Rick Ford, manager of Fossil Downs situated at Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley, WA, purchased 20 bulls at the 2016 DN Sale which he said are performing well in the operations pure Droughtmaster herd.
“This year we had a big wet season which knocked them around slightly with the hot days so we had to carefully manage their performance but they adapted well and came out stronger and better for it,” he said.
Rick and his family moved from a nearby property to run Fossil Downs about 20 months ago.
“The property is 394,000 hectares, and has the Fitzroy and Margaret Rivers on the doorstep. These two water sources present a major opportunity for agriculture in Australia.”
He said the herd continually fluctuates with purchases, sales and natural increases but there are currently close to 20,000 head on property.
“Droughtmasters have been used on Fossil Downs for 30 years, and were brought in by former owners John and Annette Henwood who did a tremendous job in developing the herd.”
He said the aim in the development of the herd is for a polled beast that is both soft and mature with a high fertility rate, which are grown out to 350kg then sold to the local market.
“The poll gene from the Droughtmaster is a great selling point.
“We always test for the poll gene. We want a high semen count and strong morphology results. The bone structure must be dense and the beasts must have a safe sheath and definitely not be overfed.
“They have a great temperament, which is balanced with the breeds muscle formation and physical style.
“Their genetic make-up brings a high performance in terms of fertility which creates greater returns to the business and improves the herd.”
Rick said they haven’t had any rain since April, but there is a large stand of feed at Fossil Downs to keep the cattle in good shape.
“This is all part of our management plan.’
Rick said he loves being a beef producers as it’s a “fantastic life not just for me, but, also for bringing up my four daughters with my beautiful wife Stacey”.
“When you stand back and look into the industry for the most part everyone is positive. We definitely see growth going forwards.
“If we get Government support in WA I believe not only Fossil Downs, and not just cattle, but the whole of the Kimberley’s will grow and prosper.
“We just need to access a water from our rivers and re-charging aquifers year round so we can together make the Kimberley’s a powerful agricultural force in Australia.”
