WA Angus News January 2019

WA ANGUS NEWS JANUARY 2019

WA ANGUS COMMITTEE Chairman Mark Hattingh 08 9655 7065 Vice Chairman Liz Sudlow 0427 362 025 Treasurer Andrew Kuss 0428 761 240 Bruce Campbell 08 9525 2361

Craig Davis 0428 366 052

S. Gibbs-Hooper 08 9242 8894

Tony Golding 08 9725 4334

Mark Hattingh 08 9655 7065

Andrew Kuss 0428 761 240

Ken MacLeay 08 9755 1136

Jim McGregor 08 9831 0401

Pam McGregor 08 9831 0401

Richard Metcalfe 08 9846 8001

Lew Smit 08 9833 6250

Liz Sudlow 0427 362 025

Tony Sudlow 0428 362 032

Allison Wolrige 08 9755 1123

Lindsay Wolrige 08 9755 1123

David Topham 08 9651 8015

John Young 08 9884 5253 Secretary

Society Head Office

08 6263 3100 PO Box 135, Claremont, WA 6910

02 6772 3011 Locked Bag 11, Armidale, NSW, 2350

Angus Australia Director Andrew Kuss

The WA Angus News...

The Newsletter is a project of the WA Angus Committee sent to Society members in WA, Federal Councillors and senior staff of the society, people we know of in WA who have bought Angus cattle, stock agents & press - just over 1100 each issue!

The mailing list is continually revised and updated, so you may be receiving the WA Angus News for the first time. If you are on the mailing list and you would rather not be or if we don’t have your correct address, please advise the Newsletter & Mailing List Coordinator on the contact details below Shezanne Gibbs-Hooper Phone - 08 9242 8894 or 0409 025 099 Email - waangusnews@yahoo.com.au Post - PO Box 94, Wembley, WA 6913

The WA Angus News is printed by A-Team Printing 81 Acton Avenue, Rivervale, WA, 6103 Ph: 08 9478 3188 WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

CONTENTS Chairman’s Update

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A Bulls Influence in Your Herd

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Heifer Competition

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Pedigrees and EBVs

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Harvey Beef Commitment

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Shining the Light on Mental Health

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Methane and Livestock

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Tocal Beef Assessment

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Docility and Angus Cattle

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Streamline WA

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Perth Royal Show Results

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Drought and Dry Seasons

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In Memoriam

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Coordinators Note Hi Everyone, Welcome to the January 2019 edition of the WA Angus News. As you can see it is a new format and hopefully you all enjoy the read!

Thankyou to everyone for their contributions and advertising support - without this the WA Angus News would not exist.

Hopefully I haven't left anyone out or missed any stories and my apologies if I have. I would also welcome any feedback and look forward to putting together the next edition of the “newsletter”!

Kind regards, Shezanne

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CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE The 2018 year came to close with most people having finished harvesting one of the bigger production years on record. This was a good result considering the dry and later start to the season.

an exhibition of Angus Cattle, a luncheon and some presentations from industry leaders.

The Australian Angus Society will be celebrating their 100 year existence during 2019 with various States arranging their own functions.

citing news for all us WA Breeders.

We are also expecting a full representation of the Angus Australia Board of Directors in the I would like to wish you all a productive and suc- West for the day, including President Mr Brad cessful 2019 in your enterprises. The 2019 bull Gilmour and CEO, Dr Peter Parnell, as well as sale season is about to start where a large num- other leading breed development officers from ber of high quality animals will be presented, Angus Australia. good luck sellers may your hard work be reward- The Board has also scheduled a board meeting ed, to the buyers may your purchases produce for the following day which is the first time this many top quality calves. has occurred in many years. This is really exI look forward to seeing most of you during the year.

WA Angus Committee is well advanced in arranging centenary celebrations for our state. This will Mark Hattingh take place in Gingin on the 13th September with Chairman WA Angus

Save the Date ANGUS CENTENARY Black Friday 13th September 2019 Gingin WA 2019 marks 100 years of Angus Australia and WA Angus is planning a Centenary Celebration to commemorate the foundation of the Angus Society and the way the Angus breed has been promoted over the last century.

The day will include: • a display of Angus cattle • a history of Angus in WA • industry reps and information • guest speakers • a Centenary lunch • the chance to meet the full board of Angus Australia, including President Mr Brad Gilmour and CEO, Mr Peter Parnell.

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

Accommodation will be available at The Vines and transport to Gingin, if required.

For further information or to have your input, contact the organising committee: Chairman - Mark Hattingh 0419 399 557 Vice Chair - Liz Sudlow 0427 362 025 John Young 0427 845 253 Richard Metcalfe 0458 468 003 Ken MacLeay 0438 926 363 Andrew Kuss 0428 761 240

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ANGUS AUSTRALIA MARKS 100 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN IN 2019 The Angus Society of Australia (Angus Australia) will ring achievements and highlights of the Angus breed and the in 100 years as a cattle society in 2019, with the censociety members over the past 100 years. tenary celebrations kicking off in January and continuing The first major events kicking off the Centenary Celebrathroughout the year. tions will be the Thomas Foods International Angus Angus Australia was originally named the Aberdeen- Youth Roundup in Armidale NSW, January 10-13th 2019 Angus Herd Book Society and was founded by a tena- and the Sydney Royal Easter Show Feature Show, April cious group of Queenslanders in 1919, George Clarke 8th-16th 2019. from East Talgai, Macintosh Charles from the Gootchie Angus Australia will host a National Conference in AlbuStud and RS Maynard. ry NSW May 23rd -24th, with the theme of ‘Angus The first meeting held by the future society had the aim Through the ages – building better Angus Beef’. Angus of ‘forming a society for the preservation of pedigrees’ Royal Show features are also set for Adelaide and Meland took place in Brisbane on August 12, 1918. The so- bourne, with a number of rural shows across the counciety however did not officially materialise until its sec- try also featuring Angus. ond meeting on May 9, 1919, when after a constitution Planning is well in place for other states to also host Anwas drawn up by Mr RS Maynard for a society, the gus events during the centenary year, therefore Angus group formally decided to establish the Aberdeen-Angus enthusiasts are encouraged to visit the news and events Society Herd Book Society of Australia. James Cobb section at www.angusaustralia.com.au to stay up to White from Edinglassie was appointed as the first Presidate with what is happening to celebrate the Angus dent and RS Maynard as the Honorary Secretary. breed close to you.

The original society’s additional aim, ‘for the promotion of the best interests of importer, breeders and owners of Aberdeen-Angus cattle, and thereby the public generally’, resonates with the current Angus Australia aim of ‘promoting and enhancing the value of Angus’, almost 100 years on from this original sentiment.

Angus Australia today is a far cry from the society it was when first formed in 1919.

When the first Herd Book was published by the society in 1922, there were 14 listed members from every state except South Australia and included 65 bulls, 313 cows, a number of cattle in the appendices and listed the royal show winners from the previous years.

At the end of 2017 there were 3,590 registered Angus Australia members ranging from honorary life members down to junior members and a total of 67,034 calves were registered. The numbers nowadays show a vastly different society then that of its humble beginnings.

The Angus breed in Australia and the society is a generational achievement, with descendants of the original members of the society continuing to champion the breed as current members of Angus Australia.

In a true testament to the resolute and steadfastness of the Angus breed, the Aberdeen-Angus Herd Book Society pressed on through depressions, wars and droughts to achieve the centenary milestone as Angus Australia in 2019.

Over the course of 2019, Angus Australia will be looking back at Angus through the ages and celebrating the WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

Both Images: Volume 1 of the Aberdeen-Angus Herd Book of Australia was published in July 1922

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Understanding a bull’s influence in your herd Often the value placed on a bull within a breeding program has a very short-term focus, with high expectations on him and the immediate influence he will have. These expectations often lead to good bulls receiving a less then representative assessment of the value they have delivered to the herd. This is also the case with poorer bulls receiving higher praise then they deserve.

A bull’s immediate value to any breeding program is through the progeny he produces, whether that be through natural or A.I joining, he will ultimately be judged by the progeny he directly sires. The influence he has however is far greater and understanding his role, and the role past sires have, on the calves you produce this year is the key to realising genetic gain.

If we take a simple look at the influence of a bull, we see that the bull contributes about half (50%) of the genes to the progeny, with the cow contributing the remainder.

This we all know, but what we often forget, is the genetics carried by the cow is made up of about half of the genes of their sire.

So, if we then take a step back and look at our selection influence on the calf, what we see is that in a typical selfreplacing breeding program, that buys in bulls, this year’s bull has a ~50% influence and the previous sires we selected have ~25% (maternal sire) and ~12.5% (maternal grandsire) influence. Or another way of looking at this is that ~87.5% of the genetics of the calves is influenced by the sires used in the past 3 generations.

The influence of maternal sires and grandsires means that when we make selection decisions on a bull, we need to understand the decision in relation to the other decisions we have made. This is important because if we want to make genetic progress these selection decisions need to complement each other and the broader objectives of the breeding program.

Understanding then that a bull will have an immediate impact over 1-5 years in direct siring of progeny and then an additional 3-10-year impact on the cow herd and then a further reduced impact on the cows of the future in 20+ years, means when we make the selection we need to get it right and understand it with the future in mind.

Part of getting this decision right is about understanding what role the bull plays in our breeding program. Will you retain lots of his heifers? Will you retain none of his heifers? Will we use genomics in the selection of heifers? Will he sire a bull? All these questions aim to understand what sort of reach he will have. Only once we understand the impact the bull has on the breeding program can we WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

understand his value.

Whether commercially or seed stock focused the message remains the same, the value a bull has should be considered in the long term. The strong environmental influence on his physical performance often overshadows this but the success of your breeding program will depend on whether the bull improves your cow herd or keeps it average.

The average gets left behind Did you know that if an average heifer (50% percentile) is bred to an average bull (50% percentile) by the time the calf is able to be mated, it will be below average (bottom 50%) in the breed?

Genetic gain within the Angus breed has been driven by the great work seedstock producers have done in applying technologies like EBVs and genomics, blending them into programs which assess not only the physical characteristics we see in the animal but the science of breeding values. The importance of understanding then that the heifers we breed today will produce the cows of a better future means that if we want to produce more profitable cattle, we need to breed the cows we want in 10 years’ time, now.

Breeding values add value Gaining a true assessment of a bull’s potential value and the direction he could take the herd can be hard when relying only on physical traits and performance, because of the large impact environmental conditions have. The physical traits and performance provide valuable information, however need to be understood in relation to the performance of the herd, this is because; 1. Irrespective of the conditions, when exposed to the same conditions, the higher genetic merit animal will perform better than a lower genetic merit animal.

2. If exposed to different environmental conditions (such as feeding programs), the physical performance of poorer genetic merit animals can be above that of higher genetic merit animals.

3. A bull’s value to a breeding program is through his genetics, not his physical performance.

Breeding values take the hard work out assessing the merit of an animal because they take into account a huge amount of data, not only on the animal itself but also how animals in its pedigree have performed and how the genetics its carrying have performed in other animals. This performance is assessed in relation to how the animal performed in relation to other animals within the herd, which enables the influence of environmental conditions to be accounted for. (Continued on page 7 >>>) 6

Using breeding values and assessing the change in breeding values towards our breeding objective enables a bull’s value to be appropriately assessed. Producing the highest quality cattle relies not only on great genetics and breeding, but also suitable feeding and environmental conditions to allow the genetics to express themselves to their full potential.

Overall what this means is that means is if we are to realise the true value of a bull in our herd, we need to understand his impact is just one part of all the bulls in the pedigree. We need to understand that average doesn’t cut it and that if we want to have more profitable cows in the future, we need to make the right decisions now and understand what the bull has truly delivered to the herd, all of which is made easy with breeding values.

For further information or support contact staff at Angus Australia on (02) 6773 4600 or office@angusaustralia.com.au *From Angus e-news, October 9th 2018

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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Farm Weekly Heifer Competition Bendottis proud to promote Pemberton's Princesses!

WHEN it comes to commercial Angus breeders, they don’t come much more passionate than Pemberton beef producer John Bendotti. So, when the Bendotti family was invited to supply the Angus heifers for this year’s Farm Weekly-WA Angus Breeders WIN 10 Angus Heifers and Rosher/Kubota utility vehicle Competition, Mr Bendotti was understandably excited and “jumped at the chance”.

person interested in Angus cattle to win some really impressive Angus heifers. “The added bonus this year, is that the lucky recipient will also win a Kubota RTVX900G -A-AU utility vehicle to check and muster their new herd in.”

This year Rosher, in association with Kubota Australia, has come on board with the competition and in conjunction with Farm Weekly will be supplying the utility vehicle. Having been involved with the Kubota brand for more than 42 years the Rosher family know well the quality of products the company produces and are proud to be involved in providing the utility vehicle in this three-way partnership.

“It’s a wonderful competition and a great promotion for the Angus breed,” Mr Bendotti said. “I was hoping to get the opportunity to supply the heifers one year and the family are extremely proud and excited to be part of this year’s competition.”

With three generations still actively involved among a staff of 16 in their E & MJ Rosher Pty Ltd business, Kenwick, patriarch Ted Rosher in sales, his son Cameron as managing director and Cameron’s son Paul, a qualified diesel mechanic and wife Jane working in accounts and administration theirs is truly a family business. “We are The family’s trading name G & B Bendotti has grown to one of two original Kubota dealers in Australia and have be synonymous with quality Angus cattle and is among kept many clients happy with quality Kubota products the more revered commercial Angus herds in WA today. over this time,” Cameron said. “This utility vehicle is no And the opportunity to win 10 of their top 2018-drop exception and I have no doubt the lucky winner will be purebred unmated Angus heifers affectionately known very happy with it.” as the ‘Pemberton Princesses’ valued at $15,400 (inc GST) shouldn’t be missed. Throw in a Kubota RTVX900GAlso a family operation, John Bendotti farms with his A-AU utility vehicle worth $22,645 thanks to Rosher, Kuwife Christine and brothers Peter and Stephen and their bota Australia and Farm Weekly and the total prize value respective wives Dayle and Robyn. John and Christine’s is a whopping $38,000. And one lucky Farm Weekly subson Jason works on the farm and while she works in the scriber is set to win it all. cattle industry off-farm for parts of the year, their daughter Lisa retains a strong interest in the family’s Over the past 11 years the joint venture competition Angus cattle. The history of the Bendotti’s property and between WA’s biggest selling rural newspaper Farm cattle herd dates back to humble beginnings. John’s late Weekly and WA Angus Breeders, has seen more than father, also named John, migrated from Italy to Australia $130,000 worth of heifers from Keysbrook, Gingin, Cooin the early 1940s and after marrying their mother Lina, lup, Wagerup, Denbarker, Esperance, Kojonup, Lake settled on a 20 hectare block north-west of Pemberton Grace, Wilga and Kalgan won by 11 lucky Farm Weekly where they milked cows, grew potatoes and raised six subscribers. WA Angus Society chairman Mark Hattingh children. said the competition has been a really successful partnership between Farm Weekly and Angus WA for more The Bendotti’s property now spans 486 hectares where than a decade and it has been exciting for the breed to they run between 250 and 260 Angus breeders, plant see the success of the competition over the years.

73ha of potatoes annually, have almost 4500 avocado trees ranging from one to four years of age and produce “As a society we certainly feel very privileged to be in300 to 350 square bales of hay annually for mostly their volved in such a long running competition with Farm own use. The family’s potatoes supply Bendotti ExportWeekly and are grateful for Farm Weekly for making it ers and WA Chips in Manjimup which they own in partpossible,” Mr Hattingh said. “It is a great competition nership with their cousins D Bendotti & Sons. John said and a win-win for everyone involved and a great promothe brothers effectively took control of the family farm tion for our breed at a very opportune time during the at a young age after his father’s ill health began respringing heifer and bull selling season. “The competistricting his capacity to work on the farm. “I have tion continues to grow each year in terms of the support worked on the farm for 52 years, I left school at 13 years we receive from our members and Farm Weekly, along -old after dad’s first minor stroke in 1966,” he said. with the entries received and this year will be no differ“While my older brother Joe moved on to do his own ent in terms of the prize on offer. “Again, this year, the thing, myself, Peter and Stephen still farm together after competition provides a fantastic opportunity for any all these years which isn’t that common these days.”

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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John said the depression of the cattle market in 1973 saw the family transition from a dairy herd into beef production. “We decided to have a clean out and sold our dairy cows and calves for $15 to $25 each,” he said. In December 1973 the Bendottis purchased 100 fifth to sixth calving PTIC Angus cows and calves due to calve in March from Epasco Farms in Esperance costing them $80 landed on-farm. The following year they purchased another 100 PTIC Angus heifers also due to calve in March from Epasco Farms for $120 landed on-farm. All females in the Bendotti herd can be traced back to these foundation breeders through pedigree tagging and performance monitoring of the calves.

through their livestock agent of 30 years, Colin Thexton, Independent Rural Agents, Pemberton.

When speaking on the Bendotti family’s cattle Mr Thexton firstly said he wanted to congratulate John, Peter and Stephen for being selected to supply the Angus heifers for this year’s competition. “I have had the privilege of being involved with the Bendotti family’s Angus herd for the past 30 years,” Mr Thexton said. “In this time John being supported by Peter, Stephen, his wife Christine and children have bred an Angus herd that is one of the best in the State and throughout the years his heifers, which are sold annually, have always topped the market and have set up numerous herds in the South “Since the Epasco breeders, we have never purchased West. “John’s ability to be five years in front of the game another female and continue to run a completely closed with his skill and eye for sourcing the best genetics availherd on the female side and have been breeding straight able and his unwavering passion and belief in the Angus bred Angus on the place for 45 years,” John said. The breed is inspiring to all of us who know him.”

Bendottis have used sires from Mordallup, Koojan Hills and Serena Park and enjoyed a 25-year association with the Young family’s Strathtay stud until it dispersed in 2014. More recently the Bendotti herd carries a strong Lawsons Angus influence with bulls also purchased from Little Meadows, New Generation and Diamond Tree.

“There are no better judges of cattle and genetics than Andrew Cabassi and Colin Thexton and I have learnt a lot from those two,” Mr Bendotti said. “Before anything I check a bull’s birthweight, feet and legs and temperament then I begin to look more closely at its genetics and figures, mainly for growth, intra-muscular fat, eye muscle area and milk. We buy three to four new bulls each year and at times up to six if required and the cost is right. I will go anywhere to purchase the right bull. We introduced some bulls from John Roberts’ The Grange stud in the early 2000s and the genetic improvement in the herd was out of sight, particularly in milk, fertility and temperament. We purchased a Circle A 2000 son from The Grange as a yearling and one of my biggest regrets was not storing semen from it.”

John said another sire to have an enormous impact on the Bendotti herd was a Koojan Hills son of Ardrossan 109 offered as a replacement sale bull 11 years ago for $10,000. “Some of the most sought after females come from Ardrossan 109 - they are big, roomy, milky and extremely docile cows,” he said. “And it had some incredible figures for its time; +133 600day weight, +6.9 EMA, +2.4 IMF and +138 mature cow weight.”

Coincidentally, semen in storage from this bull was used for the first time in six years in last year’s AI program and two of the 10 heifers selected for the competition are by Koojan Hills Ardrossan 109. Other sires represented in the competition heifers are Lawsons Angus bulls Evident and Dinky Di and Strathtay New Dimension 131.

The Bendottis have been selling their cattle on AuctionsPlus (previously CALM) for the past 28 years WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

Thanks to Jodie Rintoul and Trevor Emery at Farm Weekly for providing the articles and photos of the Heifer Competition, it is greatly appreciated!

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The WA Angus Committee would like to acknowledge and say THANK YOU to the following studs that have committed to supporting the Farm Weekly/WA Angus Heifer Competition...

Your support is much appreciated!

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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PEDIGREES and EBVs In an article on the Angus Society website on 22nd October 2018, it was mentioned that the start of the Angus Australia Herd Book in 1922 there were 65 bulls, 313 cows and a number of cattle in the appendices, pointing out that pedigree information has remained as relevant today as it was then.

The article pointed out that the integrity of the herd book depends on accurate pedigree information being recorded and the information obtained through a pedigree provides a valuable link to connect data with animals.

There is no doubt that with the huge changes in the amount of data available on any single animal in 2019 through Estimated Breeding Values and, more recently, the $Indexes, has helped breeders make very informed decisions about the direction of their breeding programmes. The use of artificial insemination (A.I.) and embryo transfer (E.T.) as well as developments in genomics has also assisted that decision making.

While we have sire verified many of our calves if they have been late for AI and early for the follow up bull, we decided this year to ensure that every 2017 born bull planned for use at home or for sale this year would be sire verified.

Part of the reason for that decision was stories heard of inaccurate sires of other bulls, and the acceptance that there is thought to be up to a10% inaccuracy in the pedigrees in our Australian Herd Book. We plan to continue to sire verify all the bulls; if we could persuade the powers that be to reduce that cost, then we would probably test all the breeders in the herd.

Suffice to say that ensuring accurate pedigree information is fed into the system that is Breedplan and Genomic assessments is crucial as wrong allocation of a sire has wide-reaching effects on that information for every animal even slightly related to the animal in question, and thus to many breeding programmes in the industry.

But for a breeding programme to really succeed, So, a plea for 2019: let’s all aim to ensure as far there must be accurate pedigree information. as possible accurate pedigrees of the animals we sell into the breeding chain, even if it means Before EBVs, $Indexes, Genomic Assessments paying a little for that accuracy in our own herds. and AI/ET were available, breeders depended on knowing the pedigrees of the animals and I - Pam McGregor, Kojonup can remember my late father-in-law being able Thanks to Pam for this contribution it is greatly apto reel off generations of the bulls he was breed- preciated! ing, and making breeding decisions based on that knowledge acquired over the years.

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COVETED AUSTRALIAN BEEF AND LAMB COULD BE BIG WINNER FROM CHINA ONLINE SALES BOOM! Online shopping is projected to be the fastestgrowing way beef and lamb is purchased in China, research has found.

Key points: • Australia 'perfectly positioned' to offer products online customers are demanding • Niche meat producer says opportunities will open for smaller businesses in Australia • China demanding premium meat because of lack of local supply

est meat processors, signed an animal protein supply deal with retailer Alibaba worth more than $1 billion. Mr Zhu said many large meat deals were being signed in China, but for smaller or niche businesses, selling online was a different story.

Robyn Verrall, a meat producer in South Australia's upper south-east, previously sold meat on Alibaba, but now sold directly to an exporter. "[Selling on Alibaba] was relatively easy, as everything is online, but the process from start to finish to payment became quite fraught with many hurdles we had to jump over, and banks had to jump over," While e-retail accounted for a small amount of she said. "It actually became easier for us as a meat sold in China — about 5 per cent — Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) research has project- niche company not to do it online." ed the channel would grow about 16 per cent anMs Verrall said large international marketplaces nually until 2020. could get crowded with huge processers but believed more doors would open for businesses in "The lack of high-quality retail infrastructure is pushing [Chinese] consumers to adopt online chan- Australia. "I'd be interested as anyone to see how this business-to-business industry of large quantinels more quickly than other countries," said Joe Zhu, MLA's wider China country manager. "It's be- ties meat being sold online goes," she said. cause of a lot of factors — the quality of meat in "It is exciting times for the processors and perhaps the traditional channels, the difficulty in dealing with these traditional channels, and also the high that leaves the door open for us niche producers to actually have a platform that sells to Australia." cost of the supply chain itself.”

"It means online retailers have a huge advantage when they structure their supply chain properly."

Mr Zhu said Australian meat producers were wellplaced to benefit from online shopping because customers were likely to seek out Australian meat.

*From Scanning the Media, Article by Leonie Thorne https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-11-22/ chinese-online-shopping-sales-beef-lambgrowing/10514890

But he said the Australian industry needed to stand out from its competitors, which included Brazil and Argentina.

"These South American countries have good access to China with products and are very competitive on price, which is taking market share from Australian processors," Mr Zhu said.

"But at the same time, from a demand side, there's a certain trend for more premium, higher quality product that Australia is perfectly positioned to offer."

Earlier this month JBS SA, one of the world's largWA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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Harvey Beef continues commitment to Angus cattle into 2019 We would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers of WA Angus News a happy and prosperous 2019.

Angus cattle continue to be a focus for Harvey Beef and we thank you for your hard work and commitment to producing high quality Angus beef for our customers throughout 2018.

2019 sees the centenary of Harvey Beef, a significant milestone for us and an opportunity for us to celebrate 100 years of supplying WA beef to Australia and beyond and 100 years of working with WA beef producers.

We continue to work in partnership with Coles in WA to supply Angus beef for their own brand and customer feedback is very positive.

Please talk to the Harvey Beef Livestock team on 08 9729 0000 or livestock@harveybeef.com.au to learn more about working with us.

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

2019 year letter is ‘Q’ Members are reminded that the year letter for the 2019 calf registrations is ‘Q’.

For more information on registering your calves please feel free to contact the Member Services Team at Angus Australia on P: 02 6773 4600 F: 02 6772 3095 E: regos@angusaustralia.com.au

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Little Meadows - Shining the Light on Mental Health Local southwest farmers Peter and Judy Milton are mak- bourne Royal Show Female Sale, with all the proceeds ing headlines around the nation in raising awareness going to this great cause. about mental health for the Black Dog Ride.

The young ‘P’ drop heifer that is to be selected will have Since 2010, the Milton’s have raised and offered more leading genetics, great structure and the type that Little Meadows believes will perform in any herd across the than $83,000 for the charity through the sale of cattle. country.

At the beginning it was supposed to be a one off thing but they have not been able to stop since.

This will be a rare opportunity to not only invest in a beautiful Angus heifer but to also support an initiative In promoting this rarely talked about condition, they which keeps conversations around suicide prevention have taken steers named ‘Winston’ and heifers named going in our regions and more specifically in the agricul‘Clementine’ to the Kimberley, to local private and public tural sector. schools, on the Busselton jetty, to Parliament House, mine sites, shopping centres, men sheds and have sold a total of 11 animals at auction throughout Australia.

With the suicide rate increasing its more important than ever before to start conversations around depression and suicide prevention. The program has engaged undress of people, young and old, taking the black dog out of the shadows and shining a beacon of hope into peoples lives.

In showing their support Little Meadows Angus Stud is honoured to offer an elite Angus heifer at the 2019 Mel-

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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METHANE AND LIVESTOCK Ever since the U.N. document “Livestock’s Long Shadow” promoted the theory that farm livestock especially cattle, are a major source of CO2 via methane, contributing to a rapidly changing climate, I have been very concerned for our industry.

have been around for eons producing methane?

This is a classic example of, if we ask the wrong question, we can expect the wrong answer. The question asked is “How have human activities contributed to raising greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, principally CO2?”

the replacement energy source and not trying to “engineer” our way into the unknown territory with people’s diet and therefore health.

the front foot?

Thanks to Jim for this contribution it is greatly appreciated!

The fact is that nature had and has that issue covered and has had for a very long time.

Fossil fuel use, on the other hand, has contributed massively over the past two centuries if Most scientists seem to give credibility to the that; soil organic carbon has also contributed theory, based on methane being many times to CO2 atmosphere levels, as organic matter more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2, that has declined since soil was first cultivated. reducing livestock numbers producing meThe rise in CO2 levels can be blamed largely thane, we can contribute to saving the planet. on fossil fuels. The focus should be on finding

Does fake meat from Round Up Ready Genetically Modified Soy appeal?

Our red meat industry can be the most susHuman farming activities and particularly live- tainable protein source we have. Grazing stock farming, have been the focus since Live- management is a powerful tool in regenerating stock’s Long Shadow. our soils and our grasslands can be a massive There have been a number of studies in more carbon sink. recent times suggesting the model focussing The future for our industry should be incredibly on cattle (ruminants) and methane is inappro- bright. priate. A study by Dr Albrecht Glatzle highlighted in the 3rd January 2019 Farm Weekly is However, the methane issue is the elephant in the room that we must challenge. worthy of a follow-up through Mr Google.

So, how can we defend our industry and be on - Jim McGregor, Kojonup We know that methane has a life in the atmosphere of 8 – 10 years, when it then breaks down to CO2 and H2O. The methane from ruminants, and other organisms that produce methane from the breakdown of organic matter, has been in circulation for thousands if not millions of years.

Probably the number of livestock contributing methane would likely be much higher that the number of grazing animals in the world now.

There are also microbes in the soil that use methane.

So, we need to ask our critics why are our animals so much of a problem now when they WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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TOCAL BEEF ASSESSMENT COURSE Since the day I was born I’ve been my dad’s shadow and couldn’t miss out on one day of helping out on the farm. Cattle have always intrigued me and I’ve found myself very passionate about the Angus breed, through to calving, selecting genetics and determine elite future breeders.

was to choose the most appropriate bull to be used in a self-replacing herd over yearling heifers. Their progeny would then be sold to feedlots for the long -fed trade.

After we had all spoken it was obvious that all our opinions differed. I based my opinion on what we I completed yr11/12 at Harvey Agricultural College would choose over in WA a decent sized calf that and graduated in 2016. I then came home to the would hit the ground with ease and a consistent family farm, Mordallup Angus Stud. I’ve been a part growing pattern on and off mum. Presentations folof the business for over two years now full time lowed and I placed 6th overall. working and hope to one day continue breeding I'd like to thank the WA Angus Committee for giving Prime Angus Animals and follow into my family’s me this opportunity and highly recommend to any footsteps. beef enthusiasts to head over and attend the Back in the beginning of October 2018, I attended a course. You’ll meet very interesting people and come home with another feather in your hat!

Beef Cattle Assessment Course held at Tocal Agri- Diana Muir, Mordallup Angus Stud cultural College, Paterson in NSW. I was lucky to receive a sponsorship of $500 from the WA Angus *Thanks to Diana for sending in this report for the newsletter, it is much appreciated!

Committee, which went towards to cost over the three day course.

A group of 50 beef breeders and enthusiasts were tutored and tested on bull, heifers and steer assessment, market specifications, breeding to target markets and use of performance records. (EBV’s) Each day before being put into the yards we had eight lectures presented over the few days and were spoken predominantly by Bob Dent and Matthew Reynolds, Breed Development Officer. We were split into four groups and put to the test of judging many breeds to market specifications which was both challenging and informative.

If you would like more information about all things ANGUS YOUTH please visit www.angusaustralia.com.au/ angusyouth Or for further information during business hours (8.30am – 5pm) please contact Candice Liddle Events and Youth Development Officer P: 02 6773 4622 E: youth@angusaustralia.com.au

Overall, we judged around fifteen classes of animals in which you were scored on. Once handing in your placing and question card, the overjudges commented on each of the classes as a whole group discussion. We were asked where we had placed the animals and our reasoning why.

At the end of day three the top ten highest scorers were announced and we were asked to speak about a group of four yearling bulls. The scenario WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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BEEF AND HGPS: IS THE CONSUMER ALWAYS KING? When it comes to what it driving purchase decifacts on the table, to open the conversation about sions around beef, should the goal be purely to un- HGPs up, rather than just accept what is arguably derstand consumer demands and meet them? an irrational consumer demand?

Or is there room to actually create, or at least guide, demand?

MLA’s top marketing and communications talent Lisa Sharp suggested it would be very difficult to turn back the tide of consumer perception on this Calls are starting to emerge, particularly from the producer end of the supply chain, around the viabil- one. ity of changing tack when it comes to responding to “I firmly believe there is only one person putting consumer demands around hormone growth pro- money into the value chain - the consumer,” she motants. said.

The argument stems from the sizable production benefits - faster weight gain with good feed and more efficient feed conversion being the big two coupled with the fact endless evaluations of public health risks have shown hormone levels in meat from treated stock are well within normal and indeed below that in other foods.

Mining consumer insights with the view to targeting emerging demands has for some time now been touted as the way forward for Australia’s beef industry in a world of increasingly intense competition from competitors with lower costs of production.

The idea of ‘natural’ was a major trend driving consumer food purchases, she said.

“Rightly or wrongly, what we are seeing in our work is that ‘natural’ means no HGPs when it comes to red meat,” Ms Sharp said. “And retailers are responding to that.’

Weight of evidence means little in the art of marketing, it seems.

“You can present all the science on the benefits of HGPs but the reality is, if it’s linked to productivity gain, the consumer is not interested,” Ms Sharp said.

The industry’s big research, development and marketing provider Meat and Livestock Australia is investing record sums into consumer research and market segmentation.

“They care about what they put in their bodies and they don’t like the idea of a growth promotant.

Outgoing managing director Richard Norton’s “consumer is king” philosophy has gained enormous traction.

*Article from Scanning the Media - https:// www.farmonline.com.au/story/5818673/beef-andhgps-is-the-consumer-always-king (Shan Goodwin@shangoodwinbeef 20th Dec 2018)

“Whether its rational or irrational, it's certainly the consumer perception.”

However, just what that strategy means was put under the spotlight to a degree at this year’s industry forums held around the MLA annual general meeting in Canberra last month(November). Audience question time in a marketing session saw MLA drilled on whether there was potential to counter the negative perceptions that exist about HGPs. Why have there been no efforts to lay the scientific WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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DOCILITY AND ANGUS CATTLE I would like to draw reader’s attention to the 2016 Study conducted by CSIRO (please see article below), which found that docility score in cattle can improve without having an adverse effect on growth, fat, muscle and reproduction. It confirms docility as an independent trait and gives confidence that selection for improved docility will not come at a cost somewhere else.

Docility EBVs are available on almost all AI Sires in use today and can be obtained by referencing the particular sire on the Angus Australia website data base.

In our experience docility scoring requires commitment and consistency but can be used to drive significant change. We have been submitting temperament scores on all progeny since 2011. To convince ourselves that we were capable of collecting the data accurately we practised for a year or two beforehand.

This involved testing at 200 days of age and repeating the test again as the animals grew. We found we got a good correlation and on that evidence we started submitting data. The positive effect on temperament in the herd is significant.

- Ken MacLeay, BLACKROCK ANGUS (*Thanks to Ken for this contribution it is greatly appreciated.) netic correlations between docility score and the production traits indicates that docility score is largely independent of these traits and that selection to improve temperament can occur without The temperament of cattle is believed to affect the having an adverse effect on growth, fat, muscle and profitability of the herd through impacting produc- reproduction. tion costs, meat quality, reproduction, maternal behaviour and the welfare of the animals and their Animal Production Science 58(2) 213-223 S. F. Walkom, M. handlers.

G. Jeyaruban, B. Tier and D. J. Johnston.

GENETIC ANALYSIS OF DOCILITY SCORE OF AUSTRALIAN ANGUS AND LIMOUSIN CATTLE

As part of the national beef cattle genetic evaluation in Australia by BREEDPLAN, 50 935 Angus and 50 930 Limousin calves were scored by seedstock producers for temperament using docility score.

Docility score is a subjective score of the animal’s response to being restrained and isolated within a crush, at weaning, and is scored on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 representing the quiet and 5 the extremely nervous or anxious calves.

Genetic parameters for docility score were estimated using a threshold animal model with four thresholds (five categories) from a Bayesian analysis carried out using Gibbs sampling in THRGIBBS1F90 with post-Gibbs analysis in POSTGIBBSF90. The heritability of docility score on the observed scale was 0.21 and 0.39 in Angus and Limousin, respectively.

Since the release of the docility breeding value to the Australian Limousin population there has been a favourable trend within the national herd towards more docile cattle. Weak but favourable geWA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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Angus BREEDPLAN Sire Summary January 2019 This Angus BREEDPLAN Sire Summary contains a summary of the Angus BREEDPLAN Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) for selected sires recorded in Angus Australia’s Herd Book Register (HBR), Red Angus Register (RAR) and Angus Performance Register (APR).

Several different reports are provided within this publication, including: • 50 Sires with Most Progeny in the Last 2 Years • Sires in the Angus Sire Benchmarking Program (by Cohort) • Published Sires Report • Top 100 Sire Listing (by Trait) • Top 100 Sire Listing (by Selection Index) Just go to www.angusaustralia.com.au to check out this informative summary!

Updated EBVs Now Available January 2019 Angus Australia wishes to advise that the January 2019 Angus BREEDPLAN analysis has been completed and updated EBVs are now available. Now that the January analysis has been completed, the following reports are available to download from the “Files to Download” section of the Member Login area on the Angus Australia website. If you do not have access to the Member Login area or have forgotten your password, please contact Angus Australia.

•

Individual BREEDPLAN Herd Report • Outlier Report (where applicable) • Completeness of Performance Report • File of updated EBVs for upload into compatible software programs Please note the upcoming BREEDPLAN submission deadlines: ANALYSIS

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

RESULTS AVAILABLE (Indicative)

Mid-January

January 1

January 17

February

January 15

January 31

Mid-February

February 1

February 17

Please contact Angus Australia if you have any questions regarding these submission deadlines.

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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WA Farmers Welcomes Streamline WA WA Farmers welcomes Premier Mark McGowan’s announcement launching Streamline WA.

“These tasks were attributed directly to servicing the requirements of red tape. As the cost of producWestern Australian agriculture contributes approxi- tion has increased with CPI since the time of the study, these costs will have only increased signifimately $8.5billion to the State’s econocantly. my, however one of the largest inhibitors on the sectors ability to grow and prosper is the impact of “Relaxing red tape requirements for small to mediover-regulation. WA Farmers President Tony York um businesses will provide further opportunities for said primary producers have a vast range of licenc- business owners to reinvest in their operation – this es, permits and applications they must lodge and could be expanding their enterprise, updating makeep current to operate. chinery or increasing their staff.

“Many of these requirements could be removed or streamlined, creating greater efficiencies for those operating in the agricultural industry.

“A Holmes Sackett report A snapshot of red tape costs on farm in Australia undertaken in 2014 outlined the impact bureaucratic processes were having on primary production businesses.

“These improvements have a significant impact on the efficiencies of farming business and will also aid to stimulate the local economy in regional Western Australia.”

WA Farmers welcomes the opportunity to be involved in Streamline WA and working towards removing unnecessary red tape within the State’s val“The report highlighted that a mixed enterprise had uable agricultural industry. an expense of $43,935 per annum, which equates to *Article link - https://wafarmers.org.au/wafarmers-welcomesstreamline-wa/ (By - optimiseonline, December 12, 2018) 29 days (6 working weeks).

#angusthroughtheages Angus Australia will celebrate 100 years as an organisation in 2019, and we want you to highlight your spot in the Angus Australia history!

We are calling for any members that may have any photos from the vault that showcase the history of the Angus breed in Australia, to share them on social media using the hashtags #angusthroughtheages And #100YearsofAngusAustralia.

Help us celebrate the diversity of the Angus breed by sharing your significant moments that make up part of the Angus history.

The Angus Australia social media channels: Instagram: @angusaustralia Facebook: Angus Australia Twitter: @angusaustralia The Angus Youth social media channels: Instagram: @angus_youth_australia Facebook: Angus Youth Australia Twitter: @angusyouthaus WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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PERTH ROYAL SHOW 2018 A junior Angus heifer took out the ultimate award of Supreme Angus exhibit at the 2018 Perth Royal Show.

Little Meadows Champagne N3, exhibited by Little Meadows Angus prevailed over the Junior and Grand Champion Angus Bull, Tullibardine Nitro N61, exhibited by AG & JC Murray, to win the title, after being crowned the Junior and Grand Champion Angus Female.

Congratulations to all exhibitors.

‘PRS 2018 RESULTS’ (From Angus Australia website)

Class 13 – Female, over 15 & not over 18mths 1 Little Meadows Edwina N51 (AI) 2 Monterey Heartache N67 Class 14 – Female, over 18 & not over 21mths 1 Little Meadows Champagne N3 (AI,ET) 2 Fernwood Edwina N18 3 Tullibardine Julitha N46 JUNIOR CHAMPION FEMALE Little Meadows Champagne N3 (AI,ET) RESERVE JUNIOR CHAMPION FEMALE Little Meadows Edwina N51 (AI) Class 15 – Female, over 21 & not over 33mths 1 Little Meadows Edwina M18 (AI,ET) Class 16 – Female, over 33mths 1 Little Meadows Edwina D4 (AI,ET) SENIOR CHAMPION FEMALE Little Meadows Edwina D4 (AI,ET) RESERVE SENIOR CHAMPION FEMALE Little Meadows Edwina M18 (AI,ET) GRAND CHAMPION FEMALE Little Meadows Champagne N3 (AI,ET) WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

Class 17 – Bull, over 9 & not over 15mths 1 Monterey True North N187 Class 18 – Bull, over 15 & not over 18mths 1 Tullibardine Noddy N160 Class 19 – Bull, over 18 & not over 21mths 1 Tullibardine Nitro N61 2 Monterey Navajo N9 3 Tullibardine Narrikup N25 JUNIOR CHAMPION BULL Tullibardine Nitro N61 RESERVE JUNIOR CHAMPION BULL Monterey True North N187 SENIOR CHAMPION BULL Monterey Mighty M237 GRAND CHAMPION BULL Tullibardine Nitro N61 SUPREME CHAMPION Little Meadows Champagne N3 (AI,ET)

Class 21 – PAIR 1 AG & JC Murray 2 Monterey Class 22 – BREEDERS GROUP OF THREE 1 AG & JC Murray 22

Photos from the Showring!

Senior Champion Female Little Meadows Edwina D4 (AI, ET)

Grand Champion Female Little Meadows Champagne N3 (AI, ET)

Pair of Bulls AG & JC Murray

Junior Champion Bull & Grand Champion Bull Tullibardine Nitro N61 *Results and photos from Angus e-news October 10th 2018 and images by Emily H Photography.

Senior Champion Bull Monterey Mighty M237 WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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DROUGHT AND DRY SEASONS The following information is from the website of the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The link is below if you • would like to get further information https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-landwater/climate-weather/drought-and-dry-seasons

areas or heavier soils with better pasture cov erage. Prevent animal welfare problems.

Livestock will only travel short distances from water in summer - supply water in the pad dock being grazed, and within 600-800m of paddock feed.

(Please note all the bolded words throughout the article are more links to further information!)

See the seasonal rainfall update newsletter for a full set of recent rain and soil moisture maps and Long-term records show that our climate is becom- information. ing warmer and drier. This trend is expected to continue, with dry seasons likely to become more fre- See the Statistical Seasonal Forecast web page for rainfall forecasts. quent over southern Western Australia.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development provides data and information on seasonal weather through its network of automatic weather stations and seasonal climate forecasts through the Statistical Climate Information system.

In dry years, the department provides information to assist growers and agribusiness to manage seasonal conditions and their consequences.

Livestock and pasture situation Pasture production in some southern shires has been much lower than average, and the risk of erosion over summer is high.

• Destock any paddock with less than 750kg/ ha of dry matter, or less than 50% groundcov er, or where large bare patches have devel oped. Do this as soon as possible.

• Do a livestock water budget now. Allow for silted dams, and a late start to the 2019 season.

• Do a livestock feed budget now. Cover sup plementary feeding over summer and into late autumn 2019.

Season 2019: seasonal and management information for farmers This page provides seasonally relevant information on conditions and management options for those conditions in the agricultural areas of Western Australia. The outlook period is January to February Shires with very low pasture dry matter areas are 2019 inclusive. The seasonal situation information Gnowangerup, Jerramungup, Kent, Lake Grace and identifies conditions that will affect management Ravensthorpe. choices in the outlook period.

For even more information go to Summary https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/drought-and-dryDestock pasture paddocks that have less than seasons/season-2019-seasonal-and-management750kg/ha of dry matter: save the soil and save the information-farmers livestock.

• On-farm water reserves are very low in some southern shires. Check the depth of your dams - farmers are finding that some dams are almost half filled with silt and paddock debris from past storms.

• Pasture in southern areas is well below aver age.

• Paddocks with less than 750 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha) of dry matter, or 50% ground cover, should be destocked now and livestock moved immediately to confinement feeding WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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DROUGHT AND DRY SEASONS Angus Australia is also aware of the wide spread effect drought conditions continue to have in many parts of Australia. To assist members that are currently suffering through the severe conditions, the following web resources listed below have been identified to assist those looking for drought assistance and management resources in their states.

Angus Australia encourages anyone who may be suffering due of the drought to seek the suitable assistance.

For additional information regarding how Angus Australia can assist in your current situation contact us at 02 6773 4600. http://www.agriculture.gov.au/ag-farm-food/drought https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/climate-and-emergencies/droughthub https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/environment/drought/assistance-programs http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/farm-management/drought/drought-support https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-land-water/climate-weather/drought-and-dry-seasons http://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/agriculture/government-and-community-programs/managing-seasonalconditions/dry-conditions-tips-and-strategies http://pir.sa.gov.au/primary_industry/industry_support/farm_support http://www.environment.act.gov.au/ https://dpir.nt.gov.au/homepage?header=Drought%20Assistance https://www.buyabale.com.au/ https://www.beyondblue.org.au/ https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/ https://www.lifeline.org.au/

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

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IN MEMORIAM Vale John Kitchen Salute to a ‘true gentleman’ As the WA 2019 bull buying season approaches, respect for a fallen breeder finds solace - vale John Edward Kitchen (1954-2018).

A true gentleman of the cattle industry and life, Mr Kitchen, who passed away in October, leaves behind his loving wife, Flo, son Matt and daughter Emma and their families. Long-time cattle associate Mal Barrett, going back to Mr Kitchen’s early dairy days at Carenda Farm in Boyanup, spoke of Mr Kitchen’s genuine honesty. “He was a true gentleman of the industry, always willing to help others,” he said. “He took a leap in life when he branched out east to farm at Katanning.”

Inside Countryman’s annual Prime Beef feature Mr Kitchen’s son, Matt, expressed his sentiments towards his family’s loss and the next steps for Carenda Angus stud. “We have endured a tough year with the shock passing of my father, John, who leaves big shoes to fill and will sadly be missed,” he said. “The stud will continue to grow and move forward with my interest in taking the reins with the help of partner Daniegh and the new edition to our family, daughter Grace.”

Vale - David Thomson David Thomson of Moojepin Angus at Katanning died in March 2018. Though not recently active in the cattle industry, David would be well remembered from many appearances in the show ring. David served on the WA State Committee. Originally from Scotland and from near the home of the Angus part of the breed, David and his family emigrated to WA in the 1960s.

Vale - Penny Owen Mrs Penny Owen, wife of Cliff and mother of son Sam (and four other children) of Karrridale and Pindan Angus Stud died in December 2018. Although not active recently, the stud had a life of 25 years and topped the Angus section of the Brunswick Sale on one occasion. A beautiful lady much loved and missed.

Matt will host the Kitchen family’s inaugural onproperty sale, offering 26 bulls and 30 commercial heifers on Monday, February 25 at 1pm. The Kitchen family’s change of venue from Brunswick to their farm was part of John Kitchen’s progressive planning.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MATERIAL IS WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS COPYRIGHT© AND MUST NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION. WAN© CONTENT IS SUPPLIED FOR ONE-TIME ONLY USE AND MUST NOT BE USED OUTSIDE THE AGREED CONTEXT. WAN MATERIAL CANNOT BE ARCHIVED OR PASSED ON TO ANY THIRD PARTY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS WAN© MATERIAL MUST BE DELETED FROM ALL SYSTEMS AND WORKFLOWS AT COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT. TO OBTAIN PERMISSION TO USE THIS WAN COPYRIGHT MATERIAL BEYOND THE AGREED CONTEXT PLEASE CONTACT OUR SYNDICATION DEPARTMENT TO ARRANGE A REPRODUCTION LICENCE (FEES APPLY). CONTACT syndication@wanews.com.au MANDATORY CREDIT: © WEST AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPERS LIMITED

WA ANGUS NEWS January 2019

*Thanks to The Countryman and Bob Garnant for allowing us to reproduce these kind words about John and our condolences to all the family and friends of these wonderful people.

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Proposed Bull Sale Dates - 2019!

(Subject to change)

JANUARY Tuesday, 29 Thursday, 31

Ardcairnie Angus Bull Sale, Kojonup Lawsons Angus Bull Sale, Cataby

FEBRUARY Tuesday, 5

Little Meadows Angus Bull Sale, Dardanup Thursday, 7 Allegria Park Angus Bull Sale, Esperance Wednesday, 13 Monterey Angus Bull Sale, Karridale Thursday, 14 Blackrock Angus Bull Sale, Boyanup Friday, 15 Gandy Angus Bull Sale, Manjimup Monday, 18 Koojan Hills Angus Bull Sale, Manypeaks Tuesday, 19 Coonamble Angus Bull Sale, Bremer Bay Monday, 25 Carenda Angus Bull Sale, Katanning Thursday, 28 31st Multi-breed Bull Sale, Gingin Including - Black Tara, Cookalabi, Kapari and Redhat Angus Bulls

MARCH Wednesday, 20 Islay Angus Bull Sale, Brunswick

APRIL Wednesday, 17 Mordallup Angus Bull Sale, Boyanup

MAY Friday, 3

Lawsons Angus Bull Sale, Manypeaks

Good luck to everyone with their sales - here’s to a prosperous 2019!!