JANUARY 2017
Postage Paid WEMBLEY WA 6913 Australia
Print Post Approved Print Post Publication Number - 100005480. If undeliverable please return to Newsletter Coordinator, WA Angus Committee, PO Box 94, Wembley, WA, 6913.
CHAIRMAN’S UPDATE...
these is the professional and dedicated approach taken to breeding by your registered Angus breeder. If you are in the market for new genetics please take the time to look through the sale catalogues. These bulls are bred, combining science, technology and great skill by passionate breeders, using the biggest beef gene pool in the world.
Welcome to the January edition of the WA Angus Newsletter. The Christmas period is my favourite time of the year. We are lucky where we farm that the harvest is over, the calves are weaned and the rams are out before Christmas. There is a brief period where we can catch our breath. There is the community Christmas parties to attend, the kids coming home and we get away to the coast for a couple of weeks. It is a time to treasure, as for an extremely short period, our life appears to be in balance. I hope you too have enjoyed this festive season.
For those full members that have supported the WA Angus Promotions and Youth development fund, thank you. Tony Sudlow
INSIDE THIS ISSUE -
PG 3 - Farm Weekly Angus Heifer Comp! PG 5 - Record Breaking Angus Bull Sales! PG 8 - Farm Biosecurity Information! ...and lots more - enjoy the read!!
There continues to be good news in the cattle industry with producers getting a fair return on their investment. While some in the industry may say these prices are unsustainable, I would say these prices need to be sustainable. Every link in the production chain needs to make a profit and the first link in that chain is the cow/calf producer. The rest of the chain, including the consumer needs to acknowledge that producing a quality product like beef takes time, skill and money. We all need to be rewarded for our commitment to the industry. It is the bull selling season very soon and this is a time when we can set the direction of our businesses into the future. Angus bull sales have trebled across Australia over the last twenty years with 8405 bulls sold at auction last year and many more privately. There are many reasons for this domination, one of 1
WA ANGUS COMMITTEE Annual General Meeting MARCH 13TH 2017
HELP WANTED!
The AGM will commence at 1030am in the Presidents Lounge of the RAS offices at Claremont Showgrounds. The meeting is open to all full and commercial members and the committee would love to see you there. Lunch will be provided so for catering purposes please let Natalie Raynor (RASWA) or Liz Sudlow know if you are planning to attend on the contact details below.
The WA Angus News is a publication that goes out to readers 3 times a year - JANUARY, MAY & OCTOBER. As the coordinator I rely on the support of Angus Members to not only contribute material but to also ADVERTISE in the newsletter! This advertising support is what keeps the newsletter operating. If you want to support the Angus breed, particularly in WA, please think about advertising in the newsletter -
Natalie - 08 6263 6140 nraynor@raswa.org.au Liz - 0427 362 025 tony.liz@kapariangus.com.au
WE WOULD LOVE YOUR SUPPORT!! Please contact Shezanne on the details below Phone 08 9242 8894 or 0409 025 099 Email waangusnews@yahoo.com.au
**The committee is in the process of recruiting a new secretary and we thank Chloe Pursun for all her hard work & wish her the all the best for the future. New secretary details will be updated in the next newsletter.
2017 year letter is ‘N’
Chairman Tony and members of the Committee and of the Society in WA express sincere sympathy
Members are reminded that the year letter for the 2017 calf registrations is ‘N’. 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
to Graham Nixon and family on the loss of his dearly beloved wife, Sandy who died earlier this month. Our thoughts are with you at this sad time.
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FARM WEEKLY HEIFER COMPETITION 10th ANNIVERSARY!!
The WA Angus Committee would like to acknowledge and say THANKYOU to the following studs that have committed to supporting the Farm Weekly/WA Angus Heifer Competition. Without your support we wouldn’t have been able to reach this 10 year milestone!!
There is going to be one lucky and very happy Farm Weekly subscriber in late February. He or she will walk away with a prize valued at $18,800 from the 10th Anniversary Farm Weekly-WA Angus Breeders WIN 10 Angus Heifers and Sydney Royal Easter Show Package competition. Not only will the lucky winner take home 10 young Angus heifers, similar to past years, they will also be off to Sydney. The 10 outstanding, purebred, 2016-drop, unmated Angus heifers, the 'Wilga Wonders' are from Richard and Robyn Walker's well-known commercial herd at Wilga and are valued at $15,400, including GST. Over the previous nine years the joint venture competition between Farm Weekly and WA Angus Breeders, has seen close to $100,000 worth of heifers won by nine lucky Farm Weekly subscribers. WA Angus Society chairman Tony Sudlow said the competition has certainly been a great partnership between Farm Weekly and Angus WA. "We feel very privileged to be involved in this competition with Farm Weekly," Mr Sudlow said. "The competition has stood the test of time over the last nine years and has had such a big response, it has been a fantastic competition which has just got better and better every year. The competition provides a great opportunity to promote the breed and highlight the benefits of it to producers leading into and during the bull-selling season.” Farm Weekly publisher Trevor Emery said the WIN 10 Angus Heifers Competition was Farm Weekly's longest-running competition and Farm Weekly was pleased once again to be partnering the WA Angus breeders to bring the competition to its readers in this 10th anniversary year. "The competition has always been about offering some of the best commercial Angus genetics from within the State and we certainly think we have achieved this over the nine years, which is a credit to the breed," he said. "This year's offering of heifers has again maintained the outstanding quality and I am sure they will grow out to be fantastic breeders in the future.” Entry coupons will be published in Farm Weekly each week for nine weeks starting from Thursday, December 22, 2016 and concluding on Thursday, February 16, 2017. Entries close with the last mail on Monday, February 20, 2017 with the prize draw taking place at the Farm Weekly office on Tuesday, February 21, 2017. To be eligible to enter, readers must be an annual subscriber to Farm Weekly or become a new annual subscriber to Farm Weekly and they can enter as many times as they like subject to the terms and conditions of the competition, provided the entry is on an original entry coupon. To subscribe or for more information, contact Farm Weekly on 9361 5000.
**Thanks to Trevor Emery and Jodie Rintoul at Farm Weekly for providing the articles/information and logos - it is much appreciated!
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from cattle hides approached the ranch for that product. Currently hides are sold to make a spray adhesive for surgeries. Lots of bones are used in human fracture repair; instead of using titanium screws and plates, a company in Florida is using bovine bones and computerised machinery to make these screws and plates. These natural materials absorb into the system for better healing and are also used in dental implants.
Holistic Cattle Practices... An article in “In Practice” November/December 2016 (a publication of Holistic Management International) featured the Prather Ranch in north-eastern California, USA. The cattle herd is a closed one; no females purchased since 1975; no males since 1990. Diversity is through AI, with ranch raised bulls following up. With buffer zones (often forest areas), there’s no contact with other cattle; their own truck is used for all carting required. Strict protocols and standard operating procedures are used for all cattle treatments; for example, disposable needles and syringes for vaccinations on each individual animal.
The ranch sells other bovine parts for use in research facilities. A new contract may result in the supply of carotid arteries for use in people on kidney dialysis whose veins become worn out. Replacing these with synthetic veins doesn’t work as well as the natural bovine material does.
Interesting diversification! The health of the animals is of paramount importance for a *Thanks to Pam McGregor for providing this piece it sure is an recent addition to their product range. Initially a plastic interesting read!! surgeon who had developed a patent for injected collagen
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$61,989,662 WORTH OF ANGUS BULLS SOLD AT AUCTION IN 2016!! In this record breaking year for the cattle industry, a whopping $61,989,662 worth of Angus bulls has been cleared at auction in 2016. 8,405 bulls achieved an average of $7,375 across 158 sales.
Bull Sale Day Tuesday 31st January 2017
On the back of good rainfall, a favourable seasonal outlook and reinvigorated restocker demand in the commercial sector, bull sales across the country have reflected the positivity throughout the entire industry, as producers look to invest in top shelf Angus genetics.
On farm, Maybenup, 22327 Albany Highway, 7.5km south of Kojonup on the east side. Please note new times:
10.30am: Bulls available for inspection 1pm: the sale starts
In Western Australia, 18 sales cleared 725 bulls, to average $7,122. Prices hit a high of $26,500 in Western Australia during the Coonamble Angus sale, for Coonamble K159, to set what is believed to be a new State auction record for the Angus breed. Sired by Coonamble Elevator E11 the top price bull was purchased by Gatti Bros, Albany.
Jim and Pam McGregor, in addition to offering sound, high performance bulls, also offer: *A catalogue of their entire sale bull offering giving the widest choice of top Angus genetics; * A reserve selling price for each lot published in the catalogue; * Bulls catalogued and penned in age order allowing comparisons in-pen; * All bulls free by test or pedigree of the genetic conditions AM, NH, CA and DD; * All bulls ear notch tested free of BVDV; * All bulls vaccinated with Ultravac 7 in 1, Vibrovax and Pestigard; * All bulls semen tested and morphology assessed; * Bulls run in one mob since weaning; * Nineteen EBVs and four $Indexes in the catalogue for each bull; * Nineteen reference sires’ details included in the catalogue; * All bulls catalogued would happily be used in the Ardcairnie heard; * A letter is sent to the Ardcairnie mailing list after the sale with details of bulls still available for the rest of the year.
Coonamble Angus also broke the record for the highest sale average ever achieved at a sale in WA, breaking the $10,788 record set at the Koojan Hills a few days prior. A total clearance of 62 bulls averaged $11,370. This result was up $3,103 or 37.5% on the 2015 result. Koojan Hills improved on their 2015 average by $3,103 or 42.4%. Little Meadows Angus saw an increase in average from 2015 of $2,199 or 47.1%. A full copy of the 2016 Angus Bull Sale Statistics can be found by visiting https://www.angusaustralia.com.au/ marketing/sale-statistics/bull-salestatistics/ *From the Summer 2017 Angus Bulletin Article by, Diana Wood, Marketing & Communications Manager
Please ring 08 9831 0401 or 0417 942 326 if you would like a copy of the catalogue posted to you and if you would like to see the bulls in their paddock before sale day. Some bulls are awaiting test results - update on sale day. The sire of Lot 17, Ardcairnie L98, in the mailed out printed catalogues is actually VAR Reserve 1111. The EBVs and $Indexes are correct as printed. A pdf version of the full catalogue is available on the Ardcairnie website: www.ardcairnieangus.com.au Email address is MAYBENUP@bigpond.com Jim and Pam McGregor Phone 08 9831 0401 Mobile 0417 942 326 Email MAYBENUP@bigpond.com www.ardcairnieangus.com.au 5
vation company focused on enhancing and promoting the value of Angus across the beef value chain.”
Announcement of Certified Angus Group P/L Changes
“Angus Australia acknowledges the 10 years of service On the 31st January 2017, Kate Brabin will be exiting the to CAG P/L from the exiting CEO Kate Brabin. Over this position of CEO of CAG P/L, and the independent Direc- period, Ms Brabin has contributed greatly to the delivery tors Richard Rains, Tony Hale and Peter Trahar will be of Angus Breed Verification Services to industry and the exiting the CAG P/L Board. support of the CAG owned brands Angus Pure and NatuIn announcing these changes, Angus Australia President ral Beef® and Certified Australian Angus Beef®”. Libby Creek noted that “CAG P/L will continue operation “The Angus Australia Board also gratefully acknowledges as a separate wholly owned subsidiary of Angus Austral- the contributions of exiting Board Chairman Peter Traia supporting and promoting Angus beef brands as it has har and fellow independent Directors Richard Rains and done for the past 20 years. However, from the 31st Jan- Tony Hale”, said Mrs Creek. uary CAG P/L will be managed directly by Angus AustralThe contact person for CAG P/L matters after 31st Januia and the CAG Board will be comprised of only Directors ary 2017 will be Peter Parnell, Angus Australia CEO (Ph. of Angus Australia”. 02 6773 4600; Email: ceo@angusaustralia.com.au). “This change to the governance and management of CAG P/L will significantly reduce overhead costs and en- **From Angus e-News January 4, 2017 able greater integration of Angus beef certification and verification services into the core business of Angus Australia. These changes are a further example of Angus Australia’s ongoing transformation into a proactive inno-
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CATTLE SALES SEASON - don’t get more than what you bargain for!
Livestock selling season is upon us and it is an exciting time of the year to catch up with mates. It is also time for planning next year’s production and management strategies. By its very nature selling season sees increased movement and gathering of stock, vehicles and people and with that comes increased biosecurity risks. Be aware of the risks of spreading pests, weeds and diseases during this sale season. For those hosting bull sales on your property, consider managing biosecurity risks by limiting entry points, vehicle parking and restricting access to visitors. Use signs to clearly mark areas where visitors are not permitted. Good managers will implement disinfection procedures for footwear, hand wash and vehicles. FULLY A positive attitude to your on-farm biosecurity will demonstrate to your buyers your proGUARANTEED fessionalism and commitment to protecting your farm and their operation.
“clean out their gastro-intestinal tract”. All stock should be monitored regularly, stock introductions and treatments recorded (aid disease investigation). If signs of disease are noticed contact your vet. Appropriate documentation on vaccination and parasite control treatment add value to sale stock for both vendors and buyers. Get vet advice to ensure your stock’s health program is up to date prior to introducing new stock. Ensure fresh water is available and good quality feed is offered. Transport, mixing and other stress factors will depress immunity. Dehydration and nutritional restriction will also add unnecessary pressure to the immune system.
And most importantly – check animals regularly for signs of disease, and report sickness to your private vet or a DAFWA vet. The Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA) Royalties for Regions Significant Disease Investigation Pilot Program supports livestock owners by providing rebates towards the cost of veterinary fees, and laboratory diagnostic costs. These results are valuable for improving the health of your herd and support verification of Bull buyers should ask for a National Cattle Health WA’s favorable animal health status, which enables Declaration from the vendor when considering any market access for our livestock and livestock prodpurchase, in addition to a standard visual inspection ucts. and Estimating Breeding Values (EBVs) information on genetic merit. This declaration covers health sta- **Thanks to Jeisane Accioly from DAFWA for providing this article, it is much appreciated. tus including treatments and vaccination history. It If you would like more information please can assist the buyer in assessing biosecurity risks don’t hesitate to email Jeisane at and planning to ensure vaccinations and drenching jeisane.accioly@agric.wa.gov.au schedules will be covered prior to the start of the or visit the DAFWA website joining season. A pre-joining Breeding Soundness www.agric.wa.gov.au Examination test performed by a cattle veterinarian is also highly recommended to ensure the bull is healthy, fertile and ‘fit for mating’! A few general measures to consider and act on for all types of sales are:
Disinfection of footwear, clothes, vehicles and equipment at critical points. Closely inspect livestock for signs of disease and presence of seeds on their coat (both vendors and buyers). Do not submit livestock that are sick or not FitTo-Load for sale. Implement quarantine (minimum of 28 days recommended) for new stock at arrival prior to introduction to the rest of the herd. Ideally they should be closely observed and placed in a restricted area for the first 48 hours while they 8
ANNUAL ANGUS BULL SALE 54 BULLS - Friday, February 24th, 2017 Boyanup Saleyards FULLY GUARANTEED
Catalogues are available on request or at www.angusaustralia.com.au NEW GENERATION David & Jodie Hughan Mob 0417 970 997
CHERYLTON Don McNab (08) 9731 8430 - Mob 0409 114 278 Mike Cameron (08) 9834 2322 - Mob 0429 390 144 Chris Waddingham
Leon Giglia
0409 931 831
0407 931 036
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Angus Youth Road to Scotland
bers. 2. Applicants must be aged between 18 & 25 years (up to 26th birthday on 3rds July, 2017.) 3. Applicants must be available for the entire duration (FROM ANGUS E-NEWS_NOVEMBER 29, 2016) of the competition (21st June – 3rd July). 4. Applicants must be able to organise their own Hosted by the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society, in Edinburgh Scotland, the World Angus Forum will take passport, flights and travel insurance. 5. Within 2 weeks of returning from the World Angus place from June 21-26 2017. Forum, a full trip report must be submitted to Angus The Angus Australia Foundation is offering four Angus Australia. Youth members the chance to represent Australia as a team and participate in the World Angus Forum Youth Costs: Programme and Angus Youth is now calling for nomi1. The registration cost per team is £3000. This cost nations for Angus Youth members to join the team and will be covered by Angus Australia. The registration head on the #roadtoScotland. fee includes social events, accommodation, food and The programme will take place from Wednesday travel within Scotland. 21st June to Monday 3rd July and will consist of: 2. Angus Australia will cover flight costs from a capital city return to Edinburgh. Wednesday 21st – Registration day. 3. Livestock and equipment is provided by Scotland Thursday 22nd – Royal Highland Show. Angus. Friday 23rd – Activity day in Scotland. Angus Australia will pay all upfront costs. However Saturday 24th – Stockjudging and activity – 4. each team will be required to source $2,000 in sponRoyal Highland Show. sorship to be paid to Angus Australia to assist in cov Sunday 25th and Monday 26th – World Angus ering expenses associated with this event. Forum Conference. Tuesday 27th – Agri skills and activities. How to apply: If you would like to be a member of the Australian Wednesday 28th – Farm visits. Thursday 29th – Day with World Angus Forum team you will need to: Complete the WAF Youth Competition – Nominadelegates. tion Form (found below), by Monday 30th January, Friday 30th – Visit to Scotbeef. 2017. Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd July - Familiarisa- Be willing to raise $2,000 as a team to assist in tion days and youth final at Netherton/HW Angus. covering expenses associated with this event. General Information Make a short video introducing yourself and your 4 people in each team, must be one member of involvement with Angus Youth and Angus cattle, stating why you think you deserve a place on the Australithe opposite sex in each team. an team and any specific skills and/or knowledge you Maximum of three teams per country. would bring to the team. Age limit 18-25, up to 26th Birthday on 3rd July. Team must remain the same throughout the com- Videos should be loaded on to YouTube and will be petition. shared via Angus Youth and Angus Australia social Total price per team £3000 includes social events, media channels if deemed suitable. accommodation, food and travel within Scotland. All nominations and videos will be reviewed by a selection panel and phone interviews conducted if necAngus Australia will be entering one team made essary. The top 4 applicants will be offered a place on up of four Angus Youth members. Each team the Angus Australia team. Two reserves will also be notified. Please note that the selected team will be of member must be willing to be involved in: mixed gender. Stockjudging. Questions: General Knowledge. If you have any questions about the competition or Agri-skills and activities. how to apply please contact Haylee Herriot, Angus Youth Development and Education Officer: youth@angusaustralia.com.au (02) 6773 4622. Skills required include: Ability to handle livestock. Please send links to video applications Ability to drive machinery. to youth@angusaustralia.com.au Have a general grasp of farming knowledge. Be in general good health. To apply the following guidelines must be met: 1. Applicants must be current Angus Youth mem10
APPLICATIONS CLOSE MONDAY 30TH JANUARY, 2017.
As you will have seen in this edition of the newsletter it is bull selling & buying time in WA!
Proposed Bull
Why should you consider ANGUS as your best
Sale Dates - 2017!
purchasing option???
(Subject to change)
**Market Demand & Versatility
JANUARY
**Superior Fertility & Maternal Ability
Tuesday, 24
**Finest Meat Quality
Tuesday, 31
**Hardness & Efficiency
Lawsons Angus Bull Sale Hopetoun (see ad on PG 2) Ardcairnie Angus Bull Sale, Kojonup (see ad on PG 5)
FEBRUARY
**Best All Round Balance **Documented Gene Pool **Committed Service Backup
Angus BREEDPLAN Sire Summary... A copy of the Angus BREEDPLAN Sire Summary, based on the results from the Mid-December 2016 Angus BREEDPLAN analysis, is now available from the Angus Australia website for you to download. 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) **From Angus e-News_December 21st 2016
The WA Angus News...
Wednesday, 1 Allegria Park Angus Bull Sale, Esperance (see ad on PG 8) Tuesday, 7 Little Meadows Angus Bull Sale, Dardanup Friday, 10 Mordallup Angus Bull Sale, Manjimup Wednesday, 15 Monterey Angus Bull Sale, Karridale Thursday, 16 Carenda Angus Bull Sale, Brunswick (see ad on PG 4) Friday, 17 Gandy Angus Bull Sale, Manjimup (see ad on PG 7) Monday, 20 Koojan Hills Angus Bull Sale, Manypeaks Thursday, 23 Blackrock Angus Bull Sale, Boyanup (see ad on PG 12) Friday, 24 New Generation and Cherylton Angus Bull Sale, Boyanup (see ad on PG 9)
MARCH
The Newsletter is a project of the WA Angus Committee sent to Society members in WA, Federal Councillors & senior staff of the society, people we know of in WA who have bought Angus cattle, stock agents & press - around 1200 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 & you would rather not be or if we don’t have your correct address, please advise the -
Thursday, 2
Newsletter & Mailing List Coordinator Shezanne Gibbs-Hooper Phone - 08 9242 8894 or 0409 025 099 Email - waangusnews@yahoo.com.au
29th Multi-breed Bull Sale, Gingin Including - Black Tara, Cookalabi, Kapari and Warringah Angus Bulls (see ad’s on PG 6 & 12)
Post - PO Box 94, Wembley, WA 6913
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ANNUAL BULL SALE 56 BULLS
THE L I T N U WAIT D !! 23R
Including six 2016 drop!!
Thursday 23rd February 2017 Boyanup Saleyards - Starts at 1pm Catalogue available on our website - www.blackrockangus.com.au
“MOO HAHAHAHA”
Ken MacLeay
When the farmer counted his cows
Phone/Fax - 9755 1136 or 0438 926 363 Email - blackrockangus@bigpond.com
in the field he had 196 cows. When he rounded them up he had 200!!
...and remember for all the Bull Sale Dates, Results and any other information you may require go to the Angus Australia website - simply log on to www.angusaustralia.com.au and let your fingers do the surfing!!
WA ANGUS COMMITTEE
The WA Angus News is printed by A-Team Printing 81 Acton Avenue, Rivervale, WA, 6103 Ph: 08 9478 3188 **I would also like to acknowledge Nigel Butlin who passed away just before Christmas. Nigel has been so helpful with the printing of the newsletter and will be fondly remembered. Our sympathy to his family and Ian and the team at A-team Printing.
Chairman Tony Sudlow 0428 362 032 Vice Chairman Mark Hattingh 08 9655 7065 Treasurer Andrew Kuss 08 9076 1240
Committee Bruce Campbell 08 9525 2361
S. Gibbs-Hooper 08 9242 8894
Karen Golding 08 9725 4334
Tony Golding 08 9725 4334
Mark Hattingh 08 9655 7065
Brad Kupsch 08 9927 6054
Andrew Kuss 08 9076 1240
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 Directors Tony Golding & Lindsay Wolrige
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