BROLGAS, BUSTARDS AND STATION LIFE ALONG
A WESTERN QLD STOCK ROUTE
July 2013
Life on the land
Kevin brought his family and 3000 stud merino ewes and 80 stud merino rams from Swan Hill to ‘Woolabra’ 37 km north of Charleville, in 1981. The 67 species of trees on the property were indicators of a variety of land types and he saw potential for introducing some irrigation. By 1988 he had bought two extra properties and increased sheep numbers to 35,000.
A joy of their property is the large flocks of bustards and brolgas – attracted by the water, but more importantly, the safety of the electric fence protected paddocks.
They breed safely within the fences and hence their numbers have flourished over the past 15 years. Birdo’s love them and many visit ‘Woolabra’ to seek them out.
The life of the pastoralist in semi-arid Australia is one of needing big dollars and the capacity (and nerve) to manage high risk. In the 1990 flood they lost 15,000 sheep including 800 stud rams and in 1991 the wool cheque dropped from $750,000 to $120,000 (never to recover). In 1995, after yet another flood, he needed to shoot 8000 sheep and their value had dropped to $1.50/head. A flood in 1997 cost them $100,000 in fencing repairs.
Some of the most recent flood detritus on a property fence
With the bank giving notice of foreclosure in 3 weeks the family had to come up with a viable plan that required no further capital borrowings. The resolution was the installation of a pivot irrigation system and cultivation of an Indian legume called guar beans.
One of four Pivot Irrigation units on property, the largest covering a diameter of 1.5km. Water flow can be infinitely adjusted to conserve water…more released on perimeter than in the centre …all controlled by computer.
Unfortunately the local kangaroos loved it and ate it out as soon as it started maturing. The second crop attempt was lucerne – very successful + wheat, but the sheep were at the mercy of wild dogs and pigs – they killed up to 170 lambs in one night. So the solution was to electrify the fences of the sheep paddocks – all 27km of them. It stops the dogs but they are badly damaged in floods.
Lucerne…a nitrogen replenishing crop, sheep fodder and prime hay crop…when enough water to grow to 40 cm or so. At the moment the water has dried up, but Lucerne can last through to first summer rains in November, if they come!
So today … good lucerne crops and hay production from irrigated paddocks; sheep production has swung totally to dorpers for quality meat production (they don’t have to be shorn). The property provides about 130 fat lambs per month to local saleyard and butchers. The trick is to reach 50kg weight before tooth emergence, otherwise ba-lambs become hogget at a lower price, but still (allegedly) sold as lamb in butchers mostly, if you ever wondered why you can’t buy hogget anymore!
Brahmin cattle are purchased in the NT and brought over to be fattened and then transported 700km to the closest sale yards.
Some fine Brahman cattle
HOWEVER, the last 15 months have been a disastrous drought with 47deg+ and dams dropping 1/2m in height each day. There has been no 2012/13 summer rain to replenish supplies and for the first time in 15 years their key irrigation dam is dry. Electricity costs have increased by $50,000 in the same period - Who would want to be a farmer!?
Kevin and his sons see problems as challenges and are determined to use their collective skills and assets to problem solve their way through. Their business is always focused on the medium to long term – and to meet their financial obligations, to conserve their land and water resource and to consolidate their family’s future with a third generation in the wings. They have managed to keep the wolfish banks from the door and certainly welcome the more “understanding” attitude of the current Queensland Government, a theme repeated by every Grazier we spoke to in Queensland.
Gone Droving...
Along the stock route following the Matilda Highway we have come across at least 5 big mobs of cattle of 2000+ head each in the last two days.
The loss of the live cattle trade to Indonesia, lack of good summer rain up north and the purchase of 14,000 head from Brunette Downs (NT) to be moved to Hay in southern NSW has meant that 000’s of head are on the move. The boss drover said it would take about 18 months to reach Hay – they have to keep moving in the one direction at least 10km per day. If they are on the track due to poor feed conditions they sometimes end up going in a big circle!
Boss Drover
Aboriginal people still do a lot of stock work in Western Queensland.
A team member at a Drover’s camp and her horse
A modern day Drover’s camp
A very modern grazing enterprise, Strathmore
Just north of Longreach Maria welcomed us to ‘Strathmore’ Station
Strathmore homestead, an oasis of green and Bouganvilleas
Purchased by her father in 1945 with a vision to provide a good life for his family and to help each child (subsequently 7), to eventually purchase their own property. In the intervening 68 years this has been achieved. The home station is a model of clever water management and a well thought out conservation approach to land management. Top quality Santa Gertrudis cattle are grazed with merino sheep.
The owners feel that cyclic swings in sheep meat and wool prices still even out in the long run and will remain with both sheep and cattle for the foreseeable future. The biggest challenge for them is to manage production costs in an era of static prices for their meat and wool, shortages of skilled labour (mining has increased demands for the same workers), and ever rising costs for transport and power - the closest abattoir is 700+km away.
Gidgee ridges are usually stony due to erosion of topsoil where grasses can’t grow due to competition withn Gidgee for resources.
Secondly, the river channel country which is expected to flood from Oct-May but protein in the pasture grasses is raised by this and the toxic nardoo grass is not too dense;
The latter is very carefully stocked so as to not overgraze the self cracking self-mulching fertile black soils. The Mitchell grass tussock can last for 20-30 years if grazed conservatively. One cow and calf are grazed at a density of 1.5 acres and 1 sheep every 3-4 acres.
The cattle husbandry was particularly interesting and managed carefully from computerized records. The stud stock are raised to produce quality bulls (for sale) the other 50% of the herd are for commercial beef production. In January cows are grouped into 30’s and placed with a bull for 9 weeks. If the cow isn’t impregnated she is off to the abattoir and if none are impregnated – the bull is off for the ‘chop’. As calves are weaned they are trained to be quiet whilst being handled and when they are at about 550-600kg just under two years of age they are sent to market. The breeding cows and bulls are kept until 9-10 years and then sold.
The road is straight and the cumulus clouds have even flat ‘bottoms’ on a background of clear blue sky.
Grey nomads are thick on the ground, all escaping cold weather further south and living the dream of unfettered freedom.
Grey Nomads "The Schoers" and friends at "campground", Wynuna pub, somewhere in outback Queensland
Towns like Charleville, Longreach and Winton vie for the tourist dollar by promoting the history and culture of the ‘Outback’, the Waltzing Matilda story, the QANTAS history and of real interest to us, the extensive dinosaur paleontology deposits. But that’s the next blog…stay posted!
Life is good.
From “The Wallaby Track” and a nice morning tea with Maria, the modern face of Outback station life, at Strathmore
Gary and Bronlyn Schoer, Sydney, Australia
Three months around Australia by campervan...
