When Scott and Katie Lloyd took over the reins of the Wieambilla feedlot, near Chinchilla, from Scott’s parents in 2009, the facility had a 4500-head capacity.
But a willingness by this dynamic duo to engage in high performance animal management systems, and to take advice, has enabled them to double production to 9500 head.
New rows of pens were constructed in 2014 and again in 2017 as part of a two-phase expansion strategy.
Plans are in place for another row to further expand and the feedlot will reach its licence capacity of 10,980 SCU early in the next decade.
Trading as Lloyd Pastoral, Scott and Katie have a consistent supply of cattle and buy out of the paddock. Their five buyers are based as far south as Wagga Wagga, Moree, Toowoomba, Roma and locally.
“We really avoid buying from saleyards wherever possible,” Scott said.
We are not about meeting a minimum standard, we like to exceed and go above and beyond
- Scott Lloyd
“We buy quality cattle and have forged good relationships with our regular producers who supply us, and we happily pass carcase feedback data to them.”
Their desire for attention to detail and to achieve the best possible results have been embedded since day one.
The Lloyds have implemented stock management systems that enable every animal to be tracked and monitored from arrival to dispatch.
One rule strictly enforced by the Lloyds is that all females are pregnancy scanned on arrival at the feedlot.
“If they accidentally arrive positive in-calf they are sent back, and if that is not possible, they are calved down in the paddock here,” Scott said.
Wieambilla is 3500 hectares and also carries 1500 to 2000 backgrounding cattle. The farming country grows fodder such as oats, sorghum and barley for the feedlot.
Scott said one of the reasons for their success was the great staff backing them.
“We have a staff of 10 and without them we don’t have a business,” he said.
“They are highly skilled and Katie and I value the contribution they make.”
Lloyd Pastoral was awarded the Woolworths agricultural supplier of the year in 2013, and have been named a finalist again this year.
Humble beginnings
The Lloyd family’s Wieambilla feedlot had very humble beginnings and was established by John and Anne Lloyd in the late 1970s as a way to feed their stud Santa Gertrudis bulls and finish a few steers.
These days Scott and Katie grain finish 30,000 head annually, bound for both the domestic and export markets.
“We are very proud of our relationship with Woolworths, as it is a 30 year partnership dating back to the mid 1980s,” Scott said.
“Our feeding objective for the Woolworths market is to feed steers for 80 days, while the heifers are fed for 70 days.”
In any given week, the couple trucks 12 decks of steers and heifers for the Woolworths market, processed at Teys Australia, Beenleigh.
The steers and heifers are brought in at 320 to 380kg and leave with an exit weight of between 500 to 540kg average weight, to return a HSC of between 250 to 280kg.
They also feed for the 100-day Japanese market and truck a similar number, split between Kilcoy Pastoral, Kilcoy and Oakey Beef Exports, Oakey.