CONSISTENT lines of heavy weaners are the goal for the Booth family at Wandoan and Charolais sires are helping him meet their market.
Charlie and his wife Jacynta, along with his parents Ronald and Lorraine Booth and sister Alison Worsfold and her husband Colin, run a large operation with a predominantly Santa Gertrudis-based herd over multiple properties around Wandoan on the Western Downs.
The family runs about 2000 breeders at Bonanza Park and Rainbow, with cull cows and replacement heifers run at Burunga.
It's a simple production that went through a big shift a few years ago when the family chose to run more breeders, moving away from feeder steer production.
"In the few paddocks we had for feeders we kept extra heifers and had more cows and started selling weaners at Roma," Mr Booth said.
The herd began with Herefords but by the early 1990s Santa Gertrudis bulls were used to better handle the country and climate.
"It used to be Santa/Hereford-cross but now it's predominantly a Santa base with a few broken faces."
A few years ago the family decided to introduce a European breed and they found the perfect fit in ANC Charolais bulls from the Cass family, based at Guluguba, just south of Wandoan.
"Joe Keppel, an old Nutrien agent, rang me and said they'd cross well over our cows so I went for a drive a month before the sale to have a look," Mr Booth said.
"In that first year we bought nine bulls, then three the second year.
"We missed the sale in 2022 but we'll be back to buy another six at this year's sale."
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Temperament and structure are the main priorities when the Booths are selecting bulls.
"We're after a nice big, long, soft bull - a big frame but with plenty of depth," Mr Booth said.
"With the Cass cattle, they're the hardest bulls to select because they're all so even - you're not going to be disappointed with any bull.
"They're nice, big, heavy, structurally-sound bulls with good temperament.
"They walk well, their structure is really good and they produce beautiful, soft calves."
The result is even lines of weaners which are sought after in the saleyards.
"When you're putting four or five bulls in the same paddock, you don't want a crop of weaners that are all different sizes, so having those consistent bulls makes them more attractive to buyers that are looking for even weaners," Mr Booth said.
"When they're weighed, they're a really tight cluster.
"And the heifers we've kept are very even."
The Charolais sires' ability to cover more cows is another advantage.
"They're incredible workers," Mr Booth said.
"I've been putting them with 50 to 60 cows and they'll come back in good condition.
"They don't even need a spell so they're obviously really good doers."
The Charolais genetics complement the large-framed Santa Gertrudis-cross cows, adding thickness to the herd and producing heavy calves.
"We get paid on weight at the end of the day so if you're producing weaners it pays to have European blood to get them heavier younger.
"The Charolais calves are heavy boned cattle and ready to grow."
The most recent weaners sold in June, at 11 months of age, made more than $1400 a head, with the best pen of 20 making 348.2 cents per kilogram and weighing 407kg.
Hybrid vigour is also paying off when it comes to the replacement heifers.
"We kept nearly all of the Cass (ANC sired) heifer calves and they're calving now with no issues," Mr Booth said.
"The first-cross heifers will get put to an Angus for their first calf, then it'll be a Santa over that cross to keep the breed mix.
"That's what I like about having a crossbred operation - being able to incorporate the best traits from each breed."
Carrying more breeders is a much more efficient operation and Mr Booth is hoping to add another 200 to 300 breeders to the production.
"With our country we probably should be running feeders, but in the past five or six years the weaner job has been in front and it's easier for us," he said.
"The disadvantage of selling weaners is if you're having a hard time you can kick feeders out and sell them off, but you can't do that with cows.
"We work hard to keep good replacements every year so you can lose a lot of good genetics if you sell cows.
"The advantage is we don't have to worry about managing steers throughout the year.
"You do have to watch your feed a lot more, otherwise you run into having nowhere to go."
Ruth Schwager
Ruth Schwager is a journalist with the national agricultural features team.
Ruth Schwager is a journalist with the national agricultural features team.
