‘Myroodah Station’, West Kimberley, Western Australia

Shane and Abbie Dunn manage ‘Myroodah Station’ which is owned by Kimberley Agriculture and Pastoral Company (KAPCO) in West Kimberley, WA.

Operating across 404,000ha, the pastures on Myroodah Station range from ribbon grass, soft, curly spinifexes, wire grass and buffel, to kangaroo grass. Soils are cracking clays on river frontage, Pindan, and stony plains through to deeper desert sands.

The extensive beef cattle enterprise is primarily a breeding operation with 12,000 Brahman and Brahman-cross breeders.

The primary market are bulls which are exported to Vietnam from Broome.

Heifers are mated at two years old and cows can stay in the herd until about 13 years old. Good quality bulls are purchased from Queensland with estimated breeding values (EBVs) where possible and run at a proportion of 4% of the breeding herd.

At Myroodah Station, phosphorus (P) is a key piece of the productivity puzzle. Shane and Abbie took over management of the property four years ago and it was clear there were herd management issues.

“We had healthy cattle with minimal stress on them, knuckling over and our weaner performance was not consistent, so we knew there was an issue,” Shane said.

Shane got involved in both the 2019 and 2020 MLA P Challenges to determine if:

• P deficiency was an issue on Myroodah Station
• his P supplementation program was adequate.

The P Challenge involved collecting a blood sample from around 20 animals within a mob to test for plasma inorganic P (PIP). When combined with soil and diet quality assessments, based on faecal NIRS results from samples collected at the same time as the blood test, the P status and diet quality of the mob was determined.

Identifying the problem

The Challenges revealed Myroodah Station was located in one of the most P-deficient areas in northern Australia with blood PIP concentration in cattle around 1.0 mmol/L.

“I was surprised by the results as we were providing P in a traditional sense (wet season supplementation) and understood the area was P deficient, but the results showed we were still deficient and needed to look at our supplementation strategy,” Shane said.

“To make our business work we were looking at three key drivers – reducing herd mortality, increasing weaning rates and selling heavier cattle. So we were looking at all the options and P supplementation was an important tool to improve productivity overall.”

The new P approach

Traditionally, Shane would put a 30% urea-based product out in June before the cattle needed it and then supply a P-based supplement prior to the start of the wet season in November/December.

However, now the P Challenge is done and dusted, Shane is taking a different approach to P supplementation.

“We’re increasing the P percentage in our lick blocks from 12% to 15% and supplying the blocks on a year-round, 24/7 basis,” Shane said.

Shane uses a Mack six-wheeled ex-army truck with a Hiab crane to distribute approximately eight tonnes of lick blocks at a time.

“We put a pallet of blocks at the lick station which include six urea blocks, four phosphorus (15%) blocks, and a sulphur and mineral block in the dry season,” Shane said.

“I use P in lick block format because it’s convenient for my staff to distribute over a larger area, rather than concentrated in certain points – and we can leave more blocks out in the wet season without having to worry about conditions.

“I find the free choice approach in the dry season works well with cattle in different areas looking for different supplement. You can easily drive out and observe the use across the property.”

Results

Since using the blood tests to improve his supplementation strategy, Shane has improved liveweight gain, reduced herd mortality and increased weaning rates (see table below).

“No cattle are knuckling over now and we’re picking up a stronger, more even line of weaners. Plus, our sales weights are also increasing by 10–15kg per head,” Shane said.

“With changes to our management approach including the P supplementation, KAPCO weaning rates have increased from 58% to 76% and we’re getting more commercial buyer interest in our cattle. We have also received feedback that they are performing better in the export feedlot system.”

Table CS4.1: A modelled (Breedcow Dynama) comparison of the herd performance, turn-off age, turn-off value and gross margins with, and without, wet season P supplementation on Myroodah station in the West Kimberley

Raising the productivity bar

P supplementation is just one piece of the puzzle boosting productivity at Myroodah Station, where manager Shane Dunn has a suite of tools to increase the return on investment for station owner, KAPCO.

Here’s how Shane is improving productivity on-farm by focusing on four key areas.

1. Decreasing herd mortality

Shane manages calf mortalities by:

• focusing on a mustering and weaning program
• providing a thorough supplementation program
• having a good supply of feed available by monitoring stocking rates and paddock spelling
• implementing a feral animal control program for wild dogs and pigs.

2. Reducing stress

Breeder mobs are drafted and processed in a day and back on hay with calves that night. With the right infrastructure and station hands, approximately 1,000 breeders plus progeny can be processed comfortably in a day. Shane also tries to leave cow groups together and just takes out the non-performers.

Weaners are on pellets and hay and put through the yards twice a day for six days – this is done once with horses and then on foot.

Having completed this weaner management program for three years, the benefits are now coming through the herd – the heifers are relaxed in mustering and through the yards which reduces costs and is hopefully reflected in the future calving percentage. Sale cattle are also handling the mustering and yards easily with turn-off weights increasing each year.

3. Boosting fertility

To boost fertility across the herd, Shane takes a holistic approach including:

• implementing a thorough vaccine program from weaning onward, including vibrio for bulls and heifers, and 7-in-1 vaccination
• buying good quality bulls
• control mating maiden heifers
• taking out non-productive cattle from the herd post pregnancy testing
• supplementing with P year-round
• reducing the stress on the herd through management, staff training and infrastructure.

4. Building seasonal resilience

Good water infrastructure is one of the tools Shane uses to build seasonal resilience. Over the past three years, KAPCO has made significant investments in water infrastructure by:

• replacing diesel motors in their water pumps with solar (they are nearly 90% solar)
• increasing the volume-holding capacity of all bores to avoid a shortage of supply
• improving access to water with more bores and trough upgrades.

Land use is also being managed by:

• rotating and spelling some areas
• identifying where cattle can do better as a breeder
• putting dry (sale) cattle in areas that are better for nonlactating animals
• managing a fire program and adapting to seasonal conditions.