Graziers Jim Willmott and Wendy Thorsborne are embracing the idea of "quality over quantity," something which has served them well when establishing their impressive breeder operation in the South Burnett.
The couple moved to the region six years ago after selling their property at Langshaw near Gympie, but say that their country at Cloyna was exactly what they were looking for when wanting to grow their breeder operation.
"We thought we had the best country in the world over at Langshaw and when we came out here we thought wow, this is even better," Ms Thorsborne said.
Since purchasing their 300 hectare property, the couple have worked hard to improve their country with the hopes of building herd numbers and improving their genetics.
Mr Willmott and Ms Thorsborne are committed to breeding quality first-cross Charbray weaners, purchasing well-roudned Charolais bulls to put over their herd of Brahman cows, which the couple have culled to achieve ideal temperament and size.
The couple said that they enjoy the Brahman cows for their exceptional mothering abilities, while the Charolais content ensures efficient weight gain and increased returns, as well as their general market appeal with feedlotters and processors.
As well as planting improved pasture grasses and legumes to increase nutritional value and weight gain, rotational grazing has been a cornerstone in their mission to increase carrying capacity.
"You can definitely see the difference in the country from when we first came here, we've really done a lot of pasture rejuvenation," Ms Thorsborne said.
"We've really fenced off our waters and fenced around our land types too.
"We do a lot of rotating as well, just getting more out of every acre, and getting more organic matter and bulk out there too, keeping it there and looking after it.
"We've done a number of erosion projects around the place where there's been really bad gully erosion so we've fixed those up and where we had contour banks that weren't working, we've broken those and repastured."
Like many, Mr Willmott and Ms Thorsborne had to cut their numbers down during the drought, but thanks to decent water sources and the improvements to their paddocks, they were able to bounce back and are now seeing great results.
"Waterwise, we didn't have too much of a problem during the drought, but like everyone, we were running out of feed," Mr Willmott said.
"Fortunately we were able to maintain our base herd and that's allowed us, when the seasons good now, to really expand and get some really good breeders in there.
"We did find after the drought, because we'd been looking after the country and we were pretty understocked, when it did rain we got green feed straight away and we were able to move onto that pretty quickly."
Having seen their average yearly rainfall in the space of just five months, the couple said they faced a few complications but coming out the other side of the drought, both the country and the cattle have never looked better.
"This season's been good, but it's also been a challenge," Mr Willmott said.
"Just the sheer volume of water has been a challenge this year, but the grasses that have come back and the legumes are unbelievable.
"The country is very full, it's just phenomenal.
"The cattle have done really well too, you can see looking at the weaners that they're really well conditioned.
"There's just heap of grass and the legume that we're getting into them too, the protein must be very high this year, so they're going to weigh well I think."
