live yeast that scavenges oxygen in the rumen. It is particularly useful in helping adjust the rumen bacteria in cattle arriving at Trevallyn.
Mycosorb A+ is used to bind potential mycotoxims, helping to increase feed conversion while avoiding scouring and poor digestion.